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.

人需要幫助時，通常會找家人，另一些人則會找朋友或鄰居。自我上月遊港後回美國以來，我便在幾個美國城市的親人家中寄居。美國有一件事令我特別難忘（sticks in my mind），就是鄰舍之間的友誼。若某事物 sticks in your mind，意即它銘刻於你腦海中，讓你特別記得。住在房子附近的人總願意互相幫忙。我現在居於亞特蘭大我姪女的家中。她有一隻小狗，每當行雷牠便會 freaks out。

To freak out意即因為憤怒、恐懼、喜悅或濫藥，而情緒失控或行為異常。我姪女的狗很害怕行雷的聲音，每遇暴風雨便會發飆（freaks out）。有幾次在暴風雨期間，我姪女在樓上的房間中，牠便撲到我身上。我從來沒有養過狗，不知道要怎樣照顧牠們。幸好，我姪女有些非常樂於助人的鄰舍（accommodating neighbours）。每當她和她的先生外出參與社交活動，她便會請求他們代為照顧小狗。

An accommodating neighbour就是願意和樂意幫忙的鄰居。有一次行雷，剛好我姪女和她先生外出了，狗隻又發飆（freaked out），我便打電話給姪女。她打電話找了鄰居來，帶了狗隻到自己的家中。在我自身的經驗中，香港並沒有這種與人方便、樂於助人的鄰居（accommodating neighbours），可能因為人人都住在狹小的高樓大廈單位吧。不過，我上年住在我弟弟於曼哈頓高樓大廈的家中時，鄰居之間仍然會互相問好，不像香港那般。

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Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻