又中又英｜Reclining seats

又中又英｜Reclining seats

There was a recent article on CNN's website that immediately caught my eye. If something catches your eye, it means it gets your attention. The article was about reclining seats on passenger planes. A reclining seat is a seat with a back that moves backwards a little when you press a button, giving you more space. Most airlines have reclining seats. Some passengers love reclining seats, but others hate them. I hate reclining seats. Almost every time I fly economy or business, the passenger in front reclines the seat. This gives the passenger more space but lessens the space in front of me.

There are many news reports of passengers arguing and even coming to blows because passengers reclined their seats. To come to blows means to fight. Reclining seats are less of a problem in first or business class but a big problem for many in economy class because the space between seats is already small. The CNN article said some airlines have, in recent years, started to replace reclining seats with pre-reclined seats for short-haul flights. These are seats that cannot be reclined but are already partly reclined. A short-haul flight is a flight of not more than three hours. A long-haul flight is a flight of up to 12 hours or even more.

The CNN article I read said airlines are unlikely to replace reclining seats with pre-reclined seats on long-haul flights. That must come as a blow to passengers who hate reclining seats. To come as a blow used this way means to come as a big disappointment. Do not confuse it with the expression "come to blows", which means to fight.

最近在美國有線電視新聞網的網站上，有一則新聞立時吸引我的眼球（caught my eye）——若某事物catches your eye，即是它引起了你的注意。那則新聞是關於客機上的 reclining seats。A reclining seat就是按下按鈕就能稍為向後躺的座椅，讓你能有更多的空間。大部分的航班都有可調節躺椅（reclining seats），一些乘客喜愛躺椅（reclining seats），但另一些人則討厭它。我就很討厭躺椅（reclining seats）。差不多每次搭乘經濟艙或商務艙時，前面的乘客都會將椅背向後傾，這讓他們有更多的空間，卻縮減了我前方的空間。

歷來不乏新聞報道，有乘客因為椅背後傾的問題而爭執甚至大打出手（coming to blows）。To come to blows 是指因某事而打起來。能後傾的躺椅（reclining seats）對於頭等和商務艙位來說問題不大，但對許多坐經濟艙的人而言卻是一大問題，因為座位與座位之間的空間已經很狹小。有線電視新聞網的那則新聞指，近年有一些航空公司開始將短途航班（short-haul flights）的可調校躺椅（reclining seats）轉換成預設後傾座椅（pre-reclined seats）。這些座椅不能自行調校後躺，但都已設計成稍為後傾。A short-haul flight是指不多於三小時的短途航班；a long-haul flight就是可達十二小時甚至更長時間的長途航班。

我在有線電視新聞網上讀到的那則報道說，航空公司不大可能會為長途航班（long-haul flights）以預設後傾座椅（pre-reclined seats）取代原有的可調校躺椅（reclining seats）。對於那些討厭躺椅（reclining seats）的乘客來說，這肯定是 come as a blow——to come as a blow在這裏是指令人大失所望，是一大打擊。可不要將它跟習語“come to blows”混淆啊，後者是指動手打架。

mickchug@gmail.com
Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻