又中又英｜To shake in your boots

To shake in your boots

What do you fear most? Not everyone is afraid of the same thing. Different people have different fears. I recently watched a TV show which said people fear public speaking the most. My Google search produced many reputable surveys that confirmed people fear public speaking the most. The fear of public speaking is called glossophobia. It is difficult for me to understand why people have glossophobia. As a long-time journalist, I have given many public speeches and done numerous live TV and radio shows. I admit I start off a little nervous when I speak to a packed audience, but I don’t shake in my boots.

To shake in your boots means you are very scared. People who fear public speaking say they are afraid those in the audience will boo (jeer) or throw things at them. Surprisingly, death or the death of a loved one is not the biggest human fear although it is one of the biggest. That’s probably because everyone knows the only certainty in life is death. Other studies have shown people fear failure the most. Surveys found that people who fear failure are afraid of trying anything new or risky. They remain in their comfort zone and can’t be successful.
To be in a comfort zone means to be in a situation or a place which makes people feel safe, comfortable, and in control. People who need to do things outside their comfort zone will feel nervous and afraid. I feared leaving my comfort zone when I left Hong Kong to work in Washington DC and London, but I overcame my fear because I wanted to be a successful journalist.

你最害怕的是甚麼？並不是人人都害怕同一樣事物，不同的人有不同的恐懼。我最近看了一個電視節目，說人最害怕公開演說。我的谷歌搜尋發現，許多聲譽良好的調查也證實，人們最害怕公開演說。這叫作公開發言恐懼症：glossophobia。我自己則難明白為何人們會有公開發言恐懼症（glossophobia）。多年來作為新聞工作者，我作過多次公開演說，也做了無數的電視和電台節目。我承認，要對着滿堂的觀眾說話，一開始會有少許緊張，但我不會 shake in my boots。
 

To shake in your boots即你很驚怕，嚇得兩腳直發抖。那些害怕公開發言的人說，他們害怕觀眾席中會有人發出噓聲嘰笑（boo），又或向他們擲物件。出乎意外地，死亡或最愛的人離世，並非人類最大的恐懼，雖然它也是最大恐懼之一。或許因為人人都知道，生命唯一必然的就是死亡。另一些研究則顯示，人們最害怕失敗。研究發現，害怕失敗的人，是害怕嘗試新事物，或有風險的事。他們待在 comfort zone裏，不能成功。
To be in a comfort zone是指在安舒區中，一個令人感到安全、舒適、一切盡在掌控之內的處境或地方。人們若要離開安舒區（comfort zone）去做事，會感到緊張和害怕。當我離開香港，去華盛頓特區和倫敦工作的時候，我也害怕離開我的安舒區（comfort zone），但我戰勝了恐懼，因為我希望成為一個成功的新聞工作者。

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Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻