Michael Chugani 褚簡寧 - ingrained in your mind｜又中又英

There are certain things some people will remember forever. Many older Americans will never forget November 22, 1963, the day President John Kennedy was assassinated. Older Americans will always remember July 20, 1969, when an American became the first human to walk on the moon. September 11, 2001 will always be ingrained in my mind because terrorists crashed planes into New York’s World Trade Center. I was living in Seattle at the time. September 8, 2022 will be ingrained in my mind. That’s when Queen Elizabeth II died. I was in Washington DC when I heard the news.
I am not a royalist, but I admired the Queen’s longevity. She was special to me because I was born in colonial Hong Kong. Even in her old age, the Queen did the duties required of a Queen. If something is ingrained in your mind, it means it is deeply rooted in your mind. A royalist is a person who supports a king or queen or who believes a king or queen should rule a country. The word “longevity” means a long life.
Queen Elizabeth II was 96 years old when she died. She did not rule the country because Britain is a democracy. She was loved but elected rulers ruled the country. Even though I am not a royalist I enjoyed the Netflix series Harry and Meghan about the Queen’s grandson Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle. When a reporter asked Prince Harry what his late mother Diana would have thought of Meghan, he replied she would consider them as thick as thieves. The expression “as thick as thieves” means very close friends who share secrets.
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有些事，有些人會永遠都記得。許多老一輩的美國人永遠都不會忘記一九六三年十一月二十二日，就是總統約翰甘迺廸遇刺身亡的那天。老一輩的美國人永遠都會記得一九六九年七月二十日，一個美國人成為第一個在月球上行走的人。二○○一年九月十一日也會深深烙印（ingrained）在我腦海中，因為恐怖份子把客機撞向了紐約的世貿中心。當時我在西雅圖居住。二○二二年九月八日也會深印（ingrained）在我腦海中，英女皇伊利沙伯二世就在當天逝世。我聽到這個死訊的時候，身處華盛頓特區。

我並不是一個保皇派（royalist），但我欽佩英女皇長壽（longevity）。她對我來說別具意義，因為我生於殖民時代的香港。即使在年紀老邁的時日，英女皇仍然履行女皇的職務。若某事是 ingrained in your mind，意即它在你腦海中根深蒂固。A royalist是個擁護國王或女皇的保皇派，又或認為一個國家應由國王或女皇治理的君國主義者。Longevity即指長壽。

英女皇伊利沙伯二世逝世時為九十六歲。她並沒有管治國家，因為英國是個民主國家。她備受愛戴，但國家是由民眾選出的統治者所管治。即使我並非保皇派（royalist），但我享受看Netflix的影集《哈利王子與梅根》，就是關於英女皇的孫哈利王子與他的妻子梅根‧馬克爾的紀錄片。當一名記者問哈利王子，他已故的母親會怎樣看待梅根時，他回答說，她們將會 as thick as thieves——習語“as thick as thieves”是指親密無間、互相分享秘密的閨中好友。
中譯：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧