又中又英｜At the stroke of midnight

At the stroke of midnight

At the stroke of midnight on December 31 the world finally booted out 2022. Many people will remember 2022 as a turbulent year. It was filled with sad, tragic, and worrisome events. But there were also eye-popping and hopeful moments. The expression “at the stroke of midnight” means exactly at midnight. To boot out something or someone means to force that person or something to leave. The world booted out 2022 to make way for 2023. If something is eye-popping it means it is very exciting or surprising.
Much of the world will remember 2022 as the year Russia invaded Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin thought he would make short work of the invasion. To make short work of something means to deal with it quickly, but his military has still failed to win the war almost a year after the invasion. It is tragic that so many soldiers have died on both sides. Many people will sadly remember 2022 as the year Queen Elizabeth II and Brazil football superstar Pele died. The shocking assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was also a sad 2022 event.
High inflation and a possible global recession were worrying events in 2022. They continue to cause worry. One of the most eye-popping 2022 events was Argentina football superstar Lionel Messi leading his country to win the World Cup. Also eye-popping was the US space agency NASA’s successful trial spacecraft launch which will return Americans to the moon. Locally, John Lee Ka-chiu became the new chief executive and Hong Kong opened to the world again after three years of Covid restrictions. China’s eye-popping opening-up brings new hope to the economy.
当十二月三十一日午夜十二时钟声响起之际（at the stroke of midnight），世界终于赶走了（booted out）二零二二年。许多人想起二零二二年，会是动荡的一年，充满着忧伤、悲惨与令人担忧的事件；但它亦有令人惊讶（eye-popping）与充满希望的时刻。习语“at the stroke of midnight”就是凌晨零时正。To boot out something or someone就是驱逐某人或迫使某事物离去。世界踢走了（booted out）二零二二年，让路给二零二三年。若某事是 eye-popping，意即它是令人振奋或非常意外的。
世界许多人都会记得二零二二年为俄罗斯入侵乌克兰之年。俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔‧普京以为他能迅速完成（make short work of）侵略行动。To make short work of something意即迅速解决某事，但在入侵近一年以后，他的军队仍然未能在战争中获胜。双方阵营有那么多的士兵阵亡，实在非常悲惨。许多人也会遗憾地记得二零二二年是英女皇伊利沙伯二世以及巴西足球巨星比利逝世之年。而日本前首相安倍晋三遇刺身亡，令人相当震惊，亦是二零二二年一件悲伤的事件。
高通胀及潜在的全球经济衰退，则是二零二二年令人忧虑的事件，它们持续令人担忧。而其中一件最惊奇（eye-popping）的事件，则数阿根廷足球巨星利安奴‧美斯带领他的国家队赢得世界杯。同样令人惊奇（eye-popping）的是美国太空总署成功试射太空船，它将会运载美国人重返月球。香港本地方面，李家超就任新一届行政长官，而经过三年的防疫管制措施以后，香港将会重新对世界开放。中国令人瞠目的（eye-popping）开放，亦将会为经济带来新希望。

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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻