又中又英｜Keep alive

Most people cherish their childhood memories. They try to keep alive these memories for as long as they can. But childhood memories can become a blur as people get older. Some of my early childhood memories have become a blur. If you cherish someone it means you love or care for that person. To cherish memories or ideas means to keep them alive in your mind because they are important to you. To keep something alive used this way means to not forget about it. If something is a blur, it means you cannot see it clearly. Everything can become just a blur for people with bad eyesight.

If something becomes a blur, it can also mean you cannot remember it clearly, such as something that happened long ago. I cherish my childhood memories growing up in Hong Kong, especially memories of the Lunar New Year. We lived in a big apartment where my parents had a local helper who was originally from Guangdong. She taught me, my elder sister, elder brother, and younger brothers Cantonese. Every Lunar New Year she cooked a traditional new year vegetarian dish for us with mushrooms, tofu puffs, red dates, vegetables, and other things. We all loved it. She also gave us laisee packets.

Even now, I keep alive my memory of her. She was like a second mother to us. Every Lunar New Year I think of her, the vegetarian dish, and her laisee packets. She passed away many years ago when my elder sister, who lives in the US, was in Hong Kong. We both went to the funeral home to pay our respects.

大多數人都珍視（cherish）自己的童年回憶，他們嘗試讓這些回憶歷久彌新（keep alive），能保存多久就有多久。然而，年紀漸長，童年回憶或會變得模糊（become a blur），我自己一些早年的童年回憶已經記不清楚（become a blur）了。若你 cherish someone意即你珍愛、愛護某人；to cherish一些回憶或想法，意即在腦海中常憶記（keep them alive），因為它們對你很重要。To keep something alive在這裏是指不去遺忘了它。若某事物是 a blur，意即你難以把它看清；視力不佳的人看所有事物都可以是模糊不清（blur）。

若something becomes a blur，也可以解作你未能清楚記得某事物，例如一件發生在很久以前的事。我珍視（cherish）我在香港長大的童年回憶，尤其是農曆新年的記憶。我們住在一個偌大的單位中，我父母有一個本地人做幫手，她原是從廣東來的。是她教了我、我姊、哥哥和弟弟們學懂廣東話的。每逢農曆新年，她都會煮一餐傳統的新年齋菜給我們，當中有冬菇、豆卜、紅棗、蔬菜以及其他食材，我們全都十分喜愛這個菜。她還會給我們利是呢。

即使到了現在，我對她仍然記憶猶新（keep alive my memory）。她就像我們的第二個母親。每到農曆新年我都會想起她、那碟齋菜，以及她的利是。她在許多年前已經過身，當時我姊還在香港，現在我姊已移居美國了。我們二人都有到殯儀館致哀。

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

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