又中又英︳Put a damper on

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-Po has put a damper on giving consumption vouchers to Hong Kong people when he unveils (makes public) this year\'s budget on February 28. He said recently that most of the people who gave their feedback during the budget consultation period were dead set against consumption vouchers this year. He said the people who took part in the consultation felt consumption vouchers were unnecessary because of the government’s shrinking coffers. To put a damper on something means to make it less appealing or enjoyable. The financial secretary made the budget less appealing when he strongly hinted Hong Kong could not afford consumption vouchers.

To be dead set against something means to be completely opposed to it. A coffer is a large and strong box to store money and other valuables. But the government’s coffers refer to the money the government has available to spend. Chan Mo-po did not clearly say how many people took part in the consultation and what sectors of society they were from. It seems from media reports that mostly political parties and business groups took part in the public consultation. My guess is those who opposed consumption vouchers must be loaded. The word “loaded” has many meanings but if used this way it means to be rich.

It is unlikely that low-income families would be dead set against consumption vouchers. I don’t know if the financial secretary visited families living in public housing or subdivided flats to ask about consumption vouchers. There is still time if he hasn’t consulted such families for their views on consumption vouchers.

财政司司长陈茂波将于二月二十八日揭晓（unveils）今年的财政预算案，在会否给予香港人消费券上一直在扫大家的兴（put a damper on）。最近他说，财政预算案谘询期间，许多给予意见的人士都坚决反对（dead set against）今年继续派消费券。他说，参与谘询的人都认为消费券是不必要的，因为政府库房（coffers）缩水。To put a damper on something是指令某事物不那么吸引或愉悦。当财政司司长强烈暗示香港承负担不起再派一次消费券时，他就减低了财政预算案的吸引力。

To be dead set against something是指坚决反对某事。A coffer就是存放金钱和其他贵重物品的金库或保险箱，但政府的coffers则是指政府的财政储备。陈茂波并未清楚指出有几多人参与了谘询，也没说他们是来自社会哪些行业。从传媒报道中看来，似乎大部分的政党和商业团体也有参与公众谘询。我的估计是，那些反对派消费券的人一定相当 loaded—— loaded一字有许多意思，但若放在这里则解作很有钱。

低收入家庭是不大可能会坚决反对（dead set against）消费券吧。我不知道财政司司长可有探访那些住公屋又或劏房的家庭，询问他们对于消费券的意见。如果他还未谘询过那些家庭对消费券的看法，还有时间啊。

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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻