"英"熊乐乐窝

毛孟靜專欄﹕空心老倌與「稻草人

2012-02-10T14:37:00.000+08:00

空心老倌，是金玉其外、外強中乾的人，裏頭「冇料」，英文最淺白的講法，或就是a person of no substance。

如果要強調「空心」一筆，英文亦可以用empty、hollow等字襯一襯︰

That is a charming but intellectually hollow person. 那是個討人喜歡但胸無點墨的人。

若說的空心，其實是指這個人扮富貴卻沒有錢，可說︰

He may look prosperous but he's an empty wallet. 他看來富貴，但錢袋空空如也。

空心老倌，一般都是騙子。要直截了當表達欺詐成分，可講︰

He is a cheat. 他是個作弊者。

He is a fraud. 他是個騙子。

He is a fake. 他是個冒牌貨。

我們罵人空心「冇料」之餘，在知識層面上亦會笑人「草包」，指這個人的肚子裏就是一包草。美國人一樣有叫人做「稻草人」，straw man，但這跟一般田裏要來嚇走鳥兒的稻草人（scarecrow）不一樣，也不等於我們的「草包」，最緊貼廣東話的straw man講法，是「紙板公仔」。

Straw man純粹用做門面裝飾，要來掩飾其他人，a person used as a cover for some questionable activity.

He is just the straw man. He is only here fronting the show. 他只是個「紙板公仔」。他只是整件事的門面人。

另外引伸出的意思，是去「打倒一個straw man」，有三層意義︰

1. 敵人在台上豎起個稻草人等你打，亦即是設個陷阱等你踩。

2. 你又果然自覺打勝仗——其實不過是自欺欺人，真正敵人站在旁暗地裏哈哈笑。

3. 你打得好辛苦，但到底徒勞無功，就像我們流行語說的「打咩？打空氣呀﹗ 」。

回說空心老倌，老倌一般指裝模作樣、pretentious「懶有」的（老）男人，就會令許多人霎時聯想上司、「老細」等人物。這類人，潮語是stuffed shirts，直譯「有餡」的恤衫。The order came from the stuffed shirts upstairs. 這樁命令來自上層「老細」。

於是，空心老倌亦可叫some pretentious stuffed shirt!

Game

2012-02-10T14:35:00.000+08:00

Across: 1. cafe; 3. CD; 5. snails; 8. packet; 10. NG; 11. cell.

Down: 2. fin; 4. desk; 6. ark; 7. spin; 9. ere.

改寫句子

2012-02-10T14:33:00.003+08:00

閱報時看到

"No sooner had Tina and Tim said 'I do' than the groom took his happy bride to a part of town she had never seen before."，

想問可不可以改寫成

"No sooner Tina and Tim had said 'I do' than the groom took his happy bride to a part of town that/in which she had never seen before."。

No sooner 放在句子的前面是一個倒裝句型，順序的說法應該是 "Tina and Tim had no sooner said ... "。現在倒換了過來，動詞也跟要放在不同的地方，所以才有 "No sooner had Tina and Tim said ..." 的倒裝字序。

句子的第二部分 "the groom took his happy bride to a part of town she had never seen before"， town 和 she 中間好像缺了一個關係代名詞，Dean 提出的疑問很有道理，但which 或者 that 作為關係代名詞時常常會被省略，這句子因此是可以成立的。

至於是否可以代入 in which，這恐怕有點問題。因為這句子若用較直接的方法寫出來應是 "she had never seen that part of the town before"。句子裏面並沒有 in 這個字，因為 see 是及物動詞，加上賓語時不需加上前置詞，即是 "she had seen in that part of the town" 並不符合文法，所以 "the groom took his happy bride to a part of town in which she had never seen before" 並不正確。

Wear、Dress之別

2012-02-09T14:55:00.000+08:00

解釋wear和dress的分別。

Wear是動詞（穿著、佩戴、掛、帶），例如︰

1）Wear eyeglasses = 戴眼鏡

2）Victor wears his hair long = Victor 留長頭髮

3）Wear a smile = 帶微笑

4）Victoria wears Julian in his heart/memory = Victoria心裏記她

Dress（動詞）解作打扮、修飾；佈置（櫥窗等）。例如︰

1）Dress a baby = 給嬰兒穿衣服

2）Be well/finely dressed = 衣著漂亮（講究）

3）Get dressed for Victor's birthday party = 為出席Victor生日宴會穿禮服

4）Victoria dresses her store window to welcome the Year of the Dragon = Victoria佈置商店櫥窗迎接龍年來臨

Dress作名詞時解作衣服、服裝、女服、童裝、禮服、盛裝。Wear作名詞時解作穿戴的東西、佩戴物和磨損。我們常有的諺語wear and tear是指機器消磨、消耗或磨損。

古德明專欄﹕這對新人，留學歐洲時相識

2012-02-08T18:23:00.002+08:00

承編輯小姐邀我再作馮婦，為本版撰文「教英文」，每星期一篇，我想，教授形式當不必和其他幾位作者統一。現在來個新嘗試﹕先撰寫一段英文對話，譯成中文，然後輔以解說。讀者從中或可學到一點英文用法。

The newly weds met while studying in Europe

這對新人留學歐洲時相識

Lorinda: Look, here's the report of Gail and Mike's wedding in the paper. It's really impressive. Two pictures, a report and a list of all the guests.

洛林達﹕看，報紙有蓋爾和邁克婚禮的報道。真有氣派。兩幅相片，一段報道，還列出所有嘉賓姓名。

Terence: Well it was the society wedding of the year as far as this town was concerned.

特倫斯﹕嗯，這是本市今年最有氣派的豪門婚禮。

Lorinda: There's a bit about you. It says: "The father of the bride, our community's leading businessman."

洛林達﹕報道有一處還提到你，說「新娘的父親執本地商界牛耳」。

Terence: I think Jim Bryden maybe wouldn't agree with that.

特倫斯﹕吉姆．布賴登未必同意。

Lorinda: Oh you are. And the photo of Gail and Mike is really good. Almost better than the official wedding photograph.

洛林達﹕啊，你是當之無愧的。蓋爾和邁克那張照片拍得真好，幾乎勝過他們正式發布的那一張。

Terence: Let me see. Oh yes, very impressive.

特倫斯﹕給我看看。不錯，的確很好看。

Lorinda: Look, the caption says: "The newly weds met while studying in Europe."

洛林達﹕看，照片有一句說明﹕「這對新人留學歐洲時相識。」

現在先談談對話裏的一句﹕It was the society wedding of the year。什麼叫society wedding？按society可指high society或所謂上流社會，用在另一名詞之前，則作形容詞，例如（1）She belongs to high society（她是富貴社會中人）。（2）He has been invited to a society party（他獲邀參加一個豪門派對）。A society wedding是「豪門婚禮」，而the society wedding of the year則是「全年最盛大的豪門婚禮」。有時，你會看到a society function、a society column等說法，那是指「富貴人家的聚會」和「（報紙上）社交消息專欄」。

請再看另一句﹕The newly weds met while studying in Europe。Newly wed也作newly-wed或newlywed，多用複數形式newlyweds，指「新婚夫婦」。假如不和newly連用，則wed只可作動詞，過去式和完成式是wed或wedded，指「結婚」或「結合」，例如﹕（1）She wed her childhood boyfriend（她和青梅竹馬的男朋友結婚）。（2）Courage and intelligence were wedded in the plan（這計劃結合了勇氣和智慧）。婚禮上，新郎給新娘送上結婚指環時，一般會說﹕With this ring, I thee wed（送上指環，與子成親）。

最後不妨談談while一字。While之後，可用一完整子句（clause），但也常用ing動詞，例如﹕While waiting (= While I waited), I read a magazine（我等候時，看了一本雜誌）。

to kill me / to have me killed

2012-02-08T18:22:00.001+08:00

Tom 向 Peter 開了一槍，但沒有打中，Peter 報案，對警員說：

1. "He tried to have me killed," says Peter.

2. "He had tried to kill me," says Peter.

3. "He had tried to have me killed," says Peter.

以上三句哪句正確？

第一句He tried to have me killed 裏的 have me killed，是指一個結果，就是要把 Peter 殺死。Tom 大可聘請殺手，不一定要親自開槍。

第二句He had tried to kill me 的意思很明確，這表示開槍的人一定是 Tom。

不過，第二句和第三句的問題在於 had tried 的時態。 述過去的事，採用 simple past 就可以，不應該用 past perfect tense。

Bad Behaviour

2012-02-07T21:55:00.002+08:00

Phrasal Verbs

fool around 四處閒逛

get up to 做（不好的事）

lock up 被囚禁

set off 惹怒

tell off 責備

"Those boys," said Mrs Green, "are always getting up to mischief. They walk up and down the lane shouting and laughing and making a great noise. They kick or throw their football against our next-door neighbour's fence too. I'm sure they do it deliberately. They know it sets the next-door neighbour's dog off. The dog thinks they are trying to get into the garden, you see. It barks and barks and barks. It doesn't stop barking until the boys go away."

"A lot of dogs bark, madam," said PC Irons wryly (冷漠地), making a note in his notebook. "And a lot of boys are noisy. But neither of those things is a criminal offence."

"That dog barks so loudly it scares my cat to death. Surely, officer, those boys should be at home doing their homework, not fooling around in the lane?"

"Perhaps they should, madam," said PC Irons, "but not doing their homework is not a criminal offence either."

"I blame their parents," said Mrs Green. "They are not bringing up the boys properly. They should have been stricter with them when they were naughty. It's better to be told off when you're young than locked up when you're older."

"True, madam," said PC Irons. "I have to tell you, though, that being a bad parent is not a criminal offence, but wasting police time is!"

==============

句子︰The Beijing professor's comments on Hong Kong people have sparked off much controversy both locally and on the mainland.

===============

1. still going strong
標題中的still going strong指「（某人身體）仍硬朗」，也可引伸指「（某人或事物）仍會成功、受歡迎、歷久不衰」等。
例︰After decades in the music industry, the singer's career is still going strong.
2. take... by storm
此語原為軍事術語，指「對…發動猛烈攻擊」，後來亦用來形容某人或事物極成功、轟動或受歡迎，幾乎風靡某地。
例︰The British band took the country by storm on their first tour.
3. back against the wall
字面意義「背靠牆壁」表示退到無路可退，比喻陷入絕境、山窮水盡，常見寫法為have one's back against the wall、with one's back against the wall，介系詞against也可替換成to。
例︰With her back against the wall, Stacy is often at her best.
4. come out swinging
這個慣用語源自拳擊運動，描述拳擊手一上場就積極揮拳搏鬥，後來用來比喻「（堅毅地）捍衛自己或信仰」，也可寫作come out fighting。
例︰The presidential hopefuls came out swinging in the debate.

Game

2012-02-03T15:57:00.002+08:00

Across: 3. market; 5. cub; 6. ugh; 8. strong.

Down: 1. amount; 2. ore; 4. engage; 7. fog.

That的省略

2012-02-03T15:56:00.003+08:00

如果 "I find it hard to understand" 和 "I find learning English interesting" 兩句都符合英語語法，那我們又如何解釋下面的句子?

I'm finding everything here is very expensive.

Kathy 在電郵也有提出自己的看法。頭兩句是按照這樣的結構：

主語 + 動詞 + 賓語 + 賓語補足語

（subjec + verb + object + object complement）

所以兩句都只有一個動詞（find）。Kathy 說得非常有道理。

至於第三句的結構，其實比較像複述句（indirect speech）。先舉一例：John 出外購物，發現東西很貴，說到： "Everything here is very expensive."

把句子寫成複述句：

John said that everything here was very expensive.

然而，複述句裏的 that 常常被省略，因此上面的句子也可以寫成：

John said everything here was very expensive.

再看 Kathy 提出的那一句 "I'm finding (that) everything here is very expensive."，只不過是把 that 省去罷了。

Phrasal Verbs

2012-02-01T14:39:00.000+08:00

Phrasal Verbs

get down to 認真開始hold back 抑止

spark off 引發

think of 想起來

Michael looked at the piece of paper in front of him. It was blank. He had been sitting at his desk for half an hour. He had not written a single word.

"What is wrong with me?" he asked himself. "What is holding me back? Why is my brain not working properly?"

Michael had to write an essay. The title was The Benefits of Hard Work. Michael knew what hard work was, but the subject did not inspire him. It did not spark off any brilliant ideas.

"I must get down to work or I won't finish in time," he said to himself. "I know. I will close my eyes. Then I will write down the first thing that comes into my head."

Michael closed his eyes. He concentrated hard. At last he felt an idea coming. He wrote it down quickly. Then he opened his eyes to see what he had written.

On the paper he had written "The harder you work, the sooner you can finish working. That is the only benefit of hard work that I can think of."

=================

句子：Many companies go against their principles despite opposing voices from the public with a view to generating greater profits.

Let (2)

2012-02-01T14:36:00.003+08:00

新年前跟大家講到 let 的用法，想起 let 的一些常用語，在這裏跟大家介紹一下。

第一個是 "let go"。這裏的 let 跟「讓事情發」生沒關係，整個詞就是放開的意思。兩個小孩在操場上糾纏在一起，老師看見，連忙把它們分開，口中還說："Let go, let go." （放開手，放開手。）

另外，現代生活緊張，不少人都去學瑜伽或者其他的鬆弛活動。躺在瑜伽席上，便聽到老師柔和的聲音："Just let go" （放鬆吧，把一切都放下），確實令人獲得片刻安寧。

第二個是常聽到的 "let it be"。這句話的意思是算吧、由得它，不要多管，讓一切自自然然的發生。早年英國流行樂隊 The Beatles 就有一首叫 Let it be 的歌曲，當時有人把它翻譯成「隨遇而安」，可謂得其神韻。

Game

2012-01-20T21:05:00.001+08:00

Across: 1. SAR; 2. jab; 4. patient; 7. plaster; 9. yes; 10. lid.

Down: 1. sip; 3. bet; 5. tea; 6 est; 7. pry; 8. rid.

﹕Let

2012-01-20T21:04:00.001+08:00

let、let's、lets 三個字有什麼不同？Let's go和lets go哪個才對？

Let主要有兩個意思，第一個是出租。

There is a room to let. 有房出租。

第二是用在祈使句裏，表示建議、請求等語氣，相當於中文裏的「讓」。例如一首十七世紀英國民歌的一句歌詞：

Come, let's be merry, let's be airy. 'Tis a folly to be sad.

這裏的let's是 let us的縮寫。Let's be merry就是讓我們快快樂樂。至於lets，應該是let的第三身單數動詞。

He lets out his home during the summer when he goes on vacation.

夏天出外度假時，他把住宅出租。

He always lets his dog wander in the street.

他總是讓狗周街亂跑。

至於let's go和lets go哪個對，當然是前者了。

毛孟靜專欄﹕「撻皮」？港大生的tappy

2012-01-20T21:03:00.003+08:00

最近和一群港大學生歡聚，見他們有一款為同學製的類似「請勿騷擾」的門房掛紙牌，上印「搏盡」，加粵音 "bok jun"，再添解釋︰

（一）做事態度全力以赴，毫無保留

（英）endeavour（同學說，揀這個字，因為這是他們一本刊物的名稱。）

例︰今個sem（學期，semester的口語簡稱）一定要搏盡呀﹗

紙牌另有旋轉字句可供選擇，包括︰「歡迎內進」、「外出」、「勿擾」、「撻皮中」。

撻皮？主事的學生說，是「搏盡」的相反詞，基本上解hea，也有點「吊吊揈」的味道，源自英文的tappy。

Tappy？不識這個字。及後去問兩個出身劍橋與牛津的英國人，答案均是「聞所未聞」。於是去google一下，tappy果然可解作 "yo!"（打招呼「唏﹗」一類的發音）及 "cool!"（任何正面、可喜、「好﹗」的意思）。在網上提起這個字，即有港大舊生回應說，「撻皮」令他懷舊。在網上也看到有學生在港大的圖書館，自行劃出tappy zone。Zone，地帶。

如此看來，「撻皮」是港大生獨有的校園用字、校園文化。那英文到底有沒有tappy？有，但應該係「潮」字，像有tappy hour，亦有新的電腦軟件叫 tappy memories。

一般人，包括我，乍聽「撻皮」的第一個聯想，或就是蛋撻的「撻」，tart、tarty。用「撻」來形容女子，傳統的解釋充滿貶意，是指其外表或姿勢cheap（廉價的）、flamboyant（誇耀的）、provocative（誘惑的）等等。但一個講法是，這個tart原是sweetheart的簡稱-讀一讀sweetheart，不就是 "swee tart" 麼？

今日，叫女子做tart或形容做tarty，許多時只是隨口用的俗語，不一定是負面意思。像︰

He's rushed off to meet his tart. 他趕去見女朋友。

而 to tart up，亦即我們俗語的「扮靚」。

I'm tarting up for the party tonight. 我為今晚的派對扮靚。

Festival﹕Chinese New Year

2012-01-19T18:04:00.002+08:00

Chinese New Year celebrations were born out of fear and myth (神話). Legend speaks of the wild beast Nian (年獸) (which is also the word for "year") that appeared at the end of each year, attacking and killing villagers. Loud noises and bright lights were used to scare the beast away, and the Chinese New Year celebrations were born.

The Chinese New Year's Eve meal is the most important dinner of the year. Typically, families gather at a designated relative's house for dinner, but these days, many families often celebrate New Year's Eve dinner at a restaurant. Many restaurants require reservations months in advance. Some families hire a professional chef (廚師) to cook in their home.

Besides eating the New Year's Eve dinner, red envelopes are also a symbol of the Chinese New Year. Called "hong bao" (紅包) in Mandarin, the red envelopes filled with money are typically only given to children or unmarried adults with no job. If you're single and working and making money, you could still consider to give the younger ones red envelopes. The colour red denotes (表示) good luck, fortune, happiness and abundance (豐足) in Chinese Culture and is often worn or used for decoration in other celebrations.

﹕Any more / Anymore

2012-01-18T17:17:00.003+08:00

討論過 every day 和 everyday 的分別後，想起早前讀者 Michelle 也寄電郵問 can't agree any more 和 can't agree anymore 是否相同？

習慣上，any more 和 anymore 已經通用，但嚴格來說，它們是有分別的。

如果把這兩個字寫成一個，anymore 的意思是 no longer，也就是不再，或者是到了頂點。放在上句，can't agree anymore 就是完全同意、毫無異議的意思。

把兩個字分開寫成 any more 的時候，more 變成是 many 或 much 的比較級（comparative degree），放在形容詞和副詞前面，可以強化該形容詞和副詞：

I used to have only a few friends, and now I have more.

If you think this watch is too cheap, I can show you a more expensive one.

Since the manager spoke to her last week, the secretary has been coming to the office more punctually.

在這種情下， any more 其實是more 或 some more 的否定語。例如：新年將至，商店裏的利市封都派完了，店員只好對遲來的顧客說：

Sorry, we have given them all out. We do not have any more.

這裏的 any more，絕對不能寫成 anymore。

Agreeing and Disagreeing

2012-01-17T17:06:00.001+08:00

agree with 同意

deal with 應付

get along 相處融洽

go against 背道而馳

spur on 鞭策

Wouldn't it be wonderful if everyone agreed with each other? There wouldn't be any wars. There wouldn't even be any arguments. There would be no reason to fight or argue because everyone would think in the same way and want the same things. Surely that is how it would be in a perfect world. We would all get along together very well. We would all live in harmony. That might be a little boring, but it would be very good.

Or would it? Are people who disagree with the majority a nuisance?

Not really. They may be difficult to deal with sometimes, but they are vital to progress in this world.

If everyone agreed on the same thing all the time, we would probably not want to change anything. There would be no one to force us to think. There would be nobody to spur us on to do better. If nobody told us that something was wrong, we might never try to put it right.

Most of us don't like arguments, even less fighting. But people who go against what we believe sometimes do us a valuable service.

=================

句子︰Ladies spend much money on fashion items to keep up with the trend.

===================

1. get a handle on
標題中的get a handle on是習語，handle一般指物品的「把手」，在此引伸指對事物的「掌握」或「了解」，handle可替換成fix或grasp。
2. hold up
Hold up在本文中有雙關涵意，除了指「舉起」影片中的數字板外，也暗指人口出生數字難以「維持下去」，要停止成長的意思。
例︰A tall post held up the center of the tent.
例︰Jeff's mom told him to hold up before going out and take a jacket with him.

葉劉淑儀專欄﹕豈是「輸贏」兩字了得？

2012-01-16T14:59:00.004+08:00

很多人說，使用英文的最大障礙（handicap）是詞彙不足（lack of vocabulary）。多閱讀有助解決這個問題。近期有許多關於美國總統競選的報刊文章，當中一些用語不僅可描述選情，也可形容其他競賽。

上次提到，羅姆尼（Romney）在愛荷華州初選以八票勝出，與僅居其後的桑托勒姆（Santorum）「叮噹馬頭」。「叮噹馬頭」譯作neck and neck最為貼切。顧名思義，neck and neck源自賽馬，引伸形容各類難分勝負的競賽。例如：Romney and Santorum ran neck and neck in the Iowa caucuses. The election was a neck-and-neck race/finish.

Neck-and-neck finish的近義語包括：photo finish（要靠衝線照片來定勝負的競賽），dead heat（難分高下的比賽，dead有「完全一樣」之意，heat是「賽次」），virtual tie（幾乎平局）等等。這些用語大多來自賽馬、賽跑或其他運動，亦可套用於選舉及各類競爭，例如：Apple is in a dead heat with Samsung in the smartphone market.

形容落敗和落敗者的詞語也不止lose和loser。Also-ran即「沒贏出的參賽者」。至於開始時鋒芒畢露，但後勁不繼，英文的說法是fizzle out；形勢一落千丈，叫go into a tailspin（tailspin原指飛機失控墜落）。

另一些用語則專用於選舉。候選人巡迴演講拉票，英文說法有on the stump、on the hustings和on the campaign trail。Campaign trail（競選路徑）的意思顯而易見，on the stump和on the hustings則源於古時。On the stump本義是站在樹樁（stump）上向群眾演說。在18世紀英國，為候選人臨時搭建的演講台稱作husting，現在on the hustings 一語必用複數。不少人對這些政治活動不以為然，貶稱政治人物為pols（政客）或political loudmouths（政壇大嘴巴）﹗

■Glossary

fizzle out 虎頭蛇尾地結束

go into a tailspin 一落千丈、慌亂失控

neck and neck 叮噹馬頭、並駕齊驅

stump 樹樁，引伸指競選講台

由某人負責 The Ball is in One's Court

2012-01-16T14:58:00.001+08:00

"You have not been a particularly well-behaved citizen," Judge Roi said to Albert. "If you misbehave one more time, I will be compelled (不得不) to put you in jail. So remember, the ball is in your court."

The expression the ball is in someone's court means that the responsibility for further action is with that person. "I'll agree, sir, if you will be the goalkeeper (守門員)," Albert replied.

Staff

2012-01-16T14:57:00.001+08:00

看到這一句：

The Centre has collected and staffed the views of the neighborhood and is now making the necessary arrangement.

Leo 翻查字典發現 staff 作動詞用有 "provide with staff" 的意思，想問 "staffed the views" 應怎樣解釋？

Leo 另外又提供背景，原來文章指中心主任收集並研究街坊意見後，正制訂所需安排。

Leo 說得對，staff 用作動詞是提供人手的意思。所以 staff the office 就是為辦公室招聘人手。Staff the children literacy program 就是為小童識字項目提供職員。

由此可見，需要 staff 不一定是四四方方有椅子、書桌、電腦的辦公室，中心之類的硬件，也可以是一些比較抽象的東西，像識字班或福利項目等，views 屬於後者。

回頭再看Leo的句子，中心收集了街坊的意見，並沒有束之高閣，而是積極招攬職員，把收集得來的意見實行。

42-Year-Old "Snapshot"

2012-01-16T14:56:00.002+08:00

The man who had a second chance - a story of dream chasing.

There was a knock on the door of my office.

"Um... Mr Davidson?" A rather timid voice said outside.

"Come in!" I replied rather gruffly (粗聲粗氣地).

As my secretary, Wendy, stepped in, I kept my eyes fixed on the screen of my computer. Moses shot me a message earlier today, updating me on the latest conflicts between a client and his wife in splitting their properties upon divorce. I personally sympathise with (同情) the woman, who quitted her job a few years back to take care of their two kids at home, thus becoming completely financially dependent on the man. Unfortunately, it was the man who approached us and paid for our services.

"What is it?" I finally turned towards Wendy after she had stood there in silence for a full minute. She opened her mouth once, then closed it without making a sound. Her usually confident demeanour (風度) looked strangely uncertain.

"Speak up! We haven't got all day," I almost barked.

Wendy gulped once. Then she stepped forward to place a document on my desk. "Mrs Davidson just dropped by, saying that she needs a quick signature from you."

"What the heck..." I frowned as I reached for the document. There were at least ten sheets of paper all stapled together. I did not need to read the entire thing, however, to know what it was. On the top of the very first page, the header read: Divorce Petition.

Instantly, my eyes flared. I flicked my glance towards the calendar sitting on my desk. No, it wasn't April Fool's Day. As I slowly skimmed through the pages, my arms started to shake. Every now and then I would have the urge to shout out "Hey! That's not true!". But each time my protests would be quickly drowned by the painfully accurate details. Memories came flooding back along with the endless stream of accusations. From spending night after night in the office during the first few years of my career to skipping my son's birth six years back, and finally to the numerous cancelled vacation trips in the past couple of years, I couldn't deny the fact that I hadn't spent much time - any time - with my family.

I scowled (皺眉). The last thing I needed was an emotional breakdown like the ones my clients usually demonstrated in my office.

I flipped to the last page of the document. Towards the bottom there were two horizontal lines parallel to each other. There was the signature of Mrs Rachel Davidson right above the first line. The space below was still empty.

It wouldn't remain blank for long.

(sixteen)

﹕Now and then

2012-01-13T23:11:00.007+08:00

在電影 Transporter 2 聽到以下一句對白：

If anything comes up between now and then, you have my cell.

他想問"between now and then" 是什麼意思？是否跟 "every now and then" 一樣？

Now 和 then 指的是兩個時刻，now 是現在此刻，then 是另一刻，可以是過去，也可以是將來。

俗語謂「今時唔同往日」，用英語說出來，可以是 "then was then, now is now"。這裏的 then 當然是過去。

對白裏的 then，是指未來的某一個時刻。譬如說星期一上課時老師吩咐同學做功課，要他們星期四交，然後說：

If you have question between now and then, come and ask me.

這裏的 now，就是星期一，then 就是星期四。也就是說，如果學生在星期一與星期四這段時間有不明白的地方，可以問老師。

Every now and then 的意思略有不同，解作不時、時而。例如某君平常不怎麼抽煙，但有時也會和朋友吸一兩口。我們可以說：

He would smoke a cigarette every now and then.

Game

2012-01-13T23:11:00.002+08:00

Across: 2. bull; 6. zoo; 7. mar; 9. ups; 11. mist.

Down: 1. lazy; 3. untrue; 4. Lt; 5. commas; 8. uses; 10. mm.

Volunteer Work

2012-01-13T23:00:00.000+08:00

It is clear that being a volunteer is rewarding and meaningful. We can give the needy a helping hand by volunteering.

Being a volunteer is absolutely emotionally beneficial. For example, it helps us relieve stress. You may always complain that you do not have time to take care of your family because you have lots of work to do. Yet, have you ever thought of any method such as doing volunteer work to release your pressure? You will love it once you give it a try. The joy from the crowds of smiling faces is second to none. You will feel as if you were on a resort island in the tropics, warm and sunny. The laughter is like a breeze. You will have no worry about workload or family matters, only fun. So, why don't you give it a try? Take action now!

Turn on your computer and search "volunteer work" on the Internet. You can find hundreds and hundreds of charitable organisations. Just click into any one of those websites and follow the steps to register as a volunteer. In a few minutes, you will become a registered volunteer worker! Isn't it simple and easy?

------------------------

Comments：Good use of emotive language

you have adopted a sales-like tone in your essay promoting volunteer work as a way of releasing pressure and creating joy. You do this through emotive language which evokes feelings and images in your readers. Examples include "the joy from smiling faces" or "the laughter is like a breeze". By buying into the emotional response of your audience, you not only strengthen the appeal of volunteerism but also package it as a product that will render rewards.
You enhance your campaign through a sequence of rhetorical questions which you then answer (often as an exclamation). This creates an informal dialogue with your readers and guides them towards your point of view, hopefully springing them into action. Your informal register is also reflected in your use of contractions ("don't") and colloquial phrases ("give it a try").
You close your essay with a practical suggestion on how to become a volunteer. This type of advice is essential when you are encouraging your readers to do something. Perhaps noting a few websites for volunteer work in Hong Kong and/or quoting a few volunteer workers would further encourage them to register today.

==============
Writing Advice：Use of a hook

If you have an idea or concept which you would like to sell to your readers in as few words as possible, consider the following steps:
Start your writing by captivating your audience with a hook sentence using emotive language. Lawrence has done this by using the words "rewarding" and "meaningful". Make sure you don't use jargon at this point as it may scare away your readers.
Next, expand on your hook with simple language supporting your initial statement. Being a little less emotive and a little more technical at this point is likely to win over the trust of your readers.
Continue by explaining how popular your concept is by noting how many people do volunteer work and the broad variety of work available, for example. People are more likely to buy into a concept when they feel others support it too.
Following this, explain alternative activities or ideas and illustrate how your proposal is much more rewarding than other options.
Finally, in order to consolidate your sales pitch, restate your initial hook but in different words. Creating an appealing image and asking a rhetorical question are two ways of encouraging an emotional response in your reader. Try this out on a friend!

======================

毛孟靜專欄﹕不要隨便「O」嘴

2012-01-13T22:52:00.002+08:00

Game over，玩完。這over的o，大聲清楚。就像OK、open、omen（預兆）、opal（蛋白石）等。Over讀o-ver，那oven（焗爐）就一樣讀o-ven？

錯。Oven讀u-ven，亦即o for u，讀uh。奇怪？想一想，許多常用字，串法明明有o，卻不必「o」嘴，反而成了u音︰

■ Other（其他）︰讀uther

■ Brother（兄弟）︰讀bruther

■ Mother（母親）︰讀muther

還有英文中可能是最多人講的一句話︰I love you（我愛你），讀I luv you。Love變luv。

另有例子︰Dove（鴿子），讀duv。Above，發音abuv。

這樣說，卻又不等於所有 -ove尾的英文字就都讀 uv，像drove（drive的過去式）就如常讀dr-ove，還有stove（煮食爐），依然係st-ove。

也即是說，英文跟所有語文一樣，發音模式會忽然不跟規矩，沒有邏輯，不可理喻，唯有多講多聽，死記變習慣。

另一款有o的字，像dose（劑量）、hose（喉管）、nose（鼻子）、rose（玫瑰）、pose（擺「甫士」），都讀正常的 -ose，但lose（輸了、失去）卻讀loose，明明只得一個 o，發音卻是兩個 o。

最後再一提其他 o for u，不必「o」嘴的字，有︰

Purpose（目的）︰讀purpus，就像跟focus（焦點）押韻。許多香港人都把這個字錯讀pur-pose，但因為不會引起誤會，人人明白，只是不好聽。

Government（政府）︰讀guvernment；而governor（總督）就順去讀guvernor。這也是英國人口頭語 guv（「老細」）的來源。

Tortoise（烏）︰照計，一樣是 -oise尾的字，有noise（聲音）、poise（穩重姿態）等，讀法也一樣吧？會有老師因而教錯。不，tortoise這個字更出奇的，是後面的 -oise，當中的 i 完全無聲，繼而 o for u。

Everyday，Every day

2012-01-11T18:18:00.006+08:00

everyday 和every day 是否同一個字？

儘管 everyday 和 every day 意思相近，不少人把它們互用，但它們並不是同一個字。Every day 是adverb of time （時間副詞），意思是每一天。一些每天都發生的事，我們可以用every day 來顯示發生的頻率：

I exercise for 20 minutes every day.

Miss Li gets to bed late, and so she gets up at 10 am every day.

把every day 兩個字連起來，everyday 就變成一個形容詞，接接後面的是名詞。譬如：醫生的日常任務包括巡病房。

Walking the wards is an everyday task for a doctor.

Everyday 的意思當然可以是每天，但卻不一定是每一天，有時候應該理解為日常、經常。

同理，every man 和everyman 的分別也是一樣。

﹕Newspapers without paper?

2012-01-10T17:13:00.001+08:00

bring out 出版

cut out 省卻

keep up with 緊貼

vie with 競爭

write up 撰寫

Now, as you read this, staff members in newspaper offices all over the world are working hard to bring out tomorrow morning's paper. Everyone must work fast to keep up with what is happening. Newspapers vie with one another to be the first to tell the public about it. That is how it has been since newspapers were invented.

In the old days reporters at the scene of an event would make notes in their notebooks. Back in their offices, they would write up their articles on a typewriter. The editor would check what they had written. Finally, the whole text of the newspaper would be given to people who would set all the words in type. Then the paper would be printed.

Modern technology has cut out a lot of work. Reporters can write their notes and edit their work on screen. They can send their articles to the editor or the printer along a wire. They do not have to use paper. Most people still read the printed version of the newspaper, but you can also go online to read it. Perhaps the days are coming when newspapers will not use paper at all.

句子︰During sales, lots of people just blindly snap up goods whether or not they really need them.

======================

Usher的用法
◆名詞
指劇場、戲院等的引座員、帶位員
例﹕The usher checked our tickets as we entered the movie theater.
◆動詞
1. 指引領、帶位，受詞為人，後面接to加地方
例﹕The hostess ushered us to our table in the restaurant.
2. 指開創、迎接，搭配in使用，受詞接在in後面
例﹕The iPhone ushered in a new era in personal communication devices.

Wanna、Gonna

2012-01-09T15:43:00.001+08:00

在片中看見翻譯用了 wanna、gonna，為什麼他的作文老師說這都是錯字？

Wanna 和 gonna 都是口語。把 want to、going to 說快了，就會變成 wanna 和 gonna 了。此外，還有ought to 變成 oughta，should have、could have 和must have 就變成 shoulda、coulda、musta 等，都不是正規的書寫語言，相信就是這個緣故使 Tiny 的老師認為這些是錯字。

其實犯上這些錯誤的，以英語為母語的人恐怕比我們這些以外國人身分學英語的人還要多。我們大部分都是通過讀和寫來學英語，而他們卻主要靠聽和講。他們按讀音拼字，就產生不正規的拼法。照我的經驗，很多外國小學生都這樣拼，有些甚至到了大學還改不過來。

Idiom - 在家般自在 Feel at Home

2012-01-09T15:42:00.000+08:00

No sooner had Tina and Tim said "I do" than the groom (新郎) took his happy bride (新娘) to a part of town she had never seen before. "Here, my dear, is where we shall make our new home," he said. "Oh, how lovely," she answered. "I already feel at home." When one feels at home, one feels comfortable and at ease (悠閒自在) in one's surroundings (環境).

"I like this neighbourhood (地區) and I am sure I will soon feel at home living here," Tina smiled. "I always feel at home when I am with you," Tim answered.

GAme

2012-01-04T16:57:00.004+08:00

Across: 1. question; 6. spot; 7 plot, 8. wrestling; 11. ache; 13. mark; 14. watchmen.

Down: 2. upper; 3. Sat; 4. impel; 5. neo; 9. sheet; 10. nurse; 12. cow; 13. mph.

標點符號運用

2012-01-04T16:56:00.004+08:00

指 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 第一句裏的 "thank you very much" 只用逗號（comma）分隔出來，似乎不符合文法規則。

讀過本欄的解答後，他再提出另外一個問題：有些「句子」本身連一個動詞也沒有，很難說是完整句子，卻照用句號（full stop）作結，如 "Thanks a lot."，似乎英文的句號或逗號的用法比小時候學的靈活得多，好像沒有什麼限制，只需視文意而定？

Eric 的理解完全正確。句號的作用本來是要把一句一句的句子分開來，所謂句子，就是意思完整的詞組，而在大部分的句子，特別是陳述句（declarative sentence），一個意思完整的詞組，往往都含有動詞。我們小時老師說要有動詞才算是句子，就是這個原因了。

當然，何謂完整的意思，本身也極具爭議；且，本身含有動詞的句子也可能有種種原因把動詞省略掉。Eric 說要視乎文意，說得很對。

Sales

2012-01-03T13:47:00.004+08:00

camp out 露營

let in 進來

mark down 減價

snap up 搶購

stock up with 儲備

In November and December people spend money on their family and friends. They buy them Christmas presents. In January people spend money on themselves. In the north, January brings cold weather as well as winter sales. The stores mark down their old stock, often to half the original prices. This is a chance for everyone to snap up a bargain. When the sales are over, the stores stock up with new goods for spring. Then prices go back to normal.

Peter and Angela have found the very sofa that they want for their living room. It is a very expensive sofa. It would normally be too expensive for them. But it is said on a big sign at the store window that its price is to be reduced by 70%.

It is a wonderful bargain. How can Peter and Angela make sure that they get it? Many others want it too.

They decide to camp out on the pavement for a day and a night before the sale begins. The weather is very cold and the pavement is very uncomfortable. On the morning that the sales begins, the queue of shoppers stretches to the end of the street. But when a staff member lets the customers in, Peter and Angela are the first.

"Congratulations, sir and madam," says the sales assistant as they pay for the sofa. "you are going to be very comfortable from now on."

句子︰Although the protesters kept themselves together on the street overnight, policemen could not arrest them for chanting anti-capitalist slogans.

===============

1. come up with

Come up with 指經過思考和發展而得到某種結果，常用來表示「想出方法」、「找出解答」。另外，口語中 come up with 還有湊出、拿出（錢）的意思。

例﹕Randal came up with a way to cut our budget without laying off employees.

2. break through 突破、成功

這個片語常用在軍事方面，表示「突破（障礙）」、「突圍」，亦可用來比喻經過長時間的努力後「成功」、「有新發現」。

名詞寫作breakthrough，表示「（軍事）突圍」、「（科技、技術等的）突破」、「重大進展」。

例1﹕Rebel forces broke through the government's defenses.

例2﹕Negotiators broke through to reach an agreement that satisfied both parties.

■Give it a try

1. The business is a _______ center for computer repairs.

A. one-stop

B. non-stop

C. runaway

D. one-way

2. Betty _______ a way to save money on Christmas gifts this year.

A. came down with

B. ran away with

C. came up with

D. sat down with

=============

1. A; 2. C

Game

2011-12-23T14:06:00.000+08:00

Across: 1. scream, 6. safes; 7. lend; 8. asset; 10. cc, 13. RA;

14. third; 16. park; 17. brush; 19. potter.

Down: 1. select, 2. rang; 3. as; 4. marsh; 5. fever, 9. tanker;

11. chart; 12. grasp; 15. last; 18. HO.

﹕Imperative Mood

2011-12-23T14:04:00.002+08:00

怎麼分辨 "press the open button" 中的 "press" 是主語（subject）還是動詞（Verb）？

一句句子的主語，按理都是名詞。為什麼有一些句子，就像Tiny TLK 提出的 "press the open button" 以動詞開頭呢？

原因是 "press the open button" 是一句指令性的句子，imperative mood。指令性句子的主詞永遠是you，而且大部分情下會被省略（也有例外），因此便產生以動詞為開端的句子了。

我們平常看到的路標或其他公共標語，大多是指令性句子，像：

Go! 去

Pay here 在此付款

Do not litter 不要亂拋垃圾

Insert your card 插入提款卡

Enter your password 輸入密碼

毛孟靜專欄﹕不要玩太多Chinglish

2011-12-23T14:03:00.001+08:00

一次打電話給個年輕人，he didn't pick up，沒接上他。但要說的並非急事，可以等，於是也沒留言。對方稍後傳來文字信息﹕You find me? 直譯，應該就是「你我？」

但這是錯英文。錯的不是文法，而是字面意思。這錯，也許是純粹玩 chinglish；網上許多人會故意寫這類句子，像I no like lah（我不喜歡啦），I left lu...（我離開lu）。這個lu，中文確也不知怎麼寫。

文字，可以玩，但最好是已掌握了基本功夫才玩。就像習畫，不要初班都未學完，就塗鴉模擬畢加索。要擔心習慣成自然，從此講寫英文都是這副腔調，就真大件事了。

你找我？Were you looking for me? 要簡化，可以去掉頭兩個字，Looking for me? 又或Were you trying to find me? 可縮成Trying to find me?

Find，是已經找到，trying to find是嘗試找，且看當中分別。

日常生活，許多對答不經大腦，就會出錯。

問﹕When will we get the documents? 我們幾時拿得文件？

答﹕They will be arrived tomorrow. 錯。該說They will arrive tomorrow. 它們會在明天抵達。

Arrive，永遠以主動形式出現。要表達文件將會「被抵達」，可改說﹕

They will be delivered （送遞） tomorrow.

另外一些常見錯誤﹕

Please be informed，這個好端端的，但說成please be noted，就古怪了。記得，寫please note（請留意）就好。

請別人填表，Please fill the form，不對，一定要加介詞﹕

Please fill in the form；而美式英語，就多講 Please fill out the form.

還有，說it would be wonderful if you could do this. 沒問題。

但，It would be grateful if you could do this. 就有問題了。

因為wonderful，是太陽底下的大圍形容，但grateful卻是個人感覺，不說it，要說I，或We﹕

I would be grateful... We would be grateful...

逗號的用法（三）

2011-12-21T23:55:00.004+08:00

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 中的第一句 "Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much." 讀者Eric 讀了以後，覺得句子中用逗號（comma）把thank you very much分開有點奇怪，用句號（full stop）不是更適合嗎？

Eric 說得很對。開頭的一部分，由"Mr and Mrs Dursley" 開始到"they were perfectly normal"為止，已經是一句完整的句子，理應用句號作結，現在用逗號連起"thank you very much"，是什麼緣故呢？

記得上幾次曾說到逗號的一個作用是要為句子提供節奏。除了文法的作用，還有修辭的效果。書中首句說到Dursley 這個中產階級的家庭，生活安穩，覺得自己是perfectly normal，所以覺得主角 Harry Potter 和他的媽媽令人難以接受。

為了表達這種良好的自我感覺，作者在客觀介紹了他們的住址後，趕緊用Dursley 的觀點說了一句thank you very much，這句可圈可點。換句話說，多謝了，我們很好，外面的世界怎麼樣，我們Dursley一概不管。若換了句號就大大削弱了這種感覺。

Idiom

2011-12-20T12:14:00.003+08:00

Sight Seeing

2011-12-20T12:10:00.000+08:00

gather round……集合

show around……帶人參觀

keep together……聚集

wander off……走開

keep off……阻擋

"Gather round, everybody. This is the famous statue of David by the great sculptor Michelangelo.... "

Victoria is a tourist guide. This morning she is showing a group of tourists around the beautiful Italian city of Florence. The members of her group come from several different countries, but, fortunately, they all speak good English. Victoria uses English to give her descriptions, but she does speak Italian as well. She can help the members of her group if they have any problems in restaurants or hotels. She enjoys her job partly because it enables her to use her foreign languages. She learned French and Spanish at school. She taught herself Italian. She would like to do a course in Chinese or Japanese.

Victoria also enjoys meeting people from different countries. She likes learning about the sights she takes people to see. There are not many drawbacks in her job, she says. Sometimes her feet get tired from standing up all day. Sometimes it is hard keeping her group together. "People can wander off on their own," she explains. "Their friends worry that they might get lost. This is my most important piece of equipment."

Victoria holds up a large yellow umbrella. "I open it so that my group can see me in a crowd. It keeps the rain and the sun off nicely too."

Good thinking, Victoria!

==============

句子︰Stay away from the gang, or you will get into trouble sooner or later.

﹕Making Progress

2011-12-06T12:54:00.001+08:00

Jane sat in front of her easel (畫架), quietly getting on with her painting. From time to time she raised her head. She looked at the scene in front of her. There was the little harbour with brightly coloured boats bobbing about on the water. Beyond that was the broad surface of the sea. It was a calm day, but the sea was never still. It sparkled in the sun. Beyond the sea was the huge sky. "How shall I ever get all of this into my painting?" she thought.

"Excuse me," said a voice. "I must see how your picture is coming along." A man was looking over Jane's shoulder.

Jane stopped painting.

"Please, don't let me disturb you. Just carry on as if I wasn't here."

Jane dipped her brush in the paint. But when someone is standing close by and watching you, it is not so easy to concentrate. She put the paint on her canvas.

"Very interesting!" said the man.

"Thank you," said Jane. She turned to smile at the man. Then she turned back to her painting and dipped her brush in the paint again.

"Fascinating," said the man. "I'm sure it will be a lovely painting. But why have you started to paint the sky green?"

■Phrasal Verbs

bob about……來回浮動

carry on……繼續

come along……進展

get on with……埋首工作

turn back……回到

====================

句子︰When the financial tsunami broke out in 2008, many investors lost their fortunes and the global economy was hit by it.

=================

1. out of steppe
標題中的out of steppe改編自out of step，即「跟不上腳步」、「步調不一致」。Steppe指大草原，在此除了取其與step同音，也比喻蒙古逐漸消逝的「草原」游牧傳統。
例︰Fred is usually out of step with current fashion trends.
2. live through
短語動詞，表示「撐過」、「熬過」、「經歷過」生命中的困境、痛苦、不愉快等。
例︰Sonya has lived through two major earthquakes.
3. shudder to think
Shudder即「發抖」，shudder to think常用來表示擔心某些不愉快的事可能發生，後面常接疑問詞引導的子句說明擔心的事情，中文也可譯作「想都不敢想」、「一想到就發抖」。
例︰I shudder to think what would happen if we had an earthquake while in this tall building.

逗號的用法

2011-12-05T15:21:00.001+08:00

And so the people were restrained from bringing more, because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work，有以下的疑問：

1. Because 前加上逗號（comma）和不加逗號的句子所表達的意思一樣嗎？

2. Because 前的逗號有什麼作用？

3. 若 because 前不加逗號，在英語中是否正確的表達方法？

逗號的運用，主要是為句子在適當的地方提供停頓，好讓說話的人有機會調整呼吸，聆聽的人更容易聽得明白。然而，加在哪裏才適當卻因人而異。一般來說，羅列物件時，物件與物件中會加上逗號；另外，子句與主句之間或子句與子句之間，有時也會加上逗號。但如果子句不太長，就不一定要加上，如：I am late because I ran into traffic. 因為堵車，所以我遲到了。

Mak 的句子中的 because，作用也是把兩個子句連起來。由於兩句子句都相當長，所以用了 because 來調整節奏。Because 的用法還有其他要注意的地方，這個要留待下次再講。

共偕連理 Tie the Love/ Lover's Knot

2011-12-05T14:22:00.001+08:00

Years ago when a young man and his girlfriend agreed they were in love they would tie a small knot (打小結) - usually in a pretty pink ribbon (絲帶) as a declaration (宣言) of their love. That has led to this expression which has come to mean "to get married".

"Have you heard the exciting news? Eunice and Jason are going to tie the love knot next week and fly to Australia for their honeymoon!"

葉劉淑儀專欄﹕選舉詞彙

2011-12-05T14:20:00.001+08:00

特首選戰如火如荼，明年特首選舉過後，又到立法會選舉，故這次介紹一下有關選舉的詞彙。

參選，英文是run in an election或run for office（公職）。例如：run for Chief Executive即「競選特首」；run for re-election即「競逐連任」；run against someone即「與（某人）競逐同一職位」。另一說法是stand in an election。

候選人是candidates，也可稱為contenders。香港立法會地區直選採用名單制（list system），名單叫作list或者ticket。譬如說：We are running on a pro-democracy, pro-middle-class ticket，意即「我們組成一張支持民主和中產的名單參選」。競選搭檔就是running mates。

候選人有熱門、冷門之分。領先者叫leading candidate。至於「黑馬」，其實出自英語dark horse，近義詞是long-shot candidate。Long-shot字面意義是射程太遠，中的機會微；用於選舉，意謂勝算低。有些候選人明知勝算甚低仍然決定參選，例如說："Mr Chan runs in the election although he knows the odds are against him." Odds一詞和dark horse同樣源於賽馬賭博，本來解作「賠率」，及後引伸指「成功機會」。The odds are against someone指某人的成功機會甚微；而 against all odds 則有「知難而進」之意。

競選工程（campaign）是選舉必不可少的環節。競選團隊內，除了候選人之外，還有strategists、publicists和policy wonks等等。Strategists（軍師）負責制訂競選策略，publicists（對外發言人）負責與傳媒及公眾溝通；policy wonks（政策專家）負責就各個政策範疇出謀獻計，speechwriters負責為候選人撰寫演講辭。任何地方的行政首長都要全面掌握各項政策，因此policy wonks對於競逐行政首長的候選人尤為重要。美國傳媒十分重視總統候選人的競選工程（electioneering），因為他們相信："How a candidate runs his campaign reflects on his strategic planning, public relations, organisational and managerial skills." 候選人的競選工程反映其執政能力，這個想法不無道理。

■Glossary

campaign 競選工程

candidate 候選人

contender 競逐者

policy wonk 政策專家（wonk是埋頭苦幹的人）

毛孟靜專欄﹕「種票」直譯 vote-planting?

2011-12-02T23:59:00.001+08:00

近日有許多有關選舉「種票」的新聞，種票，用英文講，許多人或會直譯vote-planting，但常規英文一般只說vote-rigging。這兩個講法有什麼分別呢？

照計，to plant除了解作「栽種」，還有許多負面意思，包括「栽贓」、「做媒」等等︰

The police were accused of planting the evidence on the suspect. 警方被控插贓嫁禍這個疑犯。

The candidate planted his own supporters in the audience. 那候選人安排了自己的支持者在觀眾堆中「做媒」。

I have planted a spy in his team. 我已在他的團隊中安插了一名間諜。

They plan to plant a microphone in her office. 他們計劃在她的辦公室安裝米高峰；亦即安裝偷聽器。這句子中的plant，等於place secretly、hide。

出奇地，純粹是習用問題吧，vote-planting、to plant votes就是不見得通用。反過來，vote-rigging其實是個大圍籠統的選舉舞弊用語，當中自然包括我們說的人名與地址不符的種票，卻同時涵蓋任何有關選票的「做手腳」事宜，像故意數錯票、丟掉一箱票、明明是有效票卻當做廢票等等。

Vote-rigging亦可叫ballot-rigging，這番to rig，解作 to manipulate fraudulently，擺明車馬有欺詐成分，類似的用語有market-rigging，以不法、不道德手段操控市場。

如此看來，我們說的種票，似乎是vote-planting比vote-rigging更貼切，不但understandable，根本就是更多人聽得懂。不知怎地，就不是常規的用語。

可是，不要因為vote-planting疑似由中文直譯，就稱之為Chinglish；不能就說是錯英文。但為安全計，還是講vote-rigging較為穩妥。

日常生活中，我們常常玩中譯英，像「開飯」是open rice；「一就一，二就二」變成one is one, two is two。以語文遊戲視之，無傷大雅，不要過分就好。同時也要理解中、英文之間，確有好些完全可以直譯對等的講法︰

「你氣啦﹗」You are wasting your breath!

「我冇氣喇﹗」I have no breath left in me!

Glossary

manipulate 擺佈

rig 操縱

plant 栽贓、安插

Game

2011-12-02T23:58:00.001+08:00

Across: 1. mischief; 5. so; 6. herons (鷺); 8. to; 9. NY; 10. shower; 12. computer.

Down: 1. mechanic; 2. croons; 3. if; 4. footwear; 7. scouts; 11. am; 13. PS.

Character / Characteristics

2011-12-02T23:57:00.001+08:00

characteristics和character兩個字有什麼不同？問人"What are his characteristics?"和"What are his characters?"，問的分別是什麼？

Characteristics是特徵，character單數時是個性、人品，眾數時指的是一個一個的符號，譬如說中文文字，英文就叫characters。一篇文章有500字，我們可以說：There are 500 characters in the essay.

問人"What are his characteristics?"，是要知道他的高矮肥瘦，或者一些特別的記認，譬如有沒有戴眼鏡、頭髮皮膚的顏色等等。

問人家的為人品格，我們可以說："What is his character?" 這句中character一字只可以用單數，不可以用眾數。然而，即使如此，還是太過文縐縐，比較自然的可說︰"What is he like as a person?" 或"What is his personality?"

The Great Fire

2011-11-29T16:02:00.001+08:00

break out……爆發

pack together……迫在一起

pull down……拆

blow up……炸

burn out……熄滅

Nowadays, great fires usually devastate (摧毀) the countryside. We do not expect them to break out in cities, unless those cities are being bombed.

In the past it was different. Houses in cities were often built of wood and had thatched roofs (茅草屋頂). They were packed together in very narrow streets. Firefighting equipment was primitive (原始的).

London was a city like this in 1666.

On 2 September 1666, a baker's shop caught fire in a street called Pudding Lane. A strong east wind was blowing. The fire spread to neighbouring houses. Then it spread to neighbouring streets. Soon large areas of the city were ablaze.

You could not fight such a fire with buckets of water and weak pumps. You had to stop it from spreading. People created gaps by pulling down houses that stood in the path of the fire.

They blew up bigger houses with gunpowder (火藥). Wide open spaces were created. The fire could not cross them and finally burnt itself out.

The Great Fire of London raged from Sunday to Wednesday. It destroyed 13,000 houses, 87 churches including the famous St Paul's Cathedral, though very few people were killed.

The fire had one advantage. When London was rebuilt, it had wider streets, more solid houses and even more splendid churches.

==============

句子：Don't be so hung up about your examination results!

句子︰Brighten up, young people! Failure is the mother of success.

Jonathan Wong Column﹕27-Year-Old "Snapshot"

2011-11-28T22:39:00.001+08:00

The man who had a second chance - a story of dream chasing.

"You look so messed up these days," Oliver laughed as he took a gulp of coffee. "Still having trouble with your fellow associates at the firm?"

"Oh no, not at all. They are fantastic." I quickly defended (維護) my co-workers. "Sometimes I walk into the office literally smiling ear to ear as we greet each other. My boss is very supportive, too. It's just... the salary."

"Whoa man, most people consider themselves lucky to be employed these days, and you're complaining about your paycheck (薪水)?"

"I'd say it's fair," I said grimly. "It isn't bad, but the job is certainly not lucrative (賺錢的) in any sense. Moreover, the chances of promotion are very limited. It is not really a big firm after all. I've got almost three years' experience now - more than enough for me to join one of those large international law firms. I can easily earn twice as much as what I'm earning now in two years' time."

Oliver raised an eyebrow, "Dang! What are you waiting for?"

"I've read about the high employee turnover rate in the big firms. People seldom stick around for long. The regular workload can easily choke the life out of you. I have this friend from my graduate class working at one of these firms. I ran into him while going out for a midnight snack at 2 am the night of Thanksgiving, and he just came back from work! Thanksgiving was supposedly a holiday."

"That is simply crazy, man," Oliver agreed.

I shrugged, "But in a way, it totally makes sense. They are doubling your pay so, naturally, you are expected to work longer hours."

Oliver nodded slowly. "Yeah, I guess you're right." Then he shook his head after a moment, "I personally wouldn't do it still. Leaving work regularly at 2 am is impossible for me. I need eight hours of sleep every night. Plus, I am a family guy. I'd much rather spend time with my wife, and children, and..."

"Family guy!" I exploded with laughter. "You don't even have a girlfriend!"

Oliver blushed (臉紅). "Not at the moment, true," He conceded (承認). "But that doesn't mean I can't get married in the next few years if I am able to find my soul-mate some time soon. I'm almost thirty now. There's a point when you just have to settle down. Of course, that's my personal point of view...."

"Which I certainly appreciate," I acknowledged. "But for me, I want to achieve as much as I can. That's my mission. I don't want to look back thirty years from now and lament over (為...感慨) unfulfilled dreams. As for the long working hours, I guess that's something I can endure (忍受) for at least a couple of years. Once I've earned enough, I can always jump back out again."

Oliver smiled, "So I take it you're switching firms after all?" (eleven)

葉劉淑儀專欄：選舉大哉問

2011-11-28T22:38:00.001+08:00

特首選舉成為香港的熱門話題，美國來年亦舉行總統競選，多名共和黨人摩拳擦掌，角逐黨內提名。今期《時代周刊》文章The Big Questions就前麻省州長Mitt Romney的勝算提出三大問題。

第一條問題是："His rivals keep getting unhorsed（被拉下馬）. For Mitt Romney, could things get better?" Romney的對手相繼宣布退選或被揭瘡疤，似乎對他有利。

文章指出："He's the early-state, polling and fundraising leader." 我們經常見early-stage（早期）一詞，但early-state是什麼呢？在美國總統初選，有些州份較早投票，結果往往左右大局。這些州叫early states，early-state正是由此衍生出來的複合形容詞。在一些early states，Romney的民意支持和籌款表現暫時領先，而且他有秘密武器，或可助他早日得到提名："Romney also has secret weapons that could help him wrap up（完成）the nomination early."

他的武器包括 "privately pledged political endorsements that the campaign will unfurl" — Romney已獲一些重量級人物私下承諾支持，會隨競選活動公開。（Unfurl原意是「展開（旗幟之類的物件）」，引伸義為「展示」。）他還有"vast personal wealth, largely untapped（未被利用）so far, available for ...expensive campaign goodies（好東西）"。

第二條問題是："So what is keeping him up at night?" 有什麼事情令他擔憂呢？他的全國支持度目前僅徘徊於25%。另外，就算他贏出初選，也可能元氣大傷："An extended one-on-one fight against a candidate with conservative and Tea Party credentials could drain（消耗）Romney before the general election against the President."

第三條問題是："Can he unite the party as George W Bush and Ronald Reagan did?" 文章對此表示保留："Many Republicans remain unenthusiastic about Romney. They are distrustful of his recent public conversions（轉變）on abortions, gun control and gay rights or turned off by his Massachusetts health care law. Unenthusiastic即「冷淡」，turned off則更差，有「厭惡」之意。不過，若Romney勝出初選，挑戰奧巴馬，屆時共和黨人面對共同敵人，或會團結起來。

■Glossary

campaign 競選運動

early states 在初選較早投票的州份

endorsement 支持

nomination 提名

polling 民意調查

最重要的部分 Where the Rubber Meets the Road

2011-11-28T22:33:00.001+08:00

Though a tyre (輪胎..) is essential (必要的.) to a car, the part that touches (接觸) the road is considered the most meaningful part. That has led to this North American expression. It's a way of referring to the most important or necessary element of something. "Tomorrow is examination day, a day where the rubber meets the road and we get a chance to show how much we've learned."

兩個名詞

2011-11-28T22:32:00.001+08:00

看到好文章，想與朋友分享，應該說 for your reading pleasure 還是 for your pleasure reading？

Reading 和 pleasure 兩個字都是名詞（reading當然也可以是形容詞或者是動詞的進行式）。英語的一個文法規則是：當兩個名詞連在一起，第一個名詞的作用有時會變成第二個名詞的修飾語，用法就像形容詞一樣。

所以 pleasure reading 是指某一種讀物，重點不在如何增進知識，而是可以提供樂趣的讀物。而reading pleasure 說的是一種 pleasure（樂趣）。直接翻譯出來，前者是消閒讀物，後者是閱讀樂趣。

所以有什麼奇文共賞，跟朋友說 for your reading pleasure 或者 for your pleasure reading 都可以，但所指的意義不一樣，視乎你想表達什麼。

主語的省略（四）

2011-11-25T16:30:00.001+08:00

上星期回答William有關主句及從屬子句的主語時，我曾提到在美國看到一個指示牌：While snowing, drive carefully。我當時指這句子的從屬子句沒有標明主語，不禁令人產生駕駛員下雪的可笑錯覺。

文章見報後，讀者K Y Lee寄來下面幾句，其語法跟"While snowing, drive carefully"一樣，主句及從屬子句的主語不同，卻沒有特別標明，但一般人都習以為常，一點也不會覺得突兀：

1. Given his age, a shorter prison sentence is appropriate.

2. Turning to the sales, there are very optimistic signs.

3. Bearing in mind the competitive environment, this is a creditable result.

以上句子說明了語言演變的一個現象。我們日常不少說話，純粹從語法來講，可能是有不妥當的地方，但習慣上卻完全可以接受。換句話說，「可接受」和「正確」之間可能有一段距離，至於未來的發展如何，「可接受」會否變成「正確」，確實不可預料。

Game

2011-11-25T16:29:00.001+08:00

Across: 1. crash; 4. trainer; 6. swift; 7. IT; 9.woke; 10. sore; 11. elderly;

Down: 1. cross; 2. heart; 3. bank; 4. twinkle; 5. robbery; 7. is, 8. tour.

毛孟靜專欄﹕BLT？入鄉隨俗的英文

2011-11-25T16:28:00.001+08:00

問︰What did you have for lunch？

答︰I had a BLT. I made myself a BLT.

這個對答，很是簡單，但BLT是什麼傢伙？

BLT - Bacon（火腿）、Lettuce（生菜）和Tomato（番茄）。寫大草只是為了突出首字母的重要，說的，就是這款三文治。因為 BLT一講即明，通常不必再提sandwich。

這就是入鄉隨俗的英文。我們的口語，一樣有類似的日常簡化語，由「盈警」、「城規」到「檸蜜」—話說「檸蜜」，見許多茶餐廳簡寫成「0」，「零」音近檸，而蜜，以「勿」代之。也即是說0＋勿，看上去就像個「吻」字……更有連「勿」都嫌筆劃多，更進一步簡化成「乜」字。這就是有香港特色的中文。

在美國人家庭過夜（sleep over），若給問到 "Do you need PJs?"，不要誤會是指避孕套什麼的。PJs不過是pyjamas（睡衣）的簡稱。PJs讀P-J加s音，一定要有s。PJs不要說成PJ，因為淨講PJ，一般人的理解是指Poor Joke﹗是差勁、無聊甚至爛透的笑話、惡作劇。

英文有許多acronyms，首字母合成的字，像UN等於United Nations（聯合國）；CPPCC是Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference……嘩，這麼長﹗對了，中文簡稱「政協」。

在西方社會，比較新而常聽到的一個acronym是SUV。

I'm considering buying an SUV.

SUV即Sport and Utility Vehicle，是一種1980年代初才開始生產的車款，有運動及其他用途（例如載貨）的意思，不一定淨指野外四驅，一樣有urban SUV，包括一些形似小巴的七人車。

學入鄉隨俗的語文，當然有個限度，視乎有關的話是否真的泛社會通用，譬如香港人話人「潛水」，老外就要理解不是說diving，而是取笑某人hiding away、keeping his head down、adopting a low profile之意。

廁所的叫法，在英國大部分人都會隨口說loo，而在澳洲，口語亦常講dunny。但一些當地潮語，或許經不起時間考驗，學來沒用，順帶知道就好，例如︰

英國 — chavs指流氓、「憤青」，即英式爛仔。

美國 — Bazinga﹗像「Wow!」一類感嘆，通常用於成功捉弄人後，一個類似「Gotcha!」自覺得戚、好玩的「無厘頭」發音。

曾鈺成專欄﹕代價昂貴

2011-11-23T13:27:00.001+08:00

一篇討論「佔領華爾街」（Occupy Wall Street）運動的文章這樣說：

"The demonstrators at Occupy [Wall Street] remind all of us that active citizenship in a democracy is costly, but we are cowardly and apathetic."

上句有兩個帶後綴 -ly的字，costly和cowardly，都是形容詞而不是副詞。第一個字costly即昂貴的、代價高的，來自名詞cost，成本、代價；如上句是指在民主制度中，積極的公民參與是要付出代價的；又如The judicial review caused a costly delay in the project. 司法覆核給工程造成代價昂貴的延誤。

第二個字cowardly即懦弱的、懦夫的，來自名詞coward，懦夫。上句是批評美國人自己懦怯而對社會問題漠不關心。又如Voters should reject these underhand and cowardly campaign tactics. 這些競選手法卑劣而懦怯，選民應予抵制。

這兩字都是形容詞，不能用作副詞。可是，由於後綴 -ly令它們「貌似」副詞，即使以英語為母語的人，也會把它們誤作副詞使用。讀者只要在網上瀏覽一下，即會發現誤用的例子俯拾皆是，如 We paid costly for the mistake we made、You can buy it costly、They cowardly refused to fight、She hid cowardly behind a mask等，這些句子雖然意義明白，但都錯了文法，誤以形容詞去修飾動詞。

在名詞後加上 -ly成為形容詞的例子，其實很多，以下是一些常用字和應用例子：a lovely girl，一個可愛的女孩；friendly nations，友好的國家；fatherly advice，像父親（給兒子）的忠告；brotherly love，友愛（像兄弟間的愛）；beastly behaviour，野獸般的行為；princely comforts，王侯般的（豪華的）享受；a scholarly life，學者生活；womanly virtues，女性的美德；earthly pleasures，塵世的享樂；godly pursuits，神聖的事業，等等。以上這些帶後綴 -ly的字，都不能用作副詞。

形容詞加上後綴 -ly，一般便成為副詞，如wise — wisely，complete — completely，evident — evidently等。但有些形容詞，加上 -ly後成為另一個（解法不同的）形容詞，如deadly（a deadly blow，致命一擊），lonely（lonely hearts，寂寞的心，徵求異性朋友的人）， elderly（an elderly gentleman，一位長者），sickly（a sickly complexion，病容）。

Desserteries

2011-11-23T13:26:00.001+08:00

在網上的一個博客上看到desserteries這個字，查字典時查不到，想知道是什麼緣故？

文字就像生物，不斷有新的東西產生。Desserteries看來是新字，字典還來不及收錄，不足為奇。

先說說這個字，應該是 dessert （甜品）再加上 -eries，就好像 eateries（食肆），是 eat 加上-eries。Eateries 的意思是飲食場所，特別指一些規模小、簡單隨便的小餐館。Desserteries 照道理是吃甜食的地方。

一般字典雖然不能夠及時收錄新字，讀者還是可以用別的途徑查考得到。記得雜誌 New York Times Magazine 以前就不時收集新字。今天網絡技術發達，大家google一下，往往會有意想不到的收穫。

有關情緒的短語動詞

2011-11-22T16:29:00.001+08:00

短語動詞是將主要動詞和小品詞結合，掌握短語動詞能靈活使用英語。

（1）bright up 快活、振作

例︰Brighten up, will you! You are depressing everyone!

振作點，好嘛﹗你弄得大家都不開心﹗

（2）cheer sb up 使人快樂

例︰The film cheered us up considerably.

這部電影令我們非常鼓舞。

（3）hang up 為某事擔心

例︰There is no point in being hung up about it, there is nothing we can do.

在這裏苦惱是毫無意義的，我們完全無能為力。

（4）break down 無法控制情感

例︰She broke down when she was told the bad news.

她聽到那個壞消息就崩潰了。

（5）calm down 變得冷靜

例︰I need some time to calm down before I can see him again.

我需要時間冷靜下來，才能再去見他。

Jonathan Wong Column﹕24-Year-Old "Snapshot"

2011-11-21T15:00:00.001+08:00

The man who had a second chance - a story of dream chasing.

After straightening his suit, the man casually leaned back in his arm chair. He took a long, measured look at the portfolio before finally addressing me.

"Our firm receives an extremely high number of applications every year. What sets you apart from the others?" He asked almost lazily.

"Well, in addition to my law degree, I earned a master's in Business Administration," I replied almost automatically. "So I have solid background in commercial matters. Knowing how corporations function (運作) allows me to better assess (評估) my clients' needs. It also gives me a great deal of leverage in any negotiation."

The man shrugged, "We have at least twelve candidates who doubled law and MBA. What sets you apart from them?"

"I have also worked as a volunteer at multiple charity organisations during my college years. These experiences really opened my eyes on social injustices in our community. Again, the more I know about people's needs, the better I can help them. I really have the heart to fight for people's rights."

"Very noble (高尚) words, Senator Davidson." The man laughed.

I immediately cursed myself. That speech was meant for the interview at the Mayor's office later this week. The law firm I was interviewing for specialised in commercial and corporate law. Just how often do these lawyers deal with homeless people?

Maybe twice in a million years, I conjectured (猜想).

"That's alright. We do care about people's rights - usually when they are thinking of IPOs and overseas expansions. Anyway," He sat up in his chair. "What are your interests?"

"Interests?"

"Yes, as in hobbies and activities."

"I...er... I do enjoy helping people. Whenever I see those grateful, smiling faces, my heart immediately melts with joy and satisfaction. I love seeing people smile. That's why I've been volunteering so much. I also worked as a tutor in the Writing Center of my college. I like helping people and I want to make the world a better place."

The man grinned, "Is that really so? What do you do in your free time? We are looking for all-around employees who have their own interests to balance their lives, not 'resume-stuffers'."

"Um... I sometimes watch basketball," I said slowly, desperately trying to be politically correct. "But I usually don't allow myself too much time in front of the TV. I don't play much though, for I really spend most of my time at school and at work. I am very dedicated to my mission. I can't afford to procrastinate (耽擱)."

"That's very nice of you." The man abruptly reached out across the table to shake my hand. "We'll be in touch."

As I shook his hand, I didn't need to be a social psychologist to realise I just bombed (搞垮) another interview.

(ten)

The的讀法

2011-11-21T14:59:00.001+08:00

冠詞the放在響音a、e、i、o、u起頭的英文字，發音與平常不同，但在商場The One的廣告裏，卻聽到The One的The跟平常沒有什麼不一樣，到底是什麼緣故？

Kambie說得沒錯，放在a、e、i、o、u前面的the，發音是不同，用國際音標表示，應該是 /ei/，有時為了加強語氣，即使緊隨的字不是以響音發音，讀音也是一樣。

但這條規則說的是發音，並不是字母的拼法，所以儘管有些字的拼法是以響音開頭，但讀出來並不是響音。One就是這樣，它的發音就好像won（/w?n/），所以上述的規則就不適用了。

類似的字還有很多。Universe雖然是u開頭，但讀音是y（/j/）發音，如果前面的冠詞是the，就可以用平常的讀法了。

袖手旁觀 Sit on One's Hands

2011-11-21T14:54:00.003+08:00

The gentlemen inhabiting (居住於) a particular island in the south seas staged a protest (抗議). Well, more or less. Since they couldn't parade around (到處遊行) waving banners (橫額), they sat on their hands. To sit on one's hands is to do absolutely nothing, which explains why the folks on Easter Island have not moved for centuries!

"We demand shorter hours and greater retirement benefits (退休福利)," Eggmont declared. "Until then, we are determined to sit on our hands!"

"Personally, I am sitting on my hands until I get a little more respect from the tourists that come here!" Petrock grumbled.

葉劉淑儀專欄：Bits and Pieces

2011-11-21T14:54:00.001+08:00

Piece很多時候解作量詞「塊」或名詞「碎片」，這個字也常見於慣用語。In bits and pieces 即「零零碎碎」，近似的說法是in dribs and drabs，例如：The government has been tackling the educational issues in bits and pieces，即是說教育政策零碎，頭痛醫頭，腳痛醫腳。我們也可以形容這做法為a piecemeal approach（零碎的做法），相反就是a comprehensive and long-term approach（全面而長遠的做法）。

一些慣用語以 a piece of 開頭，但都不能直譯為「一塊」或「一件」，以下有幾個例子：

A piece of cake不單指「一塊蛋糕」，也是慣用語，指「輕而易舉的事情」，如：The exam was a piece of cake.（另一個說法是The exam was as easy as pie.）又例如說，一些有錢人未嘗過民間疾苦，以為人生總是稱心如意：Some rich people have been brought up to think that life is a piece of cake.

A piece of the action的意思是參與某一活動以獲利，簡而言之即「分一杯羹」。譬如說，智能手機大行其道，各手機廠商都想分一杯羹：The smartphone business is growing so fast that every cellphone manufacturer wants a piece of the action.

Give someone a piece of your mind的意思不是和別人分享想法，而是怒斥別人，如：The traffic accident victim's mother gave the careless driver a piece of her mind.

A nasty piece of work亦不是指一件討厭的工作，而是指討厭的人。例句：He is a nasty piece of work. I would avoid him if I were you.

有些慣用語用pieces來比喻人的心理狀態。Go to pieces形容人情緒崩潰，例如：After Mrs Chan's son died in a freak traffic accident, she went into pieces.

相反，pick up the pieces形容人在災難過後重新振作，恢復正常生活。如：Most of the victims seem to have picked up the pieces after the earthquake.

■Glossary

bit 小塊

drib 小滴

freak 不尋常的

tackle 處理

毛孟靜專欄﹕Choice—搶手、closure—了結

2011-11-18T15:53:00.001+08:00

同學們，有沒有另買一本小小的電話簿？不，不是用來記人名和號碼，而是用來做英文生字簿。像上周談的紅蘿蔔一筆，carrot即使不算是生字，但carrot在英文中等於甜頭、好處、數，若之前不認識，最好還是抄下C for carrot，幫助記憶。

今天再跟大家談兩個C字頭的字︰C for choice，C for closure。

這兩個字看起來很淺嘛，choice是to choose（選擇）的名詞，closure是to close（關上）的名詞，彷彿沒什麼大不了。仍然要談是因為這兩個字就像芸芸英文淺字，卻別有用法，即另有意思，不可不知。

The property is in a choice location. 那個物業在人人趨之若鶩的「搶手」地段。

Choice，名詞作形容詞用，解優質、「高一線」至無以尚之的意思。

注意上述的choice location，不一定指城郊一類高尚區域。有關物業若是間小食店，在本市，銅鑼灣、旺角等才真正是店主「恨」的生意點，真正的choice location。

We ordered a choice dish. 我們點了一道名菜。

這個choice，有廚師推介的、或膾炙人口的意思，總之就是好出名。

The fashion designer launches his own choice collection. 那時裝設計師推出自己的精選系列。

這裏的choice，回歸到選擇，說的是當事人自己的精選。

Closure通常淨用做名詞，在商業社會除了關閉，更有關門大吉的意思。另一個用法，是說希望事情有個closure，有個了結，有個了斷，常用於警方的懸案（cold cases）。看下面這句新聞標題「玩」C字開頭的字︰

The cold case is coming closer to closure. 這句話，是說快破案了。

下面的closure，就成了動詞︰

The debate was closured. 辯論結束，投票開始。這個closure特別用於（政治）議會，是藉表決終止辯論的一個方法。留意美式串法是 cloture︰

Let's cloture the discussion. 我們終止討論，投票吧。

主語的省略（三）

2011-11-18T15:52:00.001+08:00

如果主句和從屬子句的主語不清楚，不但犯了文法錯誤，有時候甚至鬧出笑話。下面的例子都是在網上找到的。

Being an experienced jockey, his horse is the favourite among the gamblers.

Being in dilapidated condition, I was able to buy the house at a cheap price.

這兩句的從屬子句的主語，都沒有明顯的寫出來，令人產生誤會，以為從屬子句的主語和主句的主語是一樣，分別是his horse和I。如果我們這樣去理解，問題就出現了。第一句，馬變了騎師；而第二句，買屋的人顯得破落，房子是否如此我們反而不知道。

若把適當的主語放回從屬子句裏，意思就清楚了。

He being an experienced jockey, his horse is the favourite among the gamblers.

The house being in dilapidated condition, I was able to buy it at a cheap price.

Game

2011-11-18T15:51:00.001+08:00

Across: 1. room; 3 just; 5. cargo; 7. noon; 8. badge; 10. oak; 11. sugar;

12. new; 13 early.

Down: 1. rain; 2. mean; 3. jug; 4. toy; 5. cooks; 6. order; 8. bugle;

9. empty; 10. oven.

主語的省略（二）

2011-11-16T17:03:00.003+08:00

句子：He being considered among Chief Executive Donald Tsang's trusted followers, it is a concern whether he has done what some top officials desire him to do. 其中的從屬子句和主句的主語並不一樣，前者是He，後者是it，所以絕對不可省略。

假如我們把句子改寫，令從屬子句和主句的主語變成一致，我們才可以把從屬子句的主語省略：

Being considered among Chief Executive Donald Tsang's trusted followers, he is under the suspicion that he has done what some top officials desire him to do.

再冗贅一點，當從屬子句和主句的主語不一樣的時候，兩個主語都要一一清楚寫出，不能省略，否則就會違反文法規則。

其實這種錯誤，常常見到。我在美國生活時，就曾經看過這樣的路標：

While snowing, drive carefully.

這句中的主句的主語是you（也就是駕駛者），從屬子句的主語是it（it snows），路標把 it 省略，就犯了剛才說到的錯誤。正確的說法應該是：

Drive slowly when it snows.

Drive slowly in snowy weather.

曾鈺成專欄﹕自我膨脹

2011-11-16T17:03:00.001+08:00

請看以下句子裏的副詞：

He bragged swollen-headedly about the importance of his new post. 他自我膨脹地吹噓他的新職位如何重要。

I support your proposal whole-heartedly. 我全心全意地支持你的建議。

Gaddafi ruled his country high-handedly. 卡扎菲專橫地統治他的國家。

以上幾個副詞，雖然都帶有後綴 -edly，但它們並不是來自動詞的過去分詞。生成這些副詞的形容詞swollen-headed、whole-hearted和high-handed，都可用來形容人的性格、態度或處事方式。它們的構成方法是：形容詞 +（指人體某部分的）名詞 + ed，形容詞和名詞有時連起來，較多則像以上的例子，要在其間加上hyphen連字號" - "。以下是再多一些例子。

來自head（頭）：hotheaded、hardheaded、softheaded、pigheaded、fat-headed、wrong-headed。

來自heart（表示感情的「心」）：half-hearted、downhearted、broken-hearted、lighthearted、heavy-hearted、coldhearted、warm-hearted、soft-hearted、hardhearted、big-hearted。

來自mind（表示思想的「心」）：single-minded、double-minded、absent- minded、small-minded、big-minded、narrow-minded、broad-minded、noble- minded、high-minded、strong-minded、weak-minded、feebleminded。

來自hand（手）、fist（拳）、finger（手指）：heavy-handed、single-handed、empty-handed、tight-fisted、light-fingered

這些形容詞，有的可以從字面猜到它的含意，如hotheaded（急性的、容易發怒的），lighthearted（心情輕鬆的），heavy-hearted（心情沉重的），hardhearted（硬心腸的），coldhearted（冷心腸的），narrow-minded（心胸狹窄、聽不進別人意見），noble-minded（情操高尚的），empty-handed（沒有收穫的）。有的卻有特別的解法，不易從字面猜得到，如pigheaded（執著的、頑固的），single-minded（專心一意的、真誠的），feebleminded（愚笨的、低能的），tight-fisted（吝嗇的），light-fingered（慣於偷竊的）。

這些形容人的處事態度、手法或方式的形容詞，許多都可以加上後綴 -ly成為副詞，例如：

They chatted lightheartedly in the corridor. 他們輕鬆地在走廊聊天。

He clung to his theory pigheadedly. 他執著地堅持他的理論。

He answered my questions absent-mindedly. 他心不在焉地回答我的問題。

主語的省略（一）

2011-11-14T16:24:00.001+08:00

"He being considered among Chief Executive Donald Tsang's trusted followers, it is a concern whether he has done what some top officials desire him to do. "

他想知道he和being連用是一個怎樣的文法結構？

要了解這個結構，說來話長，可能需要幾期篇幅。

讓我們先從主句（main clause）和從屬子句（dependent clause）的主語（subject）入手。主句跟從屬子句的主語有時候是一樣的，例如：

Being the most hard-working employee in the company, John was promoted three times in three months.（作為公司裏最勤勞的員工，John在3個月內晉升3次。）

這句子的主句（John was promoted...）的主詞是John，從屬子句（Being the most...）的主語也是John，因此就可以省略，不必再寫出來。

若主句的主語和從屬子句的主語不一樣，那又如何呢？我們看看以下例句︰

John being the most hard-working employee in the company, everyone thinks that he deserves the promotion.（John是公司裏最勤勞的員工，人人都覺得他獲晉升是理所當然的。）

在這例句裏，主句的主語是everyone，而從屬子句的主語是John，兩者都不能省略，要一一寫出來。（待續）

改裝加大馬力 Soup Up

2011-11-14T16:23:00.001+08:00

"Did I tell you that Freddy has souped up his car?" Danny asked. Thomas looked at Danny with astonishment (驚訝.). "What does that mean?" he asked.

"To soup up means to make modifications (改裝) to the engine or motor of a car, a boat, an airplane, etc to make it more powerful (強力的)," Danny explained, "and Freddy has done some engineering things to soup up the motor of his car."

"Wow, I thought you were going to say he has given his car soup instead of gasoline (汽油..)!" Freddy answered.

葉劉淑儀專欄：英文網絡潮語

2011-11-14T16:22:00.001+08:00

具生命力的語言，能因應社會發展，衍生新字，以形容新事物。廣東話固然有不少潮語（buzzwords），英文也不例外，當中許多新用語都跟互聯網有關。

「網誌」或稱「博客」，後者是blog的音譯。Blog是web log的混成詞（log即「日誌」、「記錄」），由blog再衍生出blogger和blogosphere等詞。Blogger即「網誌作者」，blogosphere即「網誌界」，是網誌、網誌作者和網誌社群的總稱。例如：After Apple announced the death of Steve Jobs, the news spread like wildfire in the blogosphere.

Blogosphere或許源自atmosphere。Atmosphere為「大氣層」，引伸指「大環境」，於是就有了一連串以 -osphere結尾的新詞語，除了blogosphere之外，還有webosphere、Twitosphere等等。（順帶一提，大氣層分為多層，第二層是平流層stratosphere，形容詞stratospheric的引伸義為「極高」，如：The stock prices have reached stratospheric levels.）

Netizen和「網民」異曲同工，都是把「互聯網」（Internet）和「公民」（citizens）兩字結合，例句有：Facebook claims that over 800 million netizens are its active users。另外，許多字以 -master為結尾，意即「主管」，如schoolmaster（校長）、postmaster（郵政局長）等，自從互網聯普及，就出現了webmaster（網站主管）。

Broadcast（廣播）一詞據說在18世紀已經出現，最初指廣播種子，後來才解作資訊的廣播。隨互聯網發展，不少人製作於網絡播放的節目，產生了webcast（網絡廣播）一詞；隨iPod的流行，又出現了podcast一語。

無獨有偶，seminar一詞本來也和農業有關，原意為「苗」，後來解作「研討會」，現今科技讓身處不同地方的人可以透過網絡研討，所以有了新詞語webinar（網絡研討會）。語言的變化，反映社會的演進。

■Glossary

blogosphere……網誌界

buzzword……流行語

netizen……網民

stratospheric……極高的

webcast……網絡廣播

webinar……網絡研討會

Powers that be

2011-11-09T19:09:00.003+08:00

"The powers that be have appallingly done the HKU vice-chancellor"一句中，powers that be從語法該如何解釋？為什麼不是powers that are？

從語法去理解powers that be是解不通的，powers that are才是正確。但powers that be是慣用語，就是所謂的idiomatic English，powers that are反而沒有人說。

翻查字典，我們得知這句慣用語源出十六世紀William Tyndale翻譯的聖經，原文如下：

"The powers that be are ordeyned of God. Whosoever therfore resysteth power resisteth the ordinaunce of God. And they that resist shall receave to the selfe damnacio."

用二十一世紀的英語寫出來應該是：

"The powers that be are ordained by God. Therefore, whoever resists the power resists the ordinance of God. And they who resist the power shall receive on to themselves damnation."

由此可見，the powers that be說的是當世的力量，但背後卻有神聖的力量支撐。當然，沒有宗教信仰的人才不管你神聖不神聖，因此，用這句話時，就暗含譏諷，說那些當權者把自己看作神，不容抗命。

曾鈺成專欄﹕令人擔憂

2011-11-09T19:08:00.003+08:00

上兩個星期在本欄列舉了若干動詞，它們的現在和過去分詞都可用作形容詞，而兩者的意義有明顯區別（如exciting與excited，developing與developed），不會混淆。

但有些動詞現在和過去分詞的區別沒那麼清晰。例如動詞worry，可以是不及物動詞，解作「擔心」：I always worry about her. 我總是為她擔心。Don't worry, she'll be all right. 不要擔心，她沒事的。但worry也可以是及物動詞，解作「令（人）擔心」：You worried your mother by not writing. 你不寫信，令你的母親擔心。The continued lack of rain is starting to worry people. 持續缺乏雨水，開始令人們擔心。於是，「我感到擔心」又可表達為 "I am worried"，正如"I am excited" 即「我感到興奮」。

顯然，過去分詞worried用作形容詞，意思就是「感到擔心的」（正如excited、surprised和interested等，表示帶某種感情或態度）。例如She had a worried expression on her face. 她臉上帶擔憂的表情。相應的副詞為worriedly：She looked out of the window worriedly. 她擔憂地望出窗外。

那麼形容詞worrying又是什麼意思呢？它可以解作「（容易）擔心的」，如"She is the worrying type" 是指她是那種動輒便擔心的人，並不是說她是要令人擔心的人。但worrying又確實可用來指「令人擔心的」，而且這解法更常用，例如a worrying trend是令人擔憂的趨勢，a worrying situation是令人擔憂的局面。而副詞worryingly只能用來表達後面這一含義：The water level is worryingly low. 水位低得令人擔心。Worryingly, the gun was never found. 令人擔憂地，那槍一直未有尋回。

另一個類似的動詞是hurry，可解作趕快（不及物動詞，如Please hurry, or you'll be late. 請趕快，不然要遲到了。He was hurrying to work. 他趕上班。）又可以解作催促，即「使人趕快」（及物動詞，如I hate to hurry you, but I have to leave in a few minutes. 我不想催促你，但我數分鐘內便要走。）那末，表示「趕快地」的副詞，應是hurryingly還是hurriedly呢？（"hurrily"肯定錯：hurry不是形容詞。）答案是兩個都可以，雖然hurriedly較常用；如I ate my lunch hurryingly或hurriedly. 我匆忙地吃午飯。

傳媒和青少年流行短語動詞

2011-11-08T17:55:00.001+08:00

短語動詞是將主要動詞和小品詞結合，掌握短語動詞能靈活使用英語。

（1）big up sth 高度讚揚

例︰He bigged up that new film but when I went to see it I was really disappointed.他對那部新電影讚不絕口，可我看後卻很失望。

（2）bliss out 非常高興、完全放鬆

例︰They bliss out on music.

音樂使他們放鬆下來。

（3）buy into 完全相信

例︰I do not really buy into all the homeopathic medicine stuff.

我不大相信順勢療法那套東西。

（4）chill out 完全放鬆，不被掃興

例︰Chill out! Life is too short to get so stressed!

放鬆點﹗人生短暫，何必緊張﹗

（5）text back sb 書面回覆

例︰I will text you back when my meeting finishes.

會議結束後，我會發信回覆你。

==================

句子︰Mary is measuring out 500ml of brine to disinfect her wounded leg.

句子︰My little brother loves Lion King more than I have expected that he has played back its DVD for no less than 10 times.

毛孟靜專欄﹕縮骨與八卦

2011-11-04T22:12:00.003+08:00

有學生問，「縮骨」的英文怎麼講？他說的自然不是「縮骨遮」的縮骨，那是摺傘，foldable umbrella。人格中的縮骨，或就代入morally flexible這個講法，指一個人在道德、誠信層面，會得這個「伸縮自如」。

中文的縮骨，擺明侮辱，但英文的morally flexible沒了「縮」的猥瑣，重點在於「有彈性」，儘管仍然不會用來讚人，但就加添了expediency的味道，「原則也者，講便利」，就好生兩面討好、左右逢源的姿態。

話人morally flexible，雖然「單打」味道仍然很重，但起碼沒有單刀直入批評人家lacking backbone（沒有腰骨）、lacking integrity（缺乏誠信），亦可算是一款委婉詞（euphemism）。

有時候，把話說得太白太露，沒了轉圜餘地，不大好，不如稍稍拐個圈；像原要罵人無知，與其直斥ignorant，可以改說"He has been less than well-informed"（The less well-informed：無知的人）。

又如覺得「八卦」的人煩厭，叫之做nosy、busybody，都會惹起人家不快，要客氣點，可改口說 "He's simply curious"，「他純粹好奇」（The simply curious：八卦的人）。

He asked the question with unabashed curiosity.（unabashed：一點也沒不好意思）。

因應政治正確（being politically correct），當世有一款認真地搞笑的委婉講法，話人有什麼特徵缺陷，會說其人在某方面「受到挑戰」，challenged。像話人—

蠢 — intellectually（知識上）challenged

矮 — vertically（垂直上）challenged

醜 — aesthetically（美學上）challenged

有說pets寵物也是不合時宜的名詞，要改叫four-legged members of the family（四腳家庭成員）﹗但我確是從來不喜「寵物」一詞，與政治正確無關，而是當中的誤導信息 —「寵」字只令人聯想受呵護的貴價名種，而流浪貓狗（stray dogs and cats）沒人要，就不必珍惜了？就注定遭殃了？

Game

2011-11-04T22:11:00.004+08:00

Across: 1. race; 3. spit; 6. salt; 8. foul; 9. deter; 11. baker; 14. peas; 15. side; 16. need; 17. belt.

Down: 1. rose; 2. cold; 4. poor; 5. tall; 7. Texas; 8. fetes; 10. open; 11. bare; 12. ride; 13. next.

The Mouse

2011-11-04T22:10:00.003+08:00

What do we do when we see a mouse in our home? Kill it with a trap, poison it or get a cat, of course! But old Mr Wen doesn't think so. No, old Mr Wen has mice in his large home and he lets them stay! He began to share his home with mice after his wife died.

Strange? Old Mr Wen doesn't think so. Here's his story....

In 1962 Mr Wen tried to get a job and had a hard time doing so. One day he heard of a job with a company with a good name. That company would grow big, people said. Mr Wen went for an interview. Of course, lots of people wanted the job. Twenty people were waiting for their interviews, perhaps more. They all sat outside the Director's office. Many wore better clothes than Mr Wen, and many looked older and cleverer. Every minute or so a young woman assistant called one into the Director's office. Everyone of them went in smiling and came out sad-faced.

The door opened again. It was Mr Wen's turn. "Wen Lu! Be quick! The Director is busy," said the assistant. Mr Wen followed her into the room. She pointed at a hard wooden chair in front of the fierce-looking Director's desk. The assistant sat at a smaller desk next to the Director's.

"Three questions, young man!" barked the Director.

Mr Wen answered one, then another. Then came the third. Looking at his watch, the Director said, "I need someone who thinks fast. What's 36 times 109 divided by 2? You've ten seconds!"

Poor Mr Wen! It was impossible!

Just then the Director's assistant screamed. "Help! It's on my foot!"

"No! That mouse again!" barked the Director angrily.

Seeing the mouse running by his chair, Mr Wen threw himself onto the floor and had the mouse in his hand!

"Good catch! Out of the window with it!" barked the Director, a faint smile now on his face. The Director stood up and moved towards his assistant. "It's gone forever! All is well, dear daughter," he said softly, patting her on the shoulder. He was looking at his daughter, the assistant.

=================

Mr Wen dropped the poor mouse out of the window! Returning to his chair, he saw the question and answer on the desk! 1962! The answer was the year, 1962!
"You're quick in body," said the Director, more softly now. "But are you as quick in mind? I'll repeat the question, ready?"
"You needn't repeat the question. The answer is 1962," said Mr Wen smiling.
The Director looked hard at Mr Wen. There was silence. It lasted 20 seconds, perhaps longer. Then the Director said, "The job is yours. You start tomorrow."
He looked at his assistant, his daughter, and said, "Send home everyone waiting outside!"
Mr Wen has since had a place for mice in his heart. He always feels bad about dropping the mouse out of the window in the Director's office, which became his office twenty years later. Old Mr Wen is grateful to mice for the mouse's "help" as long as he lives.

====================

Any (2)

2011-11-04T22:09:00.003+08:00

Any後面的名詞，大部分可配單數或者眾數，但否定句子一般只可與單數的名詞連用。像下面的一組句子，第二句是錯的：

1. I haven't read any book by Tolstoy.

2. I haven't read any books by Tolstoy.

原因是any + 否定句型有「任何一個」的意思，所以後面的名詞也應該是單數。

再舉一個例子：李小姐到寵物店要給心愛的貓買一把刷子，她問店員："Do you have any brushes for cats?（你們有貓用的刷嗎？）"

店員找了10分鐘後跟她說："Sorry, we are out.（對不起，我們賣光了。）"

李小姐急了，心想家裏的小寶寶怎麼辦，而且她覺得寵物店沒有貓用的刷是難以置信，於是問："Don't you have any brush?（一把也沒有？）"

李小姐問第一句"Do you have any brushes for cats?" 時，可以用單數或者眾數，但到第二句 "Don't you have any brush?" 就一定要單數了。

Donorsexual

2011-11-03T16:33:00.002+08:00

最近看了一篇登在《新聞周刊》的文章，文章用了donorsexual這個字。Sexual是指性的、性別的，亦可指性傾向，例如homosexual（同性戀的）、bisexual（雌雄同體或對男女兩性都有興趣的）、heterosexual（異性戀的）。Unisexual school是男校或女校（即非男女同校）。Unisex是不分男女的服裝、髮型等。Pansexual（等同於omnisexual或polysexual）是對所有人（男、女、變性人、同性戀者等）都有興趣（refers to the potential for sexual attractions, sexual desire, romantic love, or emotional attraction, towards people of all gender identities and biological sexes）。Transsexual是變性人（接受外科手術或性激素注射後改變性別的人，one who has undergone a sex change）。那麼，donorsexual是什麼意思呢？Donorsexual是那些捐精子的男人。他們對什麼人都沒有興趣，他們捐精子的時候還是處男。Donor是施主、贈送人、捐款人、輸血者。

Any

2011-11-02T16:22:00.002+08:00

從字典裏得知any可以用在單數或眾數的名詞前面，因而產生一個疑問︰下面兩組句子有否不同？

1. Take any book you like.

Take any books you like.

2. I haven't read any book by Tolstoy.

I haven't read any books by Tolstoy.

Any後面可以是單數或眾數，然而，什麼時候用單數，什麼時候用眾數，兩者之間又有何不同，說紛紜。本欄目的答案，相信也會引起讀者的迴響。

Any之後用單數或眾數，全憑說話人決定，因此，"If you have any question, please ask"和 "If you have any questions, please ask"的意思沒有兩樣。現在大多數人會說 "If you have any questions"，可能因為聽起來好像更願意去回答問題罷了。其實，即使說"If you have any question"也沒有只限定問一個問題。

因此，take any book you like和take any books you like完全一樣。後者改成take as many books as you like可能更自然。至於第2組的句子，卻是一對一錯，這個留待下次再講。

曾鈺成專欄﹕現在與過去

2011-11-02T16:21:00.002+08:00

上星期介紹了若干個動詞的現在和過去分詞，它們可用作形容詞，並可後綴 -ly構成副詞。那些動詞，都是用來表示引起某種情緒的發生，可叫做emotive verbs，情緒動詞；它們的現在分詞（-ing結尾）和過去分詞（-ed結尾）分別用來形容「施者」（引起情緒的事，如an interesting book，一本引起興趣的、有趣的書）和「受者」（產生情緒的人，如an interested reader，一名感興趣的讀者）。

如果動詞並不表示引起情緒，而表示進行某種動作或處於某種狀態，那它的現在和過去分詞（用作形容詞）就不再是「施」與「受」、主動與被動之分，而是實如其名的「現在」和「過去」之別。例如developing countries是發展中國家，developed countries是已發展國家；an increasing amount，正在增加的數量，an increased amount，增加了的數量；an escaping prisoner，在逃的囚犯，an escaped prisoner，逃跑了的囚犯。不過，這幾個形容詞中，只有increasing可以生成副詞increasingly，其餘都不能加上 -ly。

注意以上幾個動詞有點特別：它們都是「不及物動詞」（intransitive verbs），沒有被動式（passive voice）的。但它們的過去分詞仍可用作形容詞，表示已完成某動作或已發生某狀態。一般的不及物動詞，過去分詞不能獨立用來表示已完成或已發生的意思。例如a leaping frog是跳的蛙，但已跳了的蛙不能叫a leaped（或leapt）frog。競爭中的候選人叫competing candidates，但競爭過的不能叫competed candidates。所以，上段列舉的動詞，其實是例外。還有一個例外的常用動詞是retire（退休）：一個已退休的官員，叫a retired officer，而retiring可用來表示即將退休：The retiring chief will be succeeded by his deputy.

一套描述警隊臥底的電視劇，令laughing一字家喻戶曉。動詞laugh的現在分詞laughing可用作形容詞。A laughing face是一張笑的臉孔，又可加上 -ly成副詞，如：The retired secretary laughingly described himself as "unemployed"，退休了的局長笑稱自己「失業」。

Glossary

developed 已發展的

developing 發展中的

increasingly 不斷增長地、愈來愈…

laughingly 笑地、開玩笑地

retired 已退休的

關於技術的短語動詞

2011-11-01T17:06:00.000+08:00

短語動詞是將主要動詞和小品詞結合，掌握短語動詞能靈活使用英語。

（1）pump up 充氣

例︰Joe is pumping up his tyres.

喬在給車胎打氣。

（2）run off 複印

例︰Len is at the photocopier running off twenty copies of the agenda for the meeting.

萊恩在用影印機複印20份會議議程。

（3）go off 響起

例︰The car alarm went off in the middle of the night, waking all the neighbours.

汽車警報器在半夜響起，把鄰居都吵醒了。

（4）play back 回片重看

例︰Marco videoed a film last night and is now playing it back.

馬可昨晚製作了一部錄影片，現正在回放。

（5）measure out 量重

例︰Paula is measuring out 100 grams of sugar.

葆拉在量100克糖。

===============

句子︰My aunt Mable has moved to the United Kingdom for 5 years. I will call around and see her after my business trip next week.

句子︰I bumped into Mary's ex-boyfriend and he was too embarrassed to ask after her.

15 Years Old "Snapshot"

2011-10-31T19:16:00.005+08:00

The man who had a second chance

- a story of dream chasing.

"I think she likes you, Jacob."

"What? Who?"

"I've seen her staring at you during class, during recess, in the cafeteria... everywhere!"

"So you've been watching her... watching me?"

"No! I just happen to see her close by every time I see you!"

"So you've been watching me then - during class, during recess, in the cafeteria... is that what you're trying to say?"

"Dang it, Jacob! I'm just trying to be helpful!"

"Oh, yes. You're helping her, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"I heard she's got a sister, Rachel, who's a year younger than we. I heard Rachel's got a mile-long queue of admirers on her tail."

"Wait, what does Rachel have to do with anything?"

"Well, it doesn't sound appropriate for the younger sister to have her first kiss before the older one does, right?"

"What the heck are you talking about!?"

"It's alright, Ian. I'm just kidding," I picked up my backpack to leave.

There were two tests that morning, one on history and the other on maths, followed by an in-class essay in the afternoon. And when the clock hit 3 pm, virtually every student scrambled out (爭相走出) of the campus like war hostages (人質) just released from a concentration camp (集中營). Ian and I hung back a little to work on a couple of chemistry problems to prepare for the short quiz coming up the following day.

"So you're not going to consider her at all? Why don't you at least try to get to know her more first?" Ian caught up with me as I began marching out of the classroom.

"I know her well enough," I snapped (厲聲說), unwilling to recall my secret past. "It's not going to work out."

"Wait, seriously? So that means you guys actually went out before?"

"No! And stop asking! Why don't you spend a little more time studying? If you devote at least a third of your time thinking about possible matches in our class to studying, you'd never need my help again."

"There's much more to life than just studying!" Ian exclaimed.

"Oh, yeah? Such as?"

"Snowboarding, football, guitar... girls! Life shouldn't be dominated by books and notes - something you most likely will have to deal with for the rest of your life!"

"If I do get married in the future, I will have to deal with a certain woman for the rest of my life. Therefore, I shouldn't be spending time with girls right now, least of all whom... WHOA!"

I almost knocked somebody over as I stepped out of the classroom.

It was a girl who had been standing just right outside the door.

Her tender, light-blue eyes were filled with tears.

"Hi, Leah..." I sheepishly greeted her.

Historical Present

2011-10-31T19:16:00.000+08:00

為教會牧師翻譯聖經故事時，需否翻譯成過去式？又，當講員只是講及一些普通的故事，是否也應用過去式（因假設故事已發生），還是應用現在式？

提到過去的事而採用現在式，語法上稱為historical present或eternal present，一般用在複述虛構的事件，譬如文學作品的故事，或者是經典裏的情節，聖經故事應屬此例。

同時，新聞報道有時候也會用到，特別是一些突發事件，記者跑到現場報道，為了加強逼切感，也會用到historical present。

當然，也有人認為過去的就是過去的，誰管它是虛構還是屬實，都應該用過去式。

使用historical present時，要保持一貫性，不要現在式與過去式混用，產生不必要的誤解。

Have you any questions about English usage?

Don't hesitate to send them to us!

棒極了！ Hot Dog!

2011-10-31T19:14:00.006+08:00

A hot dog (熱狗腸) is a sausage. "There is nothing better than cooking hot dogs over an open fire at a picnic," Johnny said as he and his friends planned a trip to country park. Then there is the American exclamation "hot dog!" It is pretty all-purpose. You can use it when something strikes you as being especially enjoyable, pleasing or great.

"Hot dog, I passed my driving examination!" "Oh hot dog! Svenson has volunteered (自願) to grill (燒烤) our picnic dinner!" Johnny cried.

葉劉淑儀專欄：蘋果的成功之道

2011-10-31T19:12:00.002+08:00

《喬布斯傳》上周全球發行，不少人希望從中了解喬布斯的成就。Daniel Gross在雅虎財經專欄說："It's difficult to put a tag on what it is precisely that Jobs did. "

"Put a tag on something"的字面義是「貼上標籤」，比喻「以隻言片語描述」。另一用語 "put a price tag on something" 更常見，但意思不同，解作「標價」或「用金錢衡量」。例如，西九文化區項目很可能超支超時，目前難以確定成本："It is difficult to put a price tag on the West Kowloon Cultural District Project at this stage because of the strong possibility of cost and time overruns."

喬布斯與過往的商業奇才不同：

"He didn't create a fundamentally new business structure, the way John D Rockefeller did with the vertical integration of Standard Oil. He didn't democratise a product that had only been available to the very rich, as Henry Ford did with the Model T. And he didn't fundamentally alter the distribution, logistics, and production systems the way that Sam Walton did with Wal-Mart. "

這篇文章再次使用anaphora（首語重複法），三句均以 "he didn't" 開頭。標準石油創辦人Rockefeller創造了新的業務結構—垂直整合（vertical integration，即合併多個生產工序，由同一公司負責）。福特推出T型車，令汽車平民化。Wal-Mart創辦人Sam Walton則徹底改變了分銷、物流和生產系統。然而喬布斯似乎只是推出了一些人人想要擁有的「酷」產品："Under Jobs, Apple simply created a bunch of really cool products that people decided they needed to have. And have again."

雖然聽來沒有什麼特別，但是蘋果有一獨特之處，其產品大受歡迎，不單有賴企業的推廣工作："Apple's rabid, evangelising fans have been the most effective marketing tools"，蘋果有一群狂熱粉絲，作者以rabid和evangelising來形容。Rabid源自rabies（狂犬病）一詞，解作「瘋狂的」，evangelising即「宣教的」。蘋果彷彿成為宗教，粉絲好像信徒，緊貼新產品就是他們的教義！作者說，他的孩子平時對品牌不感興趣，買電腦時卻指定要Mac："When it comes to clothes, or shoes, or cars, my kids are largely indifferent to brands. When it was time for them to get their own computer, it had to be a Mac." 蘋果的品牌魅力前所未見。

■Glossary

cost overrun……成本超支

evangelise……傳福音

indifferent……不感興趣的、不關心的

rabid……瘋狂的

time overrun……超出時限

Idiot

2011-10-20T16:58:00.002+08:00

最近看了一套非常好看的電影—Three Idiots（《打死不離三兄弟》）。這是一套印度笑片，絕無冷場。罵人idiot是罵對方白癡、傻子（foolish or stupid）。

Idiot也是智商低的人（a person of profound mental retardation）。罵對方白癡除了用idiot外，還可以用stupid、moron、retarded、dumb、fool、loser、asshole、jerk、fag、douche、douchebag、ass、bitch、gay、jackass、noob等。大家要小心，不要隨便用這些字，要三思後才用。

"Idiot board" 是演員的提詞板。"Idiot box" 是電視機。

廣東話我們用「低B」來形容腦部功能發展正常，但為人遲鈍、低智商、呆滯、思想幼稚、反應緩慢或被動的人。「低B」源自我們幼稚園時候的其中的一個班別—低B班，智商較高的會被編入「高B」班。

曾鈺成專欄﹕毫無疑問

2011-10-19T14:40:00.002+08:00

上星期介紹了reportedly等幾個由過去分詞加上後綴 -ly構成的副詞，都是用來修飾整句的，可叫做sentential adverbs。不是任何動詞的過去分詞都可以加上 -ly成為副詞。事實上，這樣構成的副詞並不多；據網上搜尋的結果，帶有 -edly後綴的副詞有251個，其中30多個是常用和較常用的，但也不全是來自動詞的過去分詞。例如wholeheartedly、wickedly、wretchedly等副詞，除去後綴 -ly後餘下的是形容詞，但並不是過去分詞。

一個也是用作sentential adverb的常用詞是undoubtedly，即「毫無疑問地」，如︰

1. He is undoubtedly the best of the candidates.

他無疑是候選人中最好的一個。

這個字有趣的地方是它只有否定式，並沒有表示「有疑問」的doubtedly這個字。以下幾個是相似例子，都加上了表示否定的前綴un- （括號裏是副詞的解釋）：

2. She turned up unexpectedly（意想不到地）.

3. He was allowed to work uninterruptedly（不間斷地）for several hours.

4. We are glad to recommend him unreservedly（毫無保留地）.

讀者或已分辨到，第2句裏的unexpectedly也是修飾整句的sentential adverb，但第3句和第4句裏的副詞都是修飾動詞的方式副詞（adverbs of manner）。

事實上，修飾動詞的方式副詞，是最常見的副詞。以下句子裏的都是這類副詞：

5. He repeatedly（重複地、多次地） made the same mistake.

6. She opened the package hurriedly（趕快地）.

7. She told us the story excitedly（興奮地）.

8. His account of the fighting differed markedly（明顯地）from the police report.

注意以上其中兩字的特殊讀法（跟上次提及的allegedly和supposedly相似）：動詞mark的過去式和過去分詞marked，不論作為動詞或用作形容詞，都讀 / （見圖1）/（尾音是 kt）；但加上 -ly成副詞markedly就要讀/ （見圖2）/ （三音節）。同樣，動詞或形容詞unreserved讀 / （見圖3）/（三音節），但副詞unreservedly要讀 / （見圖4）/ （五音節）。

At it again

2011-10-19T14:37:00.001+08:00

"Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai is at it again"，他想知道是什麼意思？

"At it again" 裏面的"it" 是指一些習慣性的語言或舉動，自己樂此不疲，人家卻不勝其擾。"At it again" 的意思是舊調重彈，當中含嘲笑成分，也多少暗示了說話人感到煩厭。

例如：寶寶和米高是兩隻淘氣的小貓，常常打架，剛剛把牠們分開了，一轉眼又扭打在一起，主人看見，搖頭說："There they are, at it again."

列根競選美國總統時，與當時的總統卡特辯論多場，一再嘲笑卡特老套落伍，每當卡特談及自己的政見時，列根總說："There you go again."，往往引得在場觀哄堂大笑。 "There you go again" 和上面說的 "at it again" 意思差不多，用廣東話來說，就是：「又喇！又喇！」

有關疾病的短語動詞

2011-10-18T14:30:00.002+08:00

短語動詞是將主要動詞和小品詞結合，掌握短語動詞能靈活使用英語。

有關疾病的短語動詞

1. come down with 染病

例︰I think I am coming down with flu.

我覺得我患了流行性感冒。

2. fight off 努力擺脫

例︰I am fighting off a sore throat.

我在努力治癒喉嚨痛。

3. put sth out 脫臼

例︰I have put my shoulder out.

我的肩膀扭傷了。

4. swell up 腫脹

例︰My ankle has swollen up.

我的腳踝腫了。

5. block up 堵塞

例︰My nose is blocked-up.

我的鼻子堵了。

===============

句子︰In his adolescence, Tommy is extremely rebellious. That really weighs heavily on his mother's mind.

句子︰Many elderly people in Hong Kong have to rely on carton-picking to earn their living despite social security assistance.

Their / Family

2011-10-17T14:36:00.000+08:00

在坊間一本英語練習參考書看到下面的習題："If the policy is strictly enforced, about 300,000 public housing families will be deprived of their human rights"。書中問 "their" 指什麼，答案是 public housing families。Kalaam 想知道為什麼不是 public housing families'？

Kalaam 說得很對，因為 "their" 是一個所有格代名詞（possessive case），要用名詞來表達所有的格時，的確需要加上一個apostrophe (') 才行。然而，約定俗成，我們談到所有格代名詞的先行詞時，一般都把 apostrophe 省略，所以參考書在這方面也沒有錯。

此外，Kalaam 又問：一般家庭都有成員若干人，那是否意味 family 這個字已是眾數而不用加s？

這個問題或者應該這樣去理解，a dozen of eggs 不錯是有12隻雞蛋，但dozen這個字還是單數，因為一打一打還是可以數的 (a dozen, two dozens)，family 這個字也是一樣。

Have you any questions about English usage? Don't hesitate to send them to us!

2011-10-17T14:34:00.002+08:00

Some people invest (投資) in stocks, bonds, property, gems and other such things. Others might say cash is king, and they keep their money in saving accounts so that it is immediately available (可立刻得到的). This is especially true whenever there are fears of political instability (政治動盪) or a recession (經濟衰退). During times like that, having cash is an advantage (優勢), and that is the idea behind the saying that "cash is king".

葉劉淑儀專欄：殿堂人物喬布斯

2011-10-17T14:30:00.004+08:00

蘋果公司創辦人喬布斯逝世後，很多人撰文悼念。其中一篇是雅虎財經專欄作家Daniel Gross所寫的Steve Jobs Earned His Place in the American Business Pantheon。

Gross說："Steve Jobs was a singular figure in American business history. He will go in the pantheon of great American entrepreneurs, inventors, and innovators, alongside John D Rockefeller, Henry Ford, and Sam Walton."

Singular不止解作「單數的」或「獨個的」，也可解作「非凡的」。Gross認為喬布斯是美國商業史上的非凡人物，可以進入美國偉大企業家、發明家和革新者的殿堂（pantheon）。Pantheon一詞源自希臘語，pan- 即「全部」，theo-即「神」，pantheon有「獻給諸神」的意思。古羅馬人建立諸神殿，就以The Pantheon為名。後來pantheon用以指某專業範疇的殿堂。

John D Rockefeller、Henry Ford和Sam Walton分別創辦了標準石油、福特汽車、沃爾瑪超市，是改變美國以至全球商業模式的偉大企業家。喬布斯也不遑多讓，雖然電腦、手提電話和音樂數碼化的概念都不是由他發明，但他引進了應用這些技術的新方法、新商業模式和新電子儀器，創造文化和經濟奇蹟：

"Jobs didn't invent computer technology, or the cell phone, or the notion of digitizing music. But he invented methods, business models, and devices that turned each into significantly larger cultural and economic phenomena."

Phenomena（單數為phenomenon）原本指可觀察的現象，引伸指令人注目的事情，以及極大的成功。

喬布斯乘科技發展之勢，取得超卓的商業成就："One might look back on the arc of Jobs' career and conclude that he simply rode a series of technological waves（arc是弧線，比喻喬布斯的事業軌）"。然而，他並非只順勢而行，有時也逆流而上："But Jobs... rode the waves while pushing back against them. In an industry frequently hostile to design, Jobs' Apple banked on it. "

科技人通常重技術而蔑視設計，喬布斯正好相反，他倚重（banked on）設計，「 i字頭」產品廣受消費者歡迎，其獨特設計功不可沒。

■Glossary

bank on……倚重

entrepreneur……企業家、創業者

hostile……懷敵意的

innovator……革新者（引進改變或新意念的人）

inventor……發明家（創造新事物的人）

pantheon……諸神殿、行業的殿堂

Jonathan Wong Column﹕9 Years Old "Snapshot"

2011-10-17T14:29:00.001+08:00

The man who had a second chance - a story of dream chasing.
"No, please. He really needs your help." I overheard (偶然聽到) my Mom's voice in the living room.
"We'll pay the transportation fees. How does that sound?"
"Madam, your son is the most brilliant one I've ever seen. There is really little I could teach him.
" Another voice replied. "He's already mastered the maths people learn in college.
"I put down my assignment and crept towards the half-opened door of my bedroom.
"Then just help him with writing. His vocabulary is fine, but it feels like his essays are somewhat ... forced,
" Mom said.I carefully peered (偷窺) out from the opening of the door and saw Miss Annie, the personal tutor I had been working with for almost a year now. A recent college graduate, she helped me with an array of subjects.I understood. Our family would be moving to an adjacent(毗鄰的) city called Ann Arbor soon.

According to Mom, Dad's chain grocery store business was expanding and he had just opened a new branch there. He wanted to keep a closer eye on the new shop but didn't want to commute (來往工作地點) 45 minutes a day."You are very humble, Mrs Davidson!" Miss Annie said. "Jacob has been doing really well with his essays. Besides, I'm not much of a writer myself. I majored in Child Development and Education - not like my boyfriend, who majored in English.""Well then, is it possible to have your boyfriend help Jacob with his papers?" Mom kept on pressing.

Miss Annie laughed in exasperation (惱怒.), "He doesn't live here in Michigan."Mom sighed, but then recovered her initial enthusiasm (熱心.) almost immediately, "So can you still help Jacob with maths and science, then?""He is far ahead of any student I have, Mrs Davidson.""Which is why it's necessary for him to stay ahead!" Mom insisted. "He's so brilliant that it would be a shame if we left some of his potential untapped (未開發), right? Like I said, we'll pay you extra. You are one of the nicest tutors I've ever met. We don't want to lose you."Miss Annie smiled. "I really appreciate that, but..."

"Just let me know what you want. We're willing to do whatever it takes to get Jacob the best education available. In fact, the real reason why we need to move is that the Ann Arbor school district is a lot better than this one. Jacob will be going to junior high school in a couple of years. Moving there will give him a better chance to get into the best school in the entire state.""Does it really matter that much?" Miss Annie asked. "Jacob is already brilliant enough, plus...""We are doing whatever it takes, you hear me? Whatever it takes...." (five)

毛孟靜專欄﹕Come clean … 從實招來﹗

2011-10-14T13:59:00.004+08:00

唐英年自爆婚外情的故事，西報標題︰"Unfaithful" Tang comes clean。Come clean兩個字，小學生都識，字面意思是"come"「來」加"clean"「乾淨」；但兩字一起用，叫人"You come clean!" 是對方坦白道出，從實招來，好好懺悔。

You'd better come clean = You'd better confess all，還請閣下招出謊話、承認過失，乾乾淨淨地，當中隱含的all，就是「和盤托出」的意思。"Unfaithful" Tang comes clean =「不忠」的唐從實招來。英文的 " " 用法和中文的引號「」一樣，都是新聞慣見，等於「所謂」、「聲稱」，意思是「有人這麼說，但我們沒直接這麼說」、「好似係，但又未必一定係」，是為示公道，用字留點餘地 —「敝新聞機構在這個故事中，未作道德審判」，We didn't pass moral judgements on this story；也即是說，是否unfaithful、中文「不忠」之謂，由讀者自己定奪。He has finally come clean. 他終於和盤坦白地招來。

Come clean這個用法，以後與這條新聞掛，就易記得多。常常提醒年輕人，要學好英文，不必熟讀世界名著，也不必捧字典狂啃，把英文融入日常的話，活學活用就好。英語世界的日常道地話，用的大都是淺字。像come up、go down都淺白得緊，但視乎上文下理，不時另有深意。Come up — 上升、上前。

The sun comes up. 太陽升起。They come up to say hello. 他們上前來打招呼。但問︰How did he come up like this？這個come up，就是「紮職」，意思是How did he come up from the ranks？就像問，高官林瑞麟是怎麼紮的職？Go down — 下沉、倒下。但不要誤會以為有個down字就一定是負面話︰His speech goes down very well，他的演辭備受好評。這一款go down是指事、物以至人的「被消費」過程。卻是，We'll go down with him，這個go down拉上「沉船」的意象，是說我們受他「連累」、「拖累」，有不能翻身之意。We'll go down together (with the ship)︰譯做本地口語，或就是籠統一句︰「大家攬住一齊死」。

﹕Perfect Tenses

2011-10-14T13:58:00.003+08:00

present perfect tense 和past perfect tense 有什麼分別？

我們先從present perfect tense 入手。 Present perfect tense 的一個用法是顯示過去發生而到現在仍然生效的事件及行為。例如：某君於2001年開始抽煙，一直沒有停過，到了今年煙齡已有十年。

我們可以用present perfect tense 來表達：I have smoked for 10 years.後來他認識了討厭人家抽煙的李小姐，於是決心戒煙，自此煙不沾唇。到了2021年，他回憶2011年的戒煙經過：In 2011, I had smoked for 10 years. I got to know Ms Li that year and decided to quit. I have not smoked since then.在這個例句裏，開頭的past perfect tense說明早在10年前（2011年）抽煙這個習慣已經維持了10年（從2001年開始）。

說得抽象一點， past perfect tense 顯示的是在過去的過去時刻的事件及行為。結尾的一句 "I have not smoked since then"，我們又回到2021 年，因此要採用present perfect tense 。

Game

2011-10-14T13:57:00.002+08:00

Word Puzzle answers

Across: 1. leg; 3. fun; 5. darkest; 6. teacher; 8. pie; 9. rub
Down: 1. lad; 2. garbage; 3. fresher; 4. not; 6. tap; 7. rib

曾鈺成專欄﹕據報

2011-10-12T18:45:00.000+08:00

以下句子均來自新聞報道：

1. The teacher reportedly assaulted a student.該教師據報曾襲擊一名學生。

2. The accused is allegedly the leader of a terrorist group.被告據說是一個恐怖組織的首領。第1句的副詞reportedly，來自解作報告、報道的動詞report；它的過去分詞reported加上後綴 -ly，成為副詞，用來修飾整句，是「據報道」、「據聞」、「據悉」的意思，相當於"it is（或was）reported"。

第2句的allegedly，解法和用法跟reportedly差不多。動詞allege即「指稱」；過去分詞alleged加上 -ly，即「據稱」，相當於 "it is（或was）alleged"。這兩個副詞的作用，都是修飾了句子所陳述內容的確定性，讓說話的人迴避了核實所說內容的責任。如果只說 "The teacher assaulted a student"，就是把「教師曾經打學生」作為事實說出來；加多reportedly，表示說話的人只是引述報道，並未確認所說的是事實同樣，在陳述句 "The accused is the leader of a terrorist group" 加上副詞allegedly，表示說的只屬傳聞，未經核實。這是新聞報道常見的處理手法。以下例子，可更清楚說明這兩個副詞的作用：

3. Fighting went on for weeks and more than two hundred people were reportedly killed.打鬥持續了數星期（報道事實），據報逾200人喪生（未經核實）。

4. A man who allegedly told police he learned how to make bombs from the Internet was arrested and accused of plotting to destroy the Pentagon.一名男子被捕，他被控陰謀炸五角大樓（報道事實），據說他告訴警方他從互聯網學會製炸彈（未經核實）。類似的常用副詞，還有三個：purportedly、reputedly和supposedly，各字的意義略有不同，但都表示說話的人對所說內容的真確性不太肯定，甚或抱有很大懷疑。

5. The video purportedly showed militiamen storming a mosque.錄影帶的內容是民兵在攻打清真寺－看似是，或有人說是這樣。

6. He is a reputedly honest man.他是老實人－人人都這樣說。

7. Economic recovery is supposedly getting underway.經濟正在復蘇－人們都以為是。這幾個字的讀法要留意：reportedly、purportedly和reputedly自然都是四音節，-ed 讀作 /d/；特別的是allegedly和supposedly兩字也是四音節，應讀作（見圖）。

■Glossary
allegedly……據稱
purportedly……據稱、似乎
reportedly……據報
reputedly……據聞
supposedly……據一般以為

目標與野心

2011-10-12T18:43:00.002+08:00

上次講到goal和target的分別，其實相類似的字眼還有不少，例如：objective、aim、ambition等。在某些情，這些字都可以通用，特別在使用者用字不太精確的時候。或者可以這樣說：target、objective、aim都是比較確實的，說不定還有相當的時間限制。而goal和ambition較為宏觀長遠。

因此：談到一個課程的目標，我們大概會傾向使用前一組字；談到人生目標，又或者什麼十年二十年的大計劃，就會用後一組字。當中，ambition跟其他幾個字略有不同，因為它既是目標，也是動力。換句話說，一個人必須心中有動力，才可以釐訂目標，然後追求。很可惜ambition（包括形容詞ambitious）的含義近來很負面，甚至被引伸解作一些非份的妄想或野心，本來的正面意思就被忽略了。

﹕On的短語動詞

2011-10-11T18:19:00.002+08:00

短語動詞是將主要動詞和小品詞結合，掌握短語動詞能靈活使用英語。

（1）try on 試穿衣服或鞋子例﹕Never buy shoes without trying them on!買鞋一定要試穿﹗

（2）put on 假裝例﹕Do you think Dan's really feeling better or is he just putting on a brave face？你認為丹真的感覺好一點了，還是在裝出一副勇敢的樣子？

（3）weigh on 令人擔心或苦惱例﹕I've got something weighing on my mind at the moment. Could you give me some advice？目前有一件事纏繞我，你能給我一點意見嗎？

（4）rely on 依靠例﹕You can always rely on Jim!你永遠可以信賴占﹗

（5）pass on 給、傳遞例﹕When you've finished with the magazine, just pass it on someone else.你看完雜誌以後，就交給人傳閱。

===============================

句子︰After my semester-end examination in December, I will clear out my document folders in my personal computer and delete all the outdated files.

句子︰As a witness claimed that Tommy was the culprit of a murder, the police refused to let him out within 48 hours.

Target / Goal

2011-10-10T14:33:00.003+08:00

target和goal的用法有沒有不同？

Target本來的意思是箭靶，goal是球類遊戲的龍門；兩者都是要一擊命中，所以引伸出來就是目標的意思，大部分時間是通用的。也有人說，target比goal沒有那麼遙遠，人生的目標是life's goal，但一件工程的目標，用target可能更合適。

同理，談論一些確實的目標，我們會較多用target，小說家寫書時心中假設target reader，電影從業員會有一定的target audience，做生意的也有target clients。

此外，target還可以當動詞用。電動遊戲的市場主要是針對青少年，我們固然可以說：The electronic game market regards young people as their target consumers.換個方式，也可以說：The electronic game market targets the young people as their primary consumers.這句子的target是動詞，而goal卻不可以這樣用。

Jonathan Wong Column﹕6 Years Old "Snapshot"

2011-10-10T14:31:00.003+08:00

The man who had a second chance - a story of dream chasing."Hey, look! There's a poor homeless guy!" I was about to finish up a sandwich when my sister, Sue, exclaimed (驚呼). It had been a decent day. Mom brought us to a local park to picnic and sunbathe. She had gone to the toilet when my sister made her once-in-a-century discovery.There was a man in rugged clothes sitting on the pavement leading to the entrance of the park. He was leaning against (依傍在.) the fence and playing some unknown music with a guitar.

"So?""Miss Chen once showed us how little money the average homeless person would spend a day. Few of them ever go to sleep with their stomachs even half-full! Let's give him something to eat!"Quickly putting a hotdog, a banana and an English muffin on her plate, Sue got up and started making her way over.My sister had barely made a couple of steps when I saw that unmistakable grin on the man's face. He flashed his yellow teeth - half of which were broken - and put down his guitar. His neck craned forward (伸前) in anticipation (期待).

Seeing this, I rushed forward and grabbed my sister's arm. The sudden force surprised Sue, and the muffin slid off her plate."Jacob! What the -""Don't give him the food!" I ordered. "He doesn't deserve (值得) our sympathy (同情.) ! You're just encouraging him to wander around on streets and take advantage of (利用) others' generosity (慷慨)!""What are you talking about?" She asked. "Why can't we help the poor guy when we've got so much to spare?""He doesn't deserve it!" I shot back. "None of them do. They are a bunch of lazy maggots (蛆，比喻白吃白喝的人.) who never go to school, never work hard. All they ever do is just leeching onto others.

They just sit there every day, waiting for bread and quails (鷓鴣) to drop right from the sky."My sister goggled (瞪眼). "Is your heart made of stone?""And what if it really is? You cannot and should not rely on anyone but yourself in this world! If you don't take care of yourself, nobody ever will.""Mom and Dad take good care of us!" Sue argued. "So we should take care of those in need.""Go share whatever you want with that pathetic (可憐的.) bag of bones then. Just know that he'll be waiting for you right there from this day on." I sneered (冷笑) in disgust (厭惡).

As I sat back at the picnic table, the man picked up his guitar and started singing. I could barely make out his lyrics because of his stuffy (鼻塞的) accent, but I managed to hear a few lines:"Still to new heights his restless wishes tower/ Claim leads to claim/ and power advances (推動.) power/ Till conquest unresisted ceased to please/ And rights submitted (投降) / left him none to seize (抓住)..."(four)

無拘無束 Free as a bird/ As free as the birds

2011-10-10T14:29:00.002+08:00

"Wheeee, I'm as free as the birds!" Albert cried as he soared (翱翔) from his room and sailed into space. "Ha! You won't be free as a bird long!"

Officer Mutt cried as he chased Albert with a net.To be as free as the birds or free as a bird is to be totally free and completely unrestrained (無束縛的).

"I'm looking forward to a time when I will be free as the birds again," Albert said. "Stop dreaming! You won't be as free as a bird for many years to come!" Officer Mutt reminded him.

"英"熊乐乐窝

毛孟靜專欄﹕空心老倌與「稻草人

Game

改寫句子

Wear、Dress之別

古德明專欄﹕這對新人，留學歐洲時相識

to kill me / to have me killed

Bad Behaviour

Game

That的省略

Phrasal Verbs

Let (2)

Game

﹕Let

毛孟靜專欄﹕「撻皮」？港大生的tappy

Festival﹕Chinese New Year

﹕Any more / Anymore

Agreeing and Disagreeing

葉劉淑儀專欄﹕豈是「輸贏」兩字了得？

由某人負責 The Ball is in One's Court

Staff

42-Year-Old "Snapshot"

﹕Now and then

Game

Volunteer Work

毛孟靜專欄﹕不要隨便「O」嘴

Everyday，Every day

﹕Newspapers without paper?

Wanna、Gonna

Idiom - 在家般自在 Feel at Home

GAme

標點符號運用

Sales

Game

﹕Imperative Mood

毛孟靜專欄﹕不要玩太多Chinglish

逗號的用法（三）

Idiom

Sight Seeing

﹕Making Progress

逗號的用法

共偕連理 Tie the Love/ Lover's Knot

葉劉淑儀專欄﹕選舉詞彙

毛孟靜專欄﹕「種票」直譯 vote-planting?

Game

Character / Characteristics

The Great Fire

Jonathan Wong Column﹕27-Year-Old "Snapshot"

葉劉淑儀專欄：選舉大哉問

最重要的部分 Where the Rubber Meets the Road

兩個名詞

主語的省略（四）

Game

毛孟靜專欄﹕BLT？入鄉隨俗的英文

曾鈺成專欄﹕代價昂貴

Desserteries

有關情緒的短語動詞

Jonathan Wong Column﹕24-Year-Old "Snapshot"

The的讀法

袖手旁觀 Sit on One's Hands

葉劉淑儀專欄：Bits and Pieces

毛孟靜專欄﹕Choice—搶手、closure—了結

主語的省略（三）

Game

主語的省略（二）

曾鈺成專欄﹕自我膨脹

主語的省略（一）

改裝加大馬力 Soup Up

葉劉淑儀專欄：英文網絡潮語

Powers that be

曾鈺成專欄﹕令人擔憂

傳媒和青少年 流行短語動詞

毛孟靜專欄﹕縮骨與八卦

Game

The Mouse

Any (2)

Donorsexual

Any

曾鈺成專欄﹕現在與過去

關於技術的短語動詞

傳媒和青少年流行短語動詞