又中又英｜A roller coaster ride

It’s been a roller coaster ride in American politics since I returned to the US in mid-June. I knew it would be exciting for me as a journalist just months before the presidential election. But I never imagined it would become such a roller coaster ride. I covered presidential elections when I lived in Washington DC during the 1990s. They were exciting years but not like the political roller coaster ride the US is now experiencing. I pinched myself when a TV news flash said President Joe Biden had just announced he would not seek reelection. A roller coaster ride used this way means sudden and extreme changes in a short period of time.

If you say you had to pinch yourself, it means you cannot believe what you are seeing or hearing. The roller coaster ride began June 27 when Biden shocked Americans by being confused, unfocused, and unable to finish sentences during his televised reelection debate with former President Donald Trump. Many Democrats had pressured him to pass the torch after the debate. To pass the torch means to transfer your position to someone else. Many Americans were shocked again four days later when the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that former and current presidents cannot be criminally charged for official acts while in office.

The ruling will help Trump overcome criminal charges against him. Americans were shocked yet again 12 days later when a 20-year-old man with a rifle tried to assassinate Trump. The latest shock came eight days later when Biden announced he would stand down. He endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris but a final decision will be made next month at the Democratic Party convention.

自从我于六月中回到美国以来，美国的政治就如同过山车旅程一样起起跌跌（a roller coaster ride）。距离总统大选仅几个月，我早已知道这对我这个新闻工作者而言会是非常刺激。但我怎也未想过，它会波动得如过山车一般（a roller coaster ride）。一九九零年代我住华盛顿特区的时候，就采访报道过总统选举。那个年头也是很刺激的，却还不如美国现正经历的政治过山车旅程（a roller coaster ride）。当电视新闻快讯说总统祖‧拜登宣布退出竞选连任时，我不得不捏一下自己（pinched myself）。A roller coaster ride在这里是解作在短时间内突然和极端的变化和波动。

若你说你要 pinch yourself，意即你对所看到或听到的东西难以置信。这场惊险的过山车旅程（roller coaster ride）于六月二十七日开始，当日拜登与前总统唐纳德‧特朗普进行总统选举的电视辩论期间，拜登看来很困惑、茫然、不能好好完成句子，大大震惊了美国人。辩论后已有许多民主党人向他施压，要他 pass the torch——to pass the torch即是交棒，将你的位置转交给另一个人。四天后，最高法院以六比三裁定，前任和现任总统不能为其任内的官方行为受到刑事起诉，亦令许多美国人震惊不已。

这个裁决有助特朗普克服那些针对他的刑事检控。十二天后，一个二十岁的男人以步枪尝试暗杀特朗普，又再令美国人震惊。最后一波震惊于八天后来临，就是拜登宣布他会退选。他支持副总统贺锦丽出选，但仍要待下个月民主党代表大会才能有最终的提名决定。

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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻