又中又英｜Accommodating neighbours

又中又英｜Accommodating neighbours

People who need help normally call family members. Some call friends or neighbours. I have stayed with family members in several US cities when I returned to the US last month after visiting Hong Kong. One thing that sticks in my mind about the US is the friendship people have with neighbours. If something sticks in your mind, it means it remains in your memory. People living in nearby houses are always willing to help each other. I am now staying at my niece’s house in Atlanta. She has a small dog which freaks out whenever it thunders.

To freak out means to lose emotional control or to behave irrationally because of anger, fear, joy, or from drug use. My niece’s dog is afraid of thunder noise and freaks out during storms. It jumped up at me on several occasions during storms when my niece was in an upstairs room. I have never owned a dog and don’t know how to take care of them. Luckily, my niece has very accommodating neighbours. She asks them to look after the dog whenever she and her husband go out for social events.

An accommodating neighbour is a neighbour willing and eager to help. It once thundered when my niece and her husband were out. I phoned my niece because the dog freaked out. She called a neighbour who came and took the dog to her own house. From my own experience, Hong Kong doesn’t have accommodating neighbours. Maybe it’s because everyone lives in small high-rise flats. But unlike Hong Kong, neighbours still said hello when I stayed at my younger brother’s high-rise in Manhattan last year.

人需要帮助时，通常会找家人，另一些人则会找朋友或邻居。自我上月游港后回美国以来，我便在几个美国城市的亲人家中寄居。美国有一件事令我特别难忘（sticks in my mind），就是邻舍之间的友谊。若某事物 sticks in your mind，意即它铭刻于你脑海中，让你特别记得。住在房子附近的人总愿意互相帮忙。我现在居于亚特兰大我姪女的家中。她有一只小狗，每当行雷牠便会 freaks out。

To freak out意即因为愤怒、恐惧、喜悦或滥药，而情绪失控或行为异常。我姪女的狗很害怕行雷的声音，每遇暴风雨便会发飙（freaks out）。有几次在暴风雨期间，我姪女在楼上的房间中，牠便扑到我身上。我从来没有养过狗，不知道要怎样照顾牠们。幸好，我姪女有些非常乐于助人的邻舍（accommodating neighbours）。每当她和她的先生外出参与社交活动，她便会请求他们代为照顾小狗。

An accommodating neighbour就是愿意和乐意帮忙的邻居。有一次行雷，刚好我姪女和她先生外出了，犬只又发飙（freaked out），我便打电话给姪女。她打电话找了邻居来，带了犬只到自己的家中。在我自身的经验中，香港并没有这种与人方便、乐于助人的邻居（accommodating neighbours），可能因为人人都住在狭小的高楼大厦单位吧。不过，我上年住在我弟弟于曼哈顿高楼大厦的家中时，邻居之间仍然会互相问好，不像香港那般。

mickchug@gmail.com
Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻