2016年7月28日 星期四

feckless wuss, predestination, tram

英文很複雜。此則"新聞"中的"wuss" ,是20世紀70年代的俗語。
21世紀初,我在元智大學的一場演講,提到
"身不由己,動必循規,只許作有軌電車,欲求為公共汽車而不可得。( An engine that moves/ In predestinate grooves,/ I'm not even a bus, I am a tram. )(《管錐篇》第930頁 )"
當時查原詩,有一行 "I must choose between better and wuss"
當時沒查此wuss。
今天想/查,這wuss (M19--19世紀中葉) 是(=)worse



The president is far from the feckless wuss portrayed by his critics. But neither is he a master of grand strategy


身不由己,動必循規,只許作有軌電車,欲求為公共汽車而不可得。An engine that moves/ In predestinate grooves,/ I'm not even a bus, I am a tram. )(《管錐篇》第930頁
There was a young man who said, "Damn.
I begin to perceive that I am
A creature that moves
In determinate grooves.
I'm not even a bus, I am a tram."
To this there is a reply:
There was an old man who said, "Cuss.
I must choose between better and wuss.
By ruling of Fate,
I must keep myself straight.
I'm not even a tram; I'm a bus.



Predestination


There once was a man who said "Damn!
It is borne in upon me I am
An engine that moves
In predestinate grooves;
I'm not even a bus, I'm a tram."
--Maurice E. Hare (1886-1967)
There is a somewhat better variation of the above, also attributed to Maurice E. Hare, and given the date 1905:
There was a young man who said "Damn!
I perceive with regret that I am
But a creature that moves
In predestinate grooves
I'm not even a bus, I'm a tram."
And someone wrote a nice reply:
"Young man you should stay your complaint,
For the grooves that you call a constraint
Are there to contrive
That you learn to survive
Trams arrive, buses may or they mayn't."
--Unknown
(Thanks to Dr. Karl Wuensch for bringing the second version of the Hare limerick to my attention, and also the response limerick.)
蠔卡勿丟棄 退卡可取回三鎊
2009-04-25 05:42:00

(本報訊)倫敦交通局TFL的資料顯示,每年有大約100萬張蠔卡被丟棄,對倫敦環境造成污染,同時也對交通局的行政成本造成了浪 費。而造成蠔卡浪費的主體人群,是購買倫敦交通季票的乘客。 據統計,迄今為止TFL共向70萬名使用「旅行通票(travelcard)」的旅客,以及30萬名使用「公共汽車及有軌電車通票(Bus & Tram Pass)的乘客,發放了700萬張蠔卡。 在那些附有7日旅行通票或公共汽車通票的新發放的蠔卡中,有三分之一在使用一周後被丟棄,另有一半以上會在5周內被丟棄。TFL的票務總監Shashi Verma表示:「每年有超過100萬張蠔卡被浪費或丟失,這些廢棄的塑料對環境造成巨大污染,同時也令售票處等候購買新卡的隊伍變得更長。」 為了鼓勵蠔卡使用者保管好蠔卡和減少浪費,TFL對購買新卡的乘客收取3鎊押金。Verma表示:「所有購買新卡的乘客,都必須支付3鎊的押金,這在返回 蠔卡時可退還。這樣做的目的是為了減少每年被浪費的蠔卡數量,以及減少大約300萬鎊的行政成本,用於更好地提高倫敦的交通服務質量。」 儘管如此,那些已經在TFL網站上登記過蠔卡信息的使用者,以及一些帶有特殊優惠的蠔卡,如附照片的學生卡或自有通票(Freedom Pass)等,如果發生蠔卡被盜或者丟失等情況,則無需在申請新卡時支付押金。  另外,從 今年5月17日開始,所有購買新倫敦交通蠔卡(Oyster Card)者須繳納3鎊押金,該押金在退還蠔卡時可返還。






feckless 

Pronunciation: /ˈfɛkləs/ 




ADJECTIVE

Lacking initiative or strength of character; irresponsible:her feckless younger brother



I must choose between better and wuss
wuss (M19) = worse 



wuss 

Pronunciation: /wʊs/ 

informal


NOUN

weak or ineffectual person (often used as a general term of abuse):we are not just a group of shallow wusseswhat a snivelling wuss!

VERB

[NO OBJECT] (wuss out)
Fail to do or complete something as a result of fear or lack of confidence:she’ll probably wuss out because she fears my mighty bowling prowess



Derivatives




wussy

NOUN (plural wussies) & ADJECTIVE

pre・des・ti・nate



━━ vt. (神が)運命を定める, 予定する.
━━ a. 予定された, 宿命の.
pre・des・ti・na・tion ━━ n. 予定; 宿命; 【神学】(運命)予定説.

沒有留言: