又中又英｜Come gushing back

Memories came gushing back when I read media reports that former US President Jimmy Carter had died at the age of 100. If memories come gushing back it means many memories come back quickly. I traveled to Atlanta, Georgia in September 2018 to interview Carter for my TVB show. Memories of his wide smile, friendliness, and being with him for about an hour came gushing back. A wide smile is a smile where the mouth is stretched very wide to express pleasure or happiness. Carter was 94 years old when I interviewed him at the Carter Center’s Presidential Conference Room but still had his wits about him.

If you have your wits about you, it means you are ready to think and react quickly. He had a razor-sharp mind even though he was 94. Few people that age have a razor-sharp mind. If you have a razor-sharp mind, it means you think quickly and clearly. He gave quick and clear answers to my questions about US-China relations and Donald Trump, who was president at the time. The world remembers Richard Nixon as the American president who went to China to meet Chairman Mao Zedong and to discuss starting US-China diplomatic relations.

But it was Carter who established formal diplomatic relations with China in 1979. Carter, who was elected president in 1976, served only one term after numerous negative political events cast a shadow over his presidency. To cast a shadow over something means to make people feel less hopeful or happy about something. After losing reelection, Carter spent decades promoting human rights and democracy, fighting poverty, and building homes for the poor globally. He won respect as America’s greatest ex-president.

当我读到传媒报道指，前美国总统占美‧卡特逝世，享年一百岁时，回忆顿时涌现（gushing back）。若回忆 come gushing back，它的意思是许多回忆突然涌回来。我于二零一八年九月，飞往乔治亚洲的亚特兰大，为我的无綫节目访问卡特。那一个小时跟他在一起，他灿烂的笑容（wide smile）、他的友善亲切，这些回忆统统涌现（gushing back）。A wide smile就是咧嘴而笑，以表达愉悦或快乐。我在卡特中心的总统会议室访问他的时候，他年届九十四岁，但依然头脑清晰（had his wits about him）。

若你 have your wits about you，意即你头脑冷静，能随机应变。他虽已九十四岁，但头脑敏锐（a razor-sharp mind）。那个岁数的人很少会有那么锐利的头脑（a razor-sharp mind）。若你有a razor-sharp mind，意即你能快速和清晰地思考。我问到美中关系以及时任总统唐纳德‧特朗普，他都能给予快速而清楚的回应。世界都记得李察‧尼克逊访华，会见国家主席毛泽东去谈美中建交。

然而，是卡特于一九七九年跟中国建立正式的外交关系。卡特于一九七六年当选为总统，在许多负面的政治事件为其任期蒙上阴影（cast a shadow）之后，只做了一个任期。 To cast a shadow over something是指去令人对某事情不那么感到希望或愉快，蒙上了一层阴影。竞逐连任失败以后，卡特花了几十年去促进人权与民主、打击贫穷，以及为全球穷困的人建立居所。他赢得了尊重，成为美国最伟大的前总统。

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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻