Michael Chugani 褚簡寧 - err on the side of caution｜又中又英

Cruise ships were like prisons when the coronavirus infected passengers at the height of the pandemic. The Diamond Princess was the first of over 40 cruise ships with infected passengers. It was quarantined at Yokohama for a month in February 2020. Hundreds were infected and nine died. Many cruise ships with infected passengers were stranded on the high seas when ports refused entry. It made me shudder to think of passengers trapped on the ships for so long. The expression “at the height of” means the most extreme or advanced point of something.

The high seas are seas and oceans beyond national borders. If you are stranded, it means you are unable to go anywhere. If a ship is stranded on the high seas, it means it is trapped at sea. If something makes you shudder it means it makes you shake just thinking about it. Cruises are bouncing back after three years of the pandemic. A cruise company is offering a cruise so unusual it immediately caught my attention. It is offering a three-year around-the-world cruise that will visit all seven continents, go to 135 countries, and stop at 375 ports. The cheapest room costs US$30,000 per person per year. Balcony suites cost US$110,000 per person per year.

The price includes everything, such as medical visits, meals, alcohol at dinner, and Wi-Fi. You can live on a ship for US$30,000 a year without worrying about expenses such as rent and daily necessities. I will err on the side of caution when considering cruises even though the pandemic has eased. To err on the side of caution means to be very careful about taking risks.
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在世紀大疫症肆虐最高峰（at the height of）時期，當有乘客感染到新冠肺炎病毒，郵輪就如囚牢一般。鑽石公主號是第1艘發現有乘客染病的郵輪，及後有超過40艘郵輪有乘客染疫。它在2020年2月於橫濱港隔離檢疫，有數以百計的乘客染疫，9人病逝。因為港口拒絕染疫郵輪駛入，許多載有染病乘客的郵輪都要在公海滯留（stranded on the high seas）。當想到乘客被困於郵輪上這麼久，便令我不寒而慄（make me shudder）。習語「at the height of」是指某事物的頂點或巔峰。

The high seas是各國境外的公海。若你是stranded，意即你滯留某處，哪兒都去不了。若一艘郵輪是stranded on the high seas，意即它在海上滯留。若某事makes you shudder，意即你單單想到它就顫抖了。經過3年世紀疫情之後，郵輪重振旗鼓回來了。一間郵輪公司推出的郵輪之旅非比尋常，立馬吸引我的注意。它的郵輪會用3年環遊世界，遊歷7大洲、135個國家，及於375個港口停泊。最便宜的一間房，每人要3萬美元1年。陽台套房則要每人11萬美元1年。

價格包含所有費用，包括看醫生、餐飲、晚膳的酒品，以及Wi-Fi。用3萬美元1年你就可以在船上生活而毋須擔心租金及日常需用等開支。雖然世紀疫情已緩解，但考慮搭郵輪與否我仍然會err on the side of caution—to err on the side of caution的意思是寧願過於謹慎也不想犯險。
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Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻