Happy 8th Birthday 8岁生日快乐

Singapore

新加坡

North-South-Dong-Xi is EIGHT years old.

Wonder if readers have noticed that there are advertisements on the page of North-South-Dong-Xi?

North-South-Dong-Xi can start to earn some manuscript fee from these advertisements.

North-South-Dong-Xi has its own Facebook page, hoping to bring readers a new experience.

Reader can go to Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/northsouth.dongxi) and add it.

Today happens to be the third day of Chinese New Year, North-South-Dong-Xi wishes all readers "Happy Niu Year".

Must repeat this important phrase, hope that North-South-Dong-Xi has years to keep everyone company.

~*Happy 8th Birthday North-South-Dong-Xi*~

《North-South-东-西》八岁了！

不知读者们可有发现《North-South-东-西》的页面有广告了？

《North-South-东-西》开始能从这些广告赚点稿费喽。

《North-South-东-西》有了自己的脸书页面，希望能给读者带来新体验。

读者可以去脸书（https://www.facebook.com/northsouth.dongxi）加它。

今天恰逢农历新年初三，《North-South-东-西》在这祝贺大家“牛年快乐：身体牛、工作牛、财运牛、爱情牛、日子一天更比一天牛、牛年你最牛！

必须重复这句重要的话，希望在未来的时间里《North-South-东-西》可以一直陪伴大家。

～＊《North-South-东-西》8岁生日快乐＊～

Happy Niu Year 黑皮牛爷

Singapore - Chinatown

新加坡 — 牛车水

The Year of Rat passed by inexplicably under the shroud of the COVID-19.

鼠年在一场冠病疫情的笼罩下就这样莫名其妙的过去了。

Now that the vaccine is available, hope that life can return to normal before the pandemic soon.

现在已经有了疫苗，希望很快地大家又能回到疫情前的如常生活。

Due to the pandemic, this year's Chinese New Year is relatively quiet.

因疫情的关系，今年的农历年相对的比以往的来得冷清。

Chinese Singaporeans have also reduced their way of celebrating Chinese New Year.

新加坡的华人也缩小了农历年的庆祝方式。

The government allows each family to receive only two families a day for Chinese New Year greetings, with a maximum of eight people each time.

政府允许每户人家每天只能接待2户人家来拜年，每次最多八个人。

For large families, there is no way to have reunion dinner together.

对于大家庭来说团年饭也没办法一起吃。

Refrain from shouting of blessing words when lao yusheng.

在捞鱼生时不能大声喊祝福语。

Hope that the Year of Ox will be bullish.

寄望牛年能牛气冲天。

P/S: Niu (ox in Chinese), lao (scoop up) yusheng (raw fish) is a popular Chinese New Year cold dish which symbolised prosperity.

注：黑皮（英语音译）快乐之意，牛爷（英语音译）新年之意。

Relationship 关系

Indo-European kinship was originally as complicated as Chinese, but it was gradually simplified and the appellation in modern English is relatively simple.

印欧语的亲属关系原本与汉语一样十分复杂，但后来逐渐简化，现代英语中的称呼较为简单。

In modern English, aunt and uncle are collectively referred to female and male relatives.

在现代英语中，阿姨和叔叔分别统称其中的女性和男性亲戚。

The appellation in Chinese is based on the patrilineal society, where the "tang" is family member of the same surname, which is one's own family; while the "biao" is a relative of a different surname, who is outsider.

汉语称呼是基于父系社会，这里头“堂”者是同姓家属，是自家人；而“表”者则是异姓亲属，是外面人。

Modern English can also express this complex relationship, that is to add "paternal" or "maternal" to show which side this relative belongs to.

现代英语也同样可以表达这复杂的亲戚关系，那就是加注“父”或“母”以显示这亲戚属于哪一方。

祖宗十八代称呼

自己之父：父亲

父亲之父：祖父

祖父之父：曾祖

曾祖之父：高祖

高祖之父：天祖

天祖之父：烈祖

列祖之父：太祖

太祖之父：远祖

远祖之父：鼻祖

父亲之子：儿子

儿子之子：孙子

孙子之子：曾孙

曾孙之子：玄孙

玄孙之子：来孙

来孙之子：坤孙

坤孙之子：仍孙

仍孙之子：云孙

云孙之子：耳孙

家族长辈称呼

父亲的爸爸、妈妈：祖父、祖母

父亲的哥哥、嫂嫂：伯伯、伯母

父亲的弟弟、弟媳：叔叔、婶婶

父亲的姐姐 / 妹妹、姐夫 / 妹夫：姑姑、姑丈

同族与父同辈：堂伯、堂伯母、堂叔、堂婶、堂姑、堂姑丈

同姓与父同辈：宗伯、宗伯母、宗叔、宗婶、宗姑、宗姑丈

母亲的爸爸、妈妈：外公、外婆

母亲的哥哥 / 弟弟、嫂嫂 / 弟媳：舅舅、舅妈

母亲的姐姐 / 妹妹、姐夫 / 妹夫：姨妈、姨丈

丈夫的父母：公公、婆婆

妻子的父母：岳父、岳母

同辈称呼

伯父 / 叔叔的儿女：堂兄弟姐妹

姑姑 / 舅舅 / 姨妈的儿女：表兄弟姐妹

小辈称呼

兄弟的儿女：侄儿、侄女

姐妹的儿女：外甥男、外甥女

Coins 硬币

Singapore

新加坡

Ever thought how many coins can be used for payment at any one time in Singapore?

有没有想过在新加坡一次可以用多少枚硬币付款？

Under the Currency Act (Cap. 69), currency notes and coins issued by Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) are legal tender in Singapore.

根据《货币法》（第69章），新加坡金融管理局（MAS）发行的纸币和硬币在新加坡为法定货币。

As legal tender, they are recognised by law to be valid means for payment.

作为法定货币，它们在法律上是被认可并有效的付款方式。

All coin denominations can be used by a customer to make payment but up to a limit of 20 coins per denomination for each transaction.

客户可以使用任何面额硬币进行付款，但每次交易最多只能用每种面额20枚硬币。

These are known as legal tender limits.

这被称为法定货币限额。

The rationale for having them is to minimise the payee's inconvenience and cost in handling large quantities of low denomination currency, as well as prevent acts of mischief.

设置它们的理由是为了最大程度地减少收款人在处理大量低面额货币时的不便和成本，并防止恶作剧。

A payee is obliged to accept payment up to these limits but may reject payments exceeding these limits.

收款人有义务接受不超过这些限制的付款，但可以拒绝超过这些限额的付款。

350ml - 450ml

Singapore - Health Sciences Authority (HSA)

新加坡 — 卫生科学局

The average adult has four to five litres of blood.

成年人平均有四至五升血液。

During a blood donation, only 10% of the total volume of blood in the body is being drawn.

在捐血时，仅抽取人体总血液量的百分之十。

That is about 350 to 450 ml of blood.

大约是350至450毫升的血液。

The donated plasma will be replenished by the body itself within a few days.

所捐献的血浆将于几天内被身体自行补给。

In 2020, 14 units of blood is needed hourly in Singapore.

在2020年，新加坡每小时需要14单位的血液。

That is 325 units of blood per day or 118,750 units of blood a year.

即每天325单位的血液或每年118,750单位的血液。 

HSA maintains 6 days stock plies of blood supply to ensure adequate blood supply during emergency situation.

卫生科学局维持6天的血液储备，以确保在紧急情况下有足够的血液供应。

2020 恶灵饿零

In another few more hours, we will say "Never see you again 2020"!

再过几小时，我们就要跟2020说声“永远不见”了！

When asked, how did you spend your 2020, most people would be at a loss.

当被问及你如何度过2020年时，大概很多人会一头雾水吧！

2020 itself is a cursed year.

2020年本身就是一个被诅咒的一年。

Why?

为什么？

When 2020 being read in Chinese, it sounded like "evil, spirit, starve, zero".

2020念成中文时不就是“恶灵饿零”吗！

The evil spirit does not need me to say much, everyone knows that it refers to COVID-19.

这恶灵不用我多说大家都心知肚明指的就是“新冠肺炎19”。

Due to the Circuit Breaker, all industries are in depression, some are starved to death while others are struggling to survive.

而因为阻断措施，百业萧条；很多行业都饿到死去活来，难以经营。

Singapore's economy has never been seen to be below zero.

新加坡经济前所未见的处在零以下。

Luckily the Singapore government has come out with a lot of policies to help the citizens and businesses tide over the epidemic.

幸运的是，新加坡政府出台了许多政策，以帮助国民与企业度过疫情。

Singapore government has so far distributed millions of reusable masks to citizens for free.

新加坡政府至今已免费向国民派发了数以百万计的可重复使用的口罩。

On December 30, Singapore's national COVID-19 vaccination programme kicked off.

新加坡在12月30日起正式启动冠病疫苗接种工作。

This marks an important milestone in Singapore's fight against COVID-19.

这标志着新加坡对抗冠病的重要旅程碑。

The vaccination could help accelerate the resumption of economic as well as other community activities.

接种疫苗可以帮助加快经济活动以及其他社区活动的恢复。

It also pave the way for the reopening of more borders.

这也为重新开放更多边界铺平了道路。

Let's hope that after the 2020 plague year is gone, everyone can usher in a healthy and prosperous 2021.

希望在送走了2020这瘟疫年后，大家能迎来一个健康繁荣的2021年。

Hawker Centre 小贩中心

Singapore

新加坡

At 10.10pm on December 16, 2020, Singapore's hawker culture has been officially added to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

2020年12月16日晚上10时10分联合国教科文组织正式把新加坡小贩文化列入非物质文化遗产代表名录中。

It is also Singapore's second entry to any UNESCO list, with the first in 2015 when the Singapore Botanic Gardens was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

这也是新加坡继植物园2015年成功列入联合国教科文组织的世界文化遗产名录后，第二次申遗成功。

Effort to move street hawkers into hawker centre was launched in 1972.

1972年启动了将街头小贩转移到小贩中心的工作。

It was not that after the hawker centre was built, hawkers would move in.

这可不是建成了小贩中心后，小贩就会搬进来。

Not all street hawkers wanted to be licensed and moved into hawker centre.

并非所有街头小贩都希望得到执照并迁入小贩中心。

A total of 108 hawker centres were built between 1971 and 1986.

1971年至1986年间，总共建成了108座小贩中心。

The mission to house all street hawkers in hawker centres were finally accomplished.

将所有街头小贩安置在小贩中心的任务终于完成。

No more hawker centre was built after 1986.

1986年以后不再建造小贩中心。

The government announced in 2011 to build 10 new hawker centres.

政府于2011年宣布再建造10座新的小贩中心。