又中又英｜Crank

Eating out with friends is a pleasant experience if you choose a good restaurant. But restaurant food is not healthy unless you just choose a plain salad. I read a health article which said eating in restaurants should be limited to just once a week. I think that is sound advice. The word “sound” has several meanings, but sound advice means sensible and reliable advice. There is always great camaraderie when I eat out with friends. The word “camaraderie” means a feeling of trust and friendship among a group of people. I seldom eat out because my stomach cannot handle unhealthy meals.

US President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr as his health secretary. He is a nephew of President John F. Kennedy who was assassinated in 1963. His father, Robert F. Kennedy, was assassinated in 1968 while running for president.  Many Americans consider Robert F. Kennedy Jr a crank, which means a person with strange or unusual ideas or beliefs. He is a vaccine skeptic, which means he is not convinced that Covid, flu, polio, and other vaccines are safe. He wants people to drink raw milk instead of pasteurized milk. Pasteurization kills the bacteria in raw milk.

I believe in vaccines and take flu and Covid shots regularly. I don’t trust raw milk. But some of his ideas are good, such as removing food dyes. Food dye is a chemical substance that makes food look appetizing by giving it an artificial colour. He will fight against ultra-processed foods such as instant noodles, bacon, and sausages. Ultra-processed foods are very unhealthy. I have not eaten hot dogs, bacon, and instant noodles in decades.

若你选到一间好餐厅，跟朋友外出用餐会是个愉快的经验。不过，餐厅的食物并不健康，除非你只是点个清淡的沙律。我读到一则关于健康的文章指，到餐厅用餐应该限制为一星期仅一次。我认为那是个sound advice。Sound一字有好些意思，但 sound advice是指合理、可靠的建议。当我跟朋友外出用膳时，往往会有很好的 camaraderie—— camaraderie是一群人之中的信任与友谊。我很少会外出用膳，因为我的胃受不了不健康的膳食。

美国总统当选人唐纳德‧特朗普任命小罗伯特‧F‧甘迺迪为他的卫生部长。他是一九六三年遇刺身亡的总统约翰‧F‧甘迺迪的侄儿，他的父亲罗伯特‧F‧甘迺迪竞逐当总统的时候，同样遇刺身亡。许多人认为小罗伯特‧F‧甘迺迪是个 crank，意即有些古怪、不寻常想法或信念的怪人。他是个 vaccine skeptic，意思是他并不相信新冠肺炎、流感、小儿麻痺症及其他病症的疫苗是安全的。他希望人们会喝生奶而非巴斯德消毒（pasteurized）的牛奶。 Pasteurization就是去杀灭生牛奶内的病菌。

我相信疫苗，也会定时打流感针和新冠疫苗。我不信生牛奶。但他的一些想法是好的，例如去除food dyes。Food dye就是食用色素，即添加化学合成的人工色素去让食物看起来更美味可口。他亦会对抗超加工的食物，例如方便面、烟肉和肠仔。超加工食物是非常不健康的。我已经有几十年没有吃热狗、烟肉和方便面了。

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