上週五心血來潮，買了一份《信報》，發覺報紙裡頭夾了一本雜誌，封面還要是栗子妹最喜歡的原復生 (蔡東豪)，當即喜心翻倒。
原氏的文章，栗子妹讀了不少，印象最深刻的，要數他評大家樂的一篇 (收錄在《原氏物語──原復生財經評論集》)。能在尋常中見不平凡，原氏的功力讓栗心折。
雜誌裡頭有一篇原氏的專訪，當中提到由他策劃的「原氏物語──孔少林版」，原來供稿者竟有六、七人！之前在方卓如的著作中，見到一張相片，以為孔少林是三人組的代號呢~~~
關於孔少林，當初得知真相，有點受騙的感覺，但原氏在最後一篇解釋專欄理念，讓栗子妹立即釋然。「我們都是孔少林，你也可以是原復生。」如果有一天我真能做到原復生，那也不錯啊！
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題外話：
1) 有誰知道方卓如/龔耀輝現在的去向嗎？
2) 「投資者日記」可是已經停刊？
| Sentence pattern | Example |
1 | Subject (S) + Verb (V) | Time flies. Birds sing. |
1.1 | There be + S | There is a man. There are some apples. |
1.2 | It + V + S | It doesn't matter what you think. It happened that he was short of money. |
2 | S + V + Complement (C) | He is a rich man. This is my brother. |
2.1 | It + S + V + C | It is silly to talk like that. |
3 | S + V + Adverb complement (AC) | The glove must be somewhere or other. There are forty students in my class. |
因為加班加得很不高興，於是栗子妹上週末做了一件很瘋狂的事，就是把【我人生中最後的艷遇】的大結局看了三遍……
故事講述39歲的洪善熙 (崔真實飾) 在人生最潦倒之際，重遇初戀情人張東澈 (鄭俊浩飾)。二人起初水火不容，但相處下來逐漸愛火重燃；經過幾許風浪，最終有情人終成眷屬。
雖然故事頗公式化，但此劇拍出來卻別有韻味。看見男女主角吵嘴鬥氣，令栗不住發出會心微笑；還有男主角的深情凝視和擁抱，讓栗看得萬二分陶醉。
煲劇的時候，忽然想起讀書時，老師讓我們比較《愛情故事》和《麥迪遜之橋》，問我們喜歡哪個故事多些。當時栗子妹和大部分同學都選擇後者。老師對此感到有點愕然，問我們是甚麼原因。忘了自己當時的答案，如果今天再回答這條問題，我會說只有經過歲月沉澱的愛，才能教人動容。
因為年齡的沉重，在生活上很多事情都不得不妥協，
但因著你的愛，讓我重回19歲，可以無憂無慮地去愛。
一向深信，沒接受歲月洗禮的人，不會知道愛是甚麼。所以即使是看電影或電視劇，我也不會選擇一些年青人的愛情故事來看。
(題外話：有人說我不看港產片，但當男主角由劉德華變成了余文樂，我還有甚麼理由去看呢？)
今早看亞視的【天堂鳥】，其中一幕以 Air Supply 的 Even the nights are better 作背景音樂，雖然只短短一分鐘，已教栗子妹聽得十分陶醉。從前去卡拉OK 消遣，最喜歡點唱這首歌；雖然那個 MV 乏善足陳，但管它呢！旋律動聽不就行了嗎？
I, I was the lonely one
Wondering what went wrong
Why love had gone
And left me lonely
I, I was so confused
Feeling like I'd just been used
Then you came to me
And my loneliness left me
I used to think I was tied to a heartache
That was the heartbreak
But now that I've found you
(chorus)
Even the nights are better
Now that we're here together
Even the nights are better
Since I found you
Even the days are brighter
When someone you love beside you
Even the nights are better
Since I found you
You, you knew just what to do
'Cause you had been lonely too
And you showed me how
To ease the pain
And you did more
Than mend a broken heart
'Cause now you've made a fire start
And I, I can see that you feel
The same way
I never dream there'll be someone to hold me
Until you told me
And now that I've found you
(repeat chorus)
Source: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/a/air+supply/even+the+nights+are+better_20004937.html
The Shenzhou VII spacecraft will blast off tomorrow with three astronauts aboard, one of whom will be the first Chinese to walk in space.
The taikonauts, as they are known in the mainland, will be equipped with space-age gadgets as well as down-to-earth pencils.
Responding to the challenge experienced by international experts in producing a writing instrument that works in no-gravity conditions, mainland scientists came up with the common lead pencil. Thicker than the earth variety, China 's space pencil has a special carbon compound.
Shenzhou VII will release a small satellite to monitor the operation of the spacecraft itself and the progress of the spacewalk. During the mission, new satellite communications technology will be tried out as well.
The spacesuits worn by Shenzhou V and VI astronauts weighed only 10 kilograms each as they were designed for use inside a spacecraft.
But the Shenzhou VII astronaut who ventures outside will be wearing a specially designed 100 kg spacesuit.
Following this mission, China is expected to launch an unmanned spacecraft, Shenzhou VIII, in 2010 to put a space laboratory module into orbit.
To get the lab up and running, two more launches are planned soon after that, with Shenzhou X expected to carry two or three taikonauts.
To tie in with the Shenzhou VII launch – the Hong Kong Space Museum will stage an exhibition titled "China's First Spacewalk" from tomorrow till the end of the year.
Visitors will be able to learn about the Shenzhou VII mission as well as China's manned space program.
Museum curator Chan Ki-hung will give a lecture titled "Chinese Aerospace Technology: The Past and Future" at 3 p.m. on 4 October in the lecture hall.
The Shenzhou VII blast-off will be televised live at the museum foyer from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. tomorrow.
The Standard, 24 September 2008
Kowloon West regional crime unit's "Operation Expunger" netted nine men and a woman over a spate of burglaries and recovered HK$140,000 worth of stolen goods, including Chinese medicine and dried seafood.
Two of the arrested men and the woman were shop owners suspected by police of reselling the stolen goods.
The suspects, aged between 27 and 52, were arrested from six flats in the operation that began on Friday.
Chief inspector Tsang Yiu-wo said the burglars preferred dried seafood because they were easier to sell at 50 percent less than those at established shops.
Of the 85 burglaries in the first half of the month, 24 occurred in shops. Burglary cases increased from 888 between January and August last year to 923 in the same period this year.
Tsang attributed the relatively higher figures to the long Mid-Autumn Festival holidays as residents and shop owners forgot to lock doors and windows.
Beatrice Siu
The Standard, 22 September 2008
Tech-savvy people are using today's newest multifunction mobile phones to boost their personal image as much as to make use of hi-tech functions such as being able to keep up to date on stocks, sports and the latest news.
A July street survey of 305 "smartphone" users found that 25.9 percent purchased a smartphone because "it looked good and fits their personal style."
But the remaining 74.1 percent bought the phones hoping to increase their work efficiency and to take advantage of the different features available.
"Smartphones offer internet access and multimedia functions," said Hong Kong University marketing professor Bennett Yim Chi-kin.
The study was conducted by the Poon Kam Kai Institute of Management and Research In Motion, developer of the popular BlackBerry smartphone.
On the "smart" features, 83 percent said using them have changed their personal lifestyle. Popular functions include using the phone calendar to book personal events, checking news, weather, sports and stock prices and showing digital photos to family and friends.
Adele Wong
The Standard, 12 September 2008
上期《經濟學人》有一篇題為 Redwhiteandbluenecks 的文章，看了讓栗有點摸不著頭腦 (明明沒有 blue neck 或是 white neck 的嘛！)，於是翻開字典查查看；一查，發覺 blue 字的連繫真不少。
關於物的，英文有 blue-chip stocks (藍籌股) 與 Monday blues (憂鬱的星期一)，當然還有很多人愛吃的 blueberry (藍莓)！
關於人的，英文有 blue-collar workers (藍領，即從事體力勞動的工人) 與舊一點的 bluestocking (受過相當教育，不喜歡傳統女性生活的女子)。若說某人是 blue-blooded，他並非衛斯理筆下的藍血人，而是擁有皇族或貴族血統的人呢！
說某件事情 out of the blue，表示那件事情突如其來。若說 do something till you are blue in the face，即是拼命地幹卻依然徒勞無功。
如果跟影癡 (如栗子妹
Nearly 10,000 people a day rely on a food bank run by St James' Settlement for their daily sustenance due to rising prices.
The charity organization, which has served 229,451 meals from January to July, recorded 9,271 recipients a day at its People's Food Bank.
Last year's figures showed 12,978 people relied on the food bank, and 287,519 meals served.
Food bank supervisor Connie Ng Man-yin believes the numbers will rise slightly until early 2009 if inflation persists.
About 47 percent of recipients are from low-income groups while 23.48 percent are from families that have encountered sudden change in their financial circumstances. Only 17.68 percent are unemployed, Ng said.
In addition, 45.97 percent are aged between 30 and 59, and 33 percent comprise children under 15.
Ng said the food bank is also feeling the effects of soaring food prices.
A food bank recipient, surnamed Wong, said her family has to buy rotten food to save money. Wong does not meet the food bank requirement because she is on government dole, but her daughter is receiving a four-week assistance.
The maximum eight-month relief for each recipient comprises 3 kilograms of rice, seven packs of noodles and seven cans of food a week for each recipient.
The recipients must be referred by social workers to the food banks.
Professor Nelson Chow Wing-sun of the Hong Kong University's department of social work and social administration said that instead of food banks, long-term policies should be enforced to help the "five-nays" people –– non-recipients of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (綜援), non-taxpayers, cubicle tenants unable to enjoy the electricity subsidy and rent reduction for public estates and those not qualified for the old age allowance (生果金).
"The food bank is only a provisional measure. The government should impose long-term policies to help these people," Chow said.
Beatrice Siu
The Standard, 9 September 2008
The government has bowed to pressure from green groups to revamp its air quality objectives, drawing on World Health Organization standards.
Secretary for the Environment Edward Yau Tang-wah made the announcement at the launch of the NWS Hong Kong Geo Wonders Hike.
Yau also said yesterday he hopes the territory may reach a consensus (達成共識) with neighbouring Guangdong in establishing consistent air quality standards.
Campaigning for an overhaul since 2004, Greenpeace said it has received a letter from the Environmental Protection Department saying the review will also weigh (權衡) economic, social and technological factors in adopting WHO air quality measurement standards.
"While we are happy the government has finally set a timetable for an overhaul, we are concerned some of the wording in the letter may be a ploy to dilute or lower new standards that will fall short of the WHO benchmark," Greenpeace campaigner Prentice Koo Wai-muk said.
The muggy and hazy conditions resulted yesterday in the opening of 14 temporary heat shelters. It also brought in high air pollution readings at all EPD general monitoring stations.
Timothy Chui
The Standard, 18 September, 2008
由於有一位補習學生極之有危機意識，於是放暑假時，栗子妹便開始備課，溫習一下中四的數學和附加數學課程。
先說二元一次方程，當中關於根的和積問題，以前明明是歸數學科的，現在竟然搬到附加數學的課程中！那麼容易的東西，有辱附加數之名呀！
再說多項式，不是學生說起，我都沒察覺，原來初中數學課程沒教過除法！只教加減乘而不教除，不奇怪的嗎？
還有二次不等式，簡簡單單地跟學生說「大過要兩邊，細過要中間」不就行了嗎？又列表又解釋的一大堆，看得栗頭暈眼花啊！
雖然邊看邊罵，但翻到 MI 一課便又立即滿心歡喜。在附加數學的課程中，栗子妹最喜歡的就是這一課了。
有數教的日子，陽光特別燦爛！
(按：MI 是 Mathematical Induction 數學歸納法，不是湯告魯士的 Mission Impossible 啊！)
Gift shops feel the crunch (信貨危機) as customers tighten Mid-Autumn belts (勒緊褲頭)
Cost-conscious companies and a middle class hit by the stock market slump (股市暴跌) are cutting back on their Mid-Autumn Festival spending (減省開支) this year, gift shops say.
Customers of Far East Flora, which targets the upper-class market, have cut their spending by around 20 percent, according to senior manager Kelly Lau Ching-mei, while customer numbers have fallen about 10 percent.
"This year, more customers are choosing hampers in the mid-price range of HK$500 to HK$600 rather than something costing over HK$1,000, which they did last year," Lau said.
Mid-Autumn hampers usually comprise a box of mooncakes, Chinese tea leaves, seasonal fruits and, at the upper end (高檔貨), bottles of wine to go with decorations and bouquets to make the gift more appealing.
The prices of such hampers range from around HK$300 to more than HK$4,000.
Hong Kong Flower Shop, which also provides Mid-Autumn hampers to an elite clientele, said most customers were opting for items priced at around HK$700 this year compared with more than HK$1,000 last year.
Along with poor economic conditions, shops also have to deal with inflation with higher costs for hamper contents, higher wages and increased delivery charges.
"For example, even the rattan baskets we use have gone up by about 20 percent, as has the price of fruit. However, we try not to pass these additional costs to our customers, which means our profit margins are down by around 10 percent," Lau said.
To save money, some customers are going instead for basic gift items such as mooncakes without the trimmings. This has boosted sales of major bakeries. Peter Tse Hing-chi, director of Tai Tung Bakery, one of the city's oldest bakeries, said more customers were buying directly from his outlet even though the retail price had gone up 7 to 10 percent.
A box of four basic mooncakes is now selling for around HK$170, up HK$20 from last year. "Buying mooncakes on their own is a lot cheaper than ordering the hampers. But sending mooncakes to business partners and relatives is a tradition which cannot be skipped no matter how poor the economy is," Tse said.
Patsy Moy
The Standard, 8 September, 2008
-able 是英語中常見詞尾，據《Collins Cobulid English Guides 2: Word Formation》所載，-able 含「可能」、「擁有某種特質」之意，如 avoidable (可避免的)、fashionable (時尚的)。
當然，凡事總有例外，英語中並非所有以 -able 結尾之詞，都含有上述兩種意思，以下試舉數例：
agreeable：看似 agree (同意) + able，但其解釋是「討人喜歡的」、「宜人的」。
capable：解作「有能力」、「有才能」，與鴨舌帽 (cap) 完全無關！
certifiable：certified (證實已死亡) 大家可能聽得多，但原來在英式英語，certifiable解作「被證實精神有問題的」，即是神經病！
habitable：與 habit (習慣) 有沒有關呢？答案是沒有。這個字解作「適合居住的」。
hospitable：解作「好客的」，絕對不應想起 hospital (醫院)。
miserable：miser 是「守財奴」，但加了 able 之後，變成「痛苦的」、「可憐的」。
parable：這是聖經中的寓言故事。
personable：解作「品貌兼優」，真是不查字典也不知道有這樣的一個字~~~
sizable：解作「相當大的」，不是「可量度大小」啊！
terrible：解作「可怕的」，但 terrific 卻是「了不起的」，英文……
veritable：verify 是「查核」，veritable 則是「名副其實的」。
還是那句：翻譯最忌想當然，有疑惑請查字典！
(鳴謝 The Teacher 提供好題材
自看見【媽媽咪呀】的海報後，便很想看這齣電影，因為栗子妹很好奇，為何梅麗史翠普的樣子會那麼年青……
故事講述當娜 (梅麗史翠普飾) 這位未婚媽媽，在女兒出嫁前夕，重遇三位舊情人，當中一位是女兒的生父。由皮雅斯布士南飾演的舊情人，情深款款，魅力逼人，教栗子妹看得暈其大浪……
電影改編自膾炙人口的歌舞劇，自是歌舞連場，熱鬧非凡。要數最富娛樂性的，首推由梅麗史翠普主唱的Money, money, money；至於最感人的，栗子妹會選以下這首 The winner takes it all，它讓我想起了【麥迪遜之橋】
整齣電影由親情、愛情、友情交織而成，不乏動人情節。問我值不值得進電影院觀看？當然值得！美麗的小島+熱情的女郎，比栗子妹的網誌好看上萬倍呢！
最後送上電影預告片：
話說昨天補完三場習，下午回家開電腦，發覺上不了網，打去冇用行熱線又屢打不通；好不容易接通了，只聽到錄音說線路繁忙，叫貴客稍等。等到晚上再嘗試連線，依然失敗；打那條熱線，聽到另一段錄音，說系統故障要搶修，唯有關機。到今早再打電話，才得悉原來是觀塘區出了事。不過問住在觀塘的學生，她說昨天上網「非常暢順」。喂，咁即係點先？
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就算栗子妹平日再懶上網，逢週日早上都必定會到蘋果網逛逛，讀董橋和劉紹銘的專欄。今天劉紹銘的專欄談翻譯，看得栗子妹冷汗直冒──
…… 譯事難，已是老生常談。以英譯中日古典文學立功名的英國漢學家韋理（Arthur Waley）居然把赤腳大仙的「赤」誤解為火「紅」，可能因為他一輩子未踏中土，中文對他始終是書面語。可是王曉朝的誤譯情況不同。他犯的錯誤，除粗心大意外，最大的原因是英語的基本訓練不足。翻譯是量力而為的事。我們看看高峰楓所舉的一些例子。
Agreeable一字，王曉朝望agree生義，分別譯為「已經同意」；「贊同」；「統一」。翻開字典，agreeable不是「宜人」就是「討人喜歡」。粗心大意的例子不勝枚舉。如把insult譯為「結果」，想是馮京作馬涼，insult看似result。(這個錯誤簡直是豈有此理，即使譯者弄錯，編輯怎能看漏的？
西塞羅（Marcus Tullius Cicero,106-43 BC）是與凱撒大帝同期的古羅馬大演說家和政治家。高峰楓指出：「古羅馬文化根深葉茂，特富於宗教精神。不了解古羅馬宗教的情況，就不容易看懂當時的書籍」。果然，王曉朝把西塞羅拉丁文原文sacrum（英譯為sacred article）譯成「聖書」。Article在字典上固然有「文章」、「專論」的意思，但同時亦是「一件物品」或一種器皿。在西塞羅的文章內，sacrum指的是「祭器」。
上面說過王曉朝的英語缺少基本訓練。他應該知道英文的double negative是「負負得正」。最常見的例子是not without，相當於中文的「不無」。Not without arrogance因此不是王曉朝所說的「無知」，而是「不無驕傲」或「稍見傲慢」。(堂堂北京清華大學哲學系教授，連這個也會弄錯？！
有規模有歷史的出版社一般都會把學術著作送外審，是所謂peer review。任何external reviewer看到王教授以下這段譯文，都會覺得再看下去就是浪費青春了。在〈布魯圖〉這一章，布魯圖（Brutus）向西塞羅請教他對凱撒的看法，說your judgement about his genius is perfectly well known, and his concerning you is not obscure。王曉朝的譯文是：「他確實像你所判斷的那樣是一個天才，十分完美，非常出名，你清楚地知道他關注什麼」。
高峰楓覺得面對大是大非，有話應該直說。他說「英文系本科新生都知道perfectly是副詞，concerning是介詞，這種"小兒科"的句子譯者居然也不會譯」。高先生是北京大學英語系副教授。他提供了以下正確的譯文：「你對於他才能的評騭，盡人皆知；而他對你的評價也不是什麼秘密」……
(原文出處按此)
好一句「翻譯是量力而為的事」！讀完這一篇，栗子妹最想做的，就是翻出《英華沉浮錄》出來重讀。
在第二季的【醫人當自強】中，有一集關於迷信 (superstitions)。
話說有四個病人接連在手術中途死亡，於是醫生便四出尋找各自的juju，以祈求事事順利。所謂的juju，即「吉祥物」。據維基百科記載，此語源自西非，指附有超自然力量的物品。
學醫的人，竟然也會迷信，是否有點匪夷所思？但只要看看編劇如何闡釋superstitions，閣下應會感到釋然：
Superstitions lie between what you can control and what you can't. (迷信存在於自己所能控制與不能控制的事物之間。)
We rely on superstitions because we are smart enough to know we don't have all the answers. (我們迷信，因為我們夠聰明，知道自己不可能得悉所有問題的答案。)
以後若聽到別人說 break a leg (祝朋友演出成功)，或是 keep my fingers crossed for you (祝朋友好運)，別說他們迷信，說他們醒目吧！
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女主角在劇集尾聲唸了以下這首小詩，頗有趣，抄下來與各位分享：
Find a penny,
Pick it up.
And all day long,
You will have good luck.
(拾起地上的硬幣，整天便會有好運。)
今早聽社論選輯，說有一位「非常父親」，因不滿校長作風，於是不讓兒子去上學。社論對此大加鞭撻，認為當父親的剝削兒子接受教育的機會，又提到學校除了是求知識的地方，還可以讓學童發展德、體、群、美。
由於最近在看毛姆的《人性枷鎖》(Of Human Bondage)，所以一聽見那個「群」字，立即眉頭深鎖。據悉即使再好的學校，也有欺凌問題存在；若學生不能融入校內「社群」，便會遭受杯葛，聽盡同學冷言冷語，嘗盡別人的漠視。如果要這樣才能發展「群」，真是不要也罷。(別跟我說甚麼「天將降大任於斯人也，必先苦其心志」。
有時我會想，如果現在廢除九年強制教育，對學子是否一件好事？從前因為學費貴、黃口多，家長負擔不來便逼子女輟學，出外賺錢養家。但現在社會不同了，這種情況應該百中無一？是否可考慮給不想回學校受罪的人一個逃生出口？
可恨人雖活，但制度卻是死的，顧得了張三一家便顧不了李四全族。如果廢了強制教育，應該會有其他更嚴重的問題走出來吧？
(按：為免各位誤會，栗子妹得在此聲明，我絕不認同那位非常父親的做法。想到要廢制，全因毛姆的小說和社論而勾起。
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