又中又英｜Daydream

Daydream

Regular readers of this column will know whiskey is one of my favourite happy hour drinks. There are many different types of whiskey, such as blended, single malt, and bourbon. A blended whiskey is produced by blending (mixing) different types of whiskey. Single malt whiskeys are also blended but are the product of a single distillery (alcohol factory). Bourbon is an American whiskey. Special news reports about whiskey always catch my eye. If something catches your eye, it means it gets your attention. A news report last week about the world’s oldest whiskey instantly caught my eye.

About 40 bottles of the world’s oldest whiskey were found in the cellar of a 750-year-old Scottish castle. The whiskey was distilled (purified) in 1833 and botted in 1841. An auction will be held next month for 24 of the bottles. Each bottle is worth about HKD100000. I would give my right arm to have a bottle of the world’s oldest whiskey. If you would give your right arm to get something, it means you want it so much that you would do almost anything to get it. I am just a journalist and cannot afford such a bottle of whiskey even though it is the world’s oldest whiskey.

Journalists with principles must be factual and unbiased but I think journalists are also allowed to daydream, which means to have pleasant thoughts while awake. I cannot afford HKD100000 for a bottle of the world’s oldest whiskey but I can daydream about sitting on my serviced apartment balcony drinking it while looking at Hong Kong’s beautiful harbour!

一直有看这个专栏的读者们都会知道，威士忌是其中一样我最喜爱的欢乐时光饮品。威士忌有许多种，例如 blended、single malt和bourbon。A blended whiskey就是调和威士忌，以不同种类的威士忌酒混合（blending）而成。Single malt whiskeys即单一麦芽威士忌，也是调和的（blended），却是出自同一间蒸馏厂（distillery）。Bourbon就是美式的波本威士忌。有关于威士忌的特别新闻报道总是能 catch my eye——若某事物 catches your eye，即是它吸引到你的注意。上星期，一则关于世上最古老威士忌的新闻报道，瞬间抓住我眼球（caught my eye）。

在一个有750年历史的苏格兰古堡的地窖（cellar）内，发现了40瓶世界现存最古老的威士忌。这批威士忌是于1833年蒸馏（distilled）、1841年入瓶。下星期将为其中24瓶酒举行拍卖会，每瓶酒价值约10万港元。我会give my right arm ，也要一瓶世上最古老的威士忌。若你会give your right arm to get something，意即你很想拥有它，不惜一切代价也要取得。我只是一个新闻工作者，虽然这是世上最古老的威士忌，但也未能买得起这样一瓶威士忌。

新闻工作者有原则，必须根据事实和不偏不倚，但我认为新闻工作者也可以daydream ，意即在清醒时发发白日梦。我不能拿出10万港元去买一瓶世上最古老的威士忌酒，但我可以发个白日梦（daydream）：坐在我的服务式住宅单位的阳台上，一边喝着它，一边欣赏香港美丽的海港！

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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻