又中又英｜A chameleon

US President Donald Trump is like a chameleon. He changes from day to day. That means adversaries as well as allies must guess what his next move is. A chameleon is a slow-moving lizard that can change colour to match what surrounds it so that it cannot be seen. This protects chameleons from predators. A predator is an animal that hunts, kills, and eats other animals. Predators can be large, such as lions and tigers, but also small, such as bats, which feed on insects. A chameleon also means an inconsistent person whose behaviour and opinions are changeable.

It’s been only two months since Trump became president for the second time, but his unpredictability has already kept world leaders guessing. He has threatened allies such as Canada, Ukraine, and Europe. Critics say he has showed deference to Russian President Vladimir Putin who is considered a US adversary. To show deference to others means to show respect and politeness to others by accepting their opinions or wishes. American critics of Putin describe him as Trump’s frenemy. The slang word “frenemy” means a person who pretends to be your friend but is, in fact, your enemy.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently said Trump’s changing position about defending Ukraine means Europe must do the heavy lifting to protect Ukraine, which Russia invaded in 2022. To “do the heavy lifting” means doing most of the work involved and the most difficult part of it. Starmer believes Europe must defend Ukraine to deter Russia from invading other European countries as well.

美國總統唐納德．特朗普就像變色龍（chameleon），他天天都在變。那就意味着，他的對手和盟友都必須猜度他下一步是甚麼。A chameleon是一種行走緩慢的蜥蜴，會變色配合周遭環境，以至牠不會被看見。這就能保護變色龍（chameleons）避開predators。A predator就是會獵食其他動物的動物。捕食性動物（predators）可以有體形大如獅子老虎的，但也有體形小的，例如蝙蝠，牠們以昆蟲為食。A chameleon也解作一個反覆無常，行為和意見常常改變的人。

特朗普第二次做總統不過兩個月，但他的善變已令世界領袖不斷猜度。他曾威脅盟國如加拿大、烏克蘭和歐洲。他的批評者說，他曾向俄羅斯總統弗拉基米爾．普京，就是被視為美國敵人的，showed deference—to show deference to others是指遵從他人的意見或意願，以表達尊重和禮貌。美國批評普京的人，形容他為特朗普的frenemy—俚語。frenemy是指一個人假裝是你的朋友，但其實，是你的敵人。

英國首相施紀賢最近說，特朗普在保衛烏克蘭的立場上不斷改變，意味着歐洲必須do the heavy lifting去保護在2022年被俄羅斯入侵的烏克蘭。To do the heavy lifting是指去做工作中最主要、繁重和最困難的部分。施紀賢相信，歐洲必須守衛烏克蘭，以威懾俄羅斯不能入侵其他歐洲國家。

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