又中又英｜Don\'t give two hoots

Last year was our planet’s warmest year on record. It scared me because it was the clearest proof so far of climate change. But even though 2023 was the warmest year on record, it did not scare most people except for environmentalists and some world leaders. Most people just shrugged their shoulders. To shrug your shoulders means to raise your shoulders to show you don’t care about something. But people who don’t give two hoots about climate change need to understand it affects not only them and their family but also their family’s future generations.
If you don’t give two hoots about something, it means you don’t care about it. It is similar to the expression “shrug your shoulders”. People who don’t give two hoots about climate change need to wake up to the fact that many island nations in the Pacific Ocean will disappear underwater if we don’t reverse climate change. To wake up to something means to start understanding a problem exists. Melting ice due to global warming, which is part of climate change, will make these islands disappear underwater. Global warming is melting Arctic ice at record speed, threatening polar bears which need ice to hunt, feed, travel, and reproduce.
Many Hong Kong people have complained about the government’s poor job in explaining its new waste disposal plan, which requires everyone to buy pay-as-you-throw garbage bags. People had a good reason to complain but also need to know they can do their part in fighting climate change by reducing waste. The government also needs to promote the waste disposal plan as part of fighting climate change.

上年是我们地球有纪录以来最暖的一年。这使我感到害怕，因为这是到目前为止气候变化最清晰的明证。然而，即使二零二三年是有纪录以来最暖的一年，那仍然未能阻吓到大多数人，除了环境专家和某些世界领袖。大部分人都只是 shrugged their shoulders——to shrug your shoulders是指耸耸肩，表示你对某事毫不在乎。但那些对气候变化毫不在乎（don’t give two hoots）的人，需要明白那件事影响的，不止是他们和他们的家人，更延续至其家族将来的世代。
若你 don’t give two hoots about something，那即代表你不关心、不在乎某件事，它的意思跟习语“shrug your shoulders”相似。那些对气候变化毫不在乎（don’t give two hoots）的人，需要开始意识到（wake up to the fact），要是我们不去逆转气候变化，太平洋的许多岛国将没入海中。To wake up to the fact是指开始意识到一个问题的存在。全球暖化导致冰川融化，会令这些岛屿消失于水底，正是气候变化的其中一方面。全球暖化以有纪录以来最快的速度融化北极冰川，威胁到北极熊的生存，它们需要冰块去狩猎、喂饲、移动与繁殖。
新的垃圾弃置徵费计划要求市民购买垃圾按量收费的垃圾袋，许多香港人会投诉政府在解释计划时表现差劣。人们有很好的理由去投诉，但同时也需要知道，他们也可以减少垃圾，在对抗气候变化上出他们的一分力。政府好应宣传垃圾弃置计划为对抗气候变化的一部分。

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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻