又中又英｜A megastar

Taylor Swift is a megastar, but she was never on my radar until Singapore enticed her to perform there and nowhere else in Southeast Asia. Swift performed six sold-out shows there, causing bad blood towards Singapore by its neighbours. Media reports said the Singapore government paid her millions of dollars to perform exclusively there. She agreed and her Asia tour included only Japan, which is in East Asia, and Singapore, which is in Southeast Asia. In addition to the money Singapore paid, Swift earned many more millions from ticket sales. A megastar is a very famous person, especially a pop singer or an actor. A megastar is higher up than a superstar.

If someone is on your radar, it means you are aware of, and know about, the person because the person is important. To entice people means to persuade them to do something in return for advantages. Bad blood is a feeling of unfriendliness or hostility between people. Singapore’s exclusive deal with Swift caused bad blood in Southeast Asia, especially in Thailand and the Philippines, where politicians accused Singapore of being a bad neighbour. One Philippines politician accused Singapore of operating by the law of the jungle. This expression is used to describe a situation in which people do whatever is necessary to succeed.

Swift’s six concerts drew 300000 fans. About 70 percent were tourists who flew to Singapore to attend. Estimates showed Singapore’s economy earned about US$370 million from these tourists. The Singapore concerts put Swift on my radar. Hong Kong should chase after such money-making events, not night markets or fireworks.

泰勒丝是超级巨星（megastar），但她从来没有引起过我的注意（on my radar），直至新加坡利诱（enticed）她到那里表演，兼且是全东南亚唯一演出的地方。泰勒丝在那里刚举办了六场演出会，全部售罄，亦引来其邻国对新加坡心存芥蒂（bad blood）。传媒报道指，新加坡政府付了她上千万美元，让她在那里举行独家演唱会。她答应了，以致她的亚洲巡回演出只设在东亚的日本，以及在东南亚的新加坡。除了新加坡付她的钱之外，泰勒丝在门票收入上还赚了更多个百万美元。A megastar是非常知名的演艺巨星，尤其是流行音乐歌手或演员。A megastar的地位要比a superstar来得高。

若某人是 on your radar，意即你注意或知道某人，因为那人是重要的。To entice people就是用好处引诱人去做某事。Bad blood是人与人之间的嫌隙或仇恨。新加坡向泰勒丝开出的独家演出条件，导致东南亚国家之间有嫌隙（bad blood），尤其是在泰国和菲律宾，他们的政客指责新加坡是个坏邻居。一个菲律宾政客指责新加坡以 law of the jungle去操作——这个习语是指丛林法则、弱肉强食，用来形容人人皆不择手段去获取成功的一个情况。

泰勒丝的六场演唱会吸引了30万名歌迷，有约七成是专程飞往新加坡观赏的游客。估计显示，新加坡的经济从这批游客中赚取了约3亿7千万美元。新加坡的演唱会令泰勒丝引起我的注意（on my radar）。香港好应追求这种赚钱的活动，而非夜市或烟火。

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