又中又英｜Spring is in the air

Spring is in the air. The coronavirus is under control with vaccines. That\'s why, with spring in the air, many people are being bitten by the travel bug, including me. If spring is in the air, it means you feel spring is coming. If love is in the air, it means you feel love is everywhere, like on Valentine\'s Day. A bug is an American slang for insect. To be bitten by a travel bug doesn\'t mean you have been bitten by an insect. It means you have a strong desire to travel. Like me, many people want to travel now that borders have reopened.
I\'ve enjoyed my five months in Taiwan. The people have a shared culture and ethnicity with mainland China and Hong Kong, but they behave differently in many ways. Taipei has many old buildings, but the main streets have modern skyscrapers and shopping malls. The side streets have many small food stalls that offer Japanese, Korean, and local dishes. I am very particular about what I eat. I had dinner with friends in a small restaurant where the chef suggested pig\'s lung soup! I was disgusted but my friends enjoyed it. At another dinner I thought a friend had ordered ordinary steamed tofu to share.
I didn\'t realize she had ordered stinky (smelly) tofu with a foul-smelling gravy. I liked fried stinky tofu during my childhood in Hong Kong but the stinky tofu with gravy my friend ordered smelled so foul (stinky) I had to cover my nose. I will leave Taiwan soon for Hong Kong, my birthplace. Visiting my birthplace after two years will make me feel very emotional.

春天要来了（spring is in the air）。有了疫苗，新冠病毒现已受控，因此，当春意盎然（spring is in the air）之时，许多人包括我，想去旅行的心都会蠢蠢欲动，像被蚁咬一般（bitten by the travel bug）。若 spring is in the air，意即你感到空气中弥漫着春天的气息；若 love is in the air，即你感到爱意无处不在，例如在情人节当天。A bug是美式俚语，解昆虫；to be bitten by a travel bug不是说你真的给一只昆虫咬到了，它的意思是你有强烈的欲望去旅行。现在许多国家已重开边境，许多人也跟我一样，很想去旅行。
我享受在台湾的这五个月。这里的人跟中国内地和香港有着共同的文化和种族，但他们在许多方面的行为举止亦很不一样。台北有许多旧楼宇，但大街上都有现代摩天大楼和商场。旁街与巷弄则有许多细小的食档，提供日式、韩式和本地的菜肴。我非常讲究自己在吃甚么东东。曾经有次跟朋友们在一间小餐厅里共进晚餐，那位厨师居然提议点猪肺汤！我感到恶心，但我的朋友们倒喝得津津有味。在另一次的晚膳中，我以为我一个朋友点了一碟普通的蒸豆腐给大家分着吃。
我却不知道，她点的是臭（stinky）豆腐，伴着难闻（foul-smelling）的肉汁。我儿时在香港很喜欢臭（stinky）豆腐，但朋友点的那碟肉汁臭（stinky）豆腐真的臭气熏天（foul ，即stinky），令我不得不掩着口鼻。我很快便会离开台湾回到香港，我出生的地方。在经过两年后重游我出生的地方，将会令我情绪激动。

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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻