英文豆知識 –房間的大象

試想像你在跟朋友喝茶聊天，房間裡有一頭大象，大得把房間的一半都擠滿了。但是你的朋友好像完全沒留意到，跟平時一樣悠然自得的樣子。這時候，你會不會跟他講房間裡有隻大象？

英文豆知識 – 校外日

還記得在學校的時光嗎？雖然上學可以看到同學跟好碰友，但是一直都要在課室中龜著也是挺無聊的啊～難怪小息鐘聲開始響起來的時候，小朋友們都會一窩蜂跑出來，操場上充滿著嬉笑的聲音。當然啦，郊遊日才是大家期待的活動，一整天不用上課可以在郊外遊戲超爽的！

這種郊遊日在英文稱作field day，所以having a field day可以理解為很爽，很快活的感覺

但是這種說法可是有另外一個意思。有些人很喜歡對其他人冷嘲熱諷，別人犯了錯說錯話對他們來說就好像天降下來的禮物，當然要好好利用，挖苦一番。要形容這種行為，也可以用having a field day，可是這次的快樂可是帶著惡意的

雖然條漫中只是字面上的梗，對媒體來說可能真的每天都有新材料，每天都是field day呢

Still remember your days at school? Even though you get to see your friends and classmates at school, it does get boring when you’re stuck in a classroom every day…No wonder whenever break time comes around and the bells start ringing, kids start pouring out and the everywhere on the playground is the sound of laughter. Of course, what everybody look forward to is school trips – nothing beats spending a whole day outside school, having fun instead of being in class!

These days are also known as field days, therefore “having a field day" means being overjoyed and excited.

However there is more to this phrase than that. Some people love to insult and make fun of others. Something like people making mistakes and letting slip the wrong words is practically a gift from heaven, a gift that they would happily grab hold on with a barbed tongue. These people are said to be having a field day as well, although this kind of happiness is built on malice.

While the comic is nothing more than a word pun, perhaps to the media, everyday is indeed a field day to them.

英美大不同 – Nonplussed

雖然大家說的都是英語，美國人跟英國人的用語會有所不同，同樣的字眼在兩地的意思也可以截然不同。所以有時候用字要很小心，不然會鬧出一些誤會吧？

Nonplussed算是一個很明顯的例子。在美國，nonplussed是用來形容一些人崩泰山而面色不變，對事情一點也不驚訝。但是在英式英語（或者是說在美國以外的地方吧？），這個字的意思卻是剛剛相反，用來形容驚慌失措，不知道該如何反應的樣子。

結果明明是同一個字，對英美兩國的人來說感覺卻完全不一樣呢～

Even though the British and Americans both speak English, the words they use tend to be pretty different. In fact, some words end up having vastly different meanings on both sides of the pond. That’s why it’s important to be careful with your words, or else you’ll end up with a misunderstanding!

One rather striking example is “nonplussed". In America, “nonplussed" is used to describe how some people could keep their cool in the middle of a disaster, or are simply not surprised when hearing the news. However, in British English (or perhaps in anywhere not called America?), the word’s meaning is actually the polar opposite; it’s used to describe someone being surprised and at a loss of how to react.

In the end, although the word is the same, it paints a much different picture depending on who you ask!

英文豆知識 – 加一點鹽

隨著網路愈來愈發達，有不少人會視網路媒體為新聞來源之一。然而網上資訊難分真假，有很多內容農場會隨便亂寫務求成功騙來一堆點擊率。所以我們看到網上的消息不可以胡亂相信，總要抱一點懷疑的態度才行。

這樣的想法，就是要"Take it with a pinch of salt"了！
（話說這是英國人的說法，美國人會用"a grain of salt"但是意思也是一樣的喔）

那麼這語句的來源是什麼呢？相傳古羅馬時期的一位著名學者Pliny曾經在書中介紹一種解毒劑，這種解毒劑要跟鹽一起服用才會有效，所以吃一點鹽就有解毒的意思。
類似的說法就是有一位古羅馬軍官很害怕被下毒，於是決定以毒攻毒，自己先嘗過不同種類的毒讓身體懂得應對，而他會把毒連同一點鹽服用，因為他認為這樣好像比較容易入口。

同樣道理，對聽回來的事情有所保留，就好像吃點鹽防止中毒吧？

但是也有人認為事情才沒那麼複雜，只是拉丁文中鹽跟幽默感是同一個字，所以"a grain of salt"應該是譯成"a grain of wit"才對

好啦，要不要把這篇文跟一點鹽吃下去就看你囉

As the Internet continues to develop, more and more people are relying on online media as their source of news. However, it is difficult to tell real and fake news on the Internet apart, and many clickbait websites would happily cobble together articles in a rush to fish for clicks. Therefore, we shouldn’t blindly believe everything we read on the Internet, instead we should at least be a little skeptical about it.

In other words, we should take it with a pinch of salt!
(by the way, this is the British version of the saying. The Americans use “a grain of salt", but the meaning still stands)

So where did this idiom come from? Back in the Roman empire, a famous scholar, Pliny, once wrote in a book a reciepe for an antidote. This antidote had to be taken with some salt in order to work, and so eating a bit of salt also means taking an antidote.
A similar theory is that a Roman general was terrified of being poisoned, so he decided to fight fire with fire, and started taking different poisons in small amounts to help his body tackle them. He often took the poison with some salt, since he believed that it could make the poison easier to swallow.

Perhaps being skeptical about rumours is just like taking some salt to prevent yourself from being poisoned, eh?

Yet some people argued that things aren’t really that complicated, it’s just because “salt" and “wit" have the same word in latin, therefore “a grain of salt" should be translated as “a grain of wit" instead.

Ah well, whether to take this article with a pinch of salt is entirely up to you

英語豆知識 – 炸藥

對於不少經歷過網咖年代的人來說，世紀帝國II算是一個當年的回憶了吧？然而除了Wololo之類的梗之外,這遊戲也會有一些跟中世紀有關的小知識喔～

先說說Petard吧！中世紀時期，堅固的城堡可以說是君主最好的保護之一，畢竟當時的攻城武器不算十分強，只要有足夠資源，敵人攻城時龜在城堡裡面跟他們周旋到底也是一種選擇。

然而火藥從中國傳到西方的時候，一切都改變了，西方進入熱兵器年代。除了可以用炮彈轟炸城牆，當然也可以用炸藥直接把城牆炸掉。但是當年沒有什麼計時炸彈，那應該怎樣把炸藥放在城牆下呢？結果就是找人拿著名叫Petard的火藥包跑到城牆旁，把火藥安好之後點燃，然後趕快跑開！可是這工作十分危險，不小心的話炸到的不是城牆而是自己。

“Hoisted by one’s own petard"就是用來形容一個人踩進了自己弄的陷阱，就好像被自己帶著的Petard炸傷那樣。順帶一提，這個說法的來源是沙士比亞的哈姆雷特，但是原作中寫的是"Hoisted with one’s own petard"，不知道為什麼現在反而變成"Hoisted by“…

至於圖中的梗嘛，生產Petard挺花資源的呢

To a lot of people who lived through the Internet Bar era, Age of Empires 2 should be a pretty fond memory right? Turns out this game brings not only classic in-jokes like “wololo", but also some interesting tibits about the Middle Ages!

To start with let’s talk about petards! In the Middle Ages, a sturdy castle was one of the best defences any ruler worth their salt could ask for. Since siege weapons weren’t very effective back then, given enough resources it was possible to bunker up inside your castle and bear it out during a siege.

However, everything changed when gunpowder was introduced to the west, kick-starting the “hot weapons" era. Aside from using ballistas to break the walls, you can obviously use gunpowder to directly blow them up as well. There’s a problem though. Time bombs did not exist back then, so how could people get those gunpowder where they should be? In the end, some soldiers had to carry “petards" full of gunpowder to the walls, attach and light the petards, then get out of there right away! However, this is a very dangerous task. If they weren’t careful enough, they might end up blowing themselves up instead of the walls.

Therefore, “Hoisted by one’s own petard" is used to describe people falling into their own trap, as if they were blown up by their own petards. By the way, this idiom originated from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, yet in the original play it was written as “Hoisted with one’s own petard". For some reason, people ended up remembering it as “Hoisted by one’s own petard"…

As for the in-joke in this comic? Well, it’s quite expensive to make petards in the game, after all.

 

英文豆知識 – 數雞蛋跟數小雞

不知道大家有看過小雞沒有？印象中香港科學館曾經有展示孵蛋器，還可以看到一堆圓滾滾可愛的小雞喔！對有養小雞的人來說，期待小雞破殼而出的一刻這種心情果然是最棒的啦！

但是手上的一堆蛋不一定會全部化為小雞，總會有一些失敗作的啊…也許是弄破了，也有可能裡面根本就沒有小雞，所以要知道會有多少雞蛋成功孵化，總不能一開始便在數吧！（好啦現今科技可能有方法預先知道，但是當年可不是這回事啦）

就如足球是圓的，一場足球賽不到最後一刻根本不會知道結果，這時候假設事情一定會怎樣也是言之過早呢～Don’t count your chickens before they hatch就是這個意思。當然啦，對事情有所期望是很正常的，只是有時候不用太執著於期望的結果啦！

不過也有些事情根本就不會容許有別的結果，這時候數不數雞蛋也沒什麼意義了呢。

Have you ever seen a baby chick? If I remembered correctly, the Hong Kong Science Museum once displayed an incubator for eggs, and we had the chance to see a bunch of round fluffy chicks! As for those who have raised chicks before, nothing felt better than the anticipation as they waited for the chicks to hatch!

However, not all eggs have a chance to hatch, there’s bound to be some duds…perhaps they broke before they hatched, maybe some don’t even have chicks in them in the first place. Therefore, if you want to know how many eggs will get to hatch, you can’t start counting right away! (Sure technology may have given us a way to predict this, but back then no such thing exists)

As the saying goes, a football is round, and there is no knowing how a match will play out until it’s all over. In such case it’s simply too early to jump into conclusions about how things should have happened, which is exactly what “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch" means. Of course it’s perfectly normal to have expectations, it’s just that don’t be too caught up in whether things will happen exactly how you wanted it to.

But then sometimes a different outcome isn’t even allowed at all, by then there’s no point in arguing whether to count your chickens or not I suppose.

書本介紹 – Lord of the Flies

抱歉這麼久才來更新，畢竟我有點不肯定這本書算不算童書…不過既然它是經典，也是不少英美學校的推薦閱讀教材，我又怎可以不推呢？

在這本書中，世界正處於核戰爭。一架負責把平民從英國運到澳洲的飛機在途中被撃落，在太平洋上的一個荒島墜毀。機上的生還者只有一群男孩，結果他們要設法在這個無人島上生存，還要想方法怎樣尋找救援。
無人島上不用上課不用做功課，更沒有什麼都管絮絮叨叨的大人，又有好吃的果實跟玩耍的地方…聽起來好像很棒耶，這根本是個夢寐以求的樂園啊！

一定不會出現什麼問題，對吧？

然而一切就在一位孩子聲稱看到＂怪物＂時變天…

在很多人眼中，小孩子都是天真無邪，像白紙般純潔的，就算是看到男孩子打架大家都會覺得他們只是在玩耍。只是一群小孩子在玩遊戲而已，這有什麼好奇怪的？
但是在這個島上，這已經不是什麼小孩子的遊戲。因為野心，因為不信任，更多是單純因為恐懼，小孩子們也會互相撕殺，原本的文明跟理性也隨之崩潰。
我們經常會聽到一種說法是＂學校是社會的縮影＂。同樣道理，這本書透過小孩子表達的是人類內心的黑暗面，還有文明社會在野性的衝擊下沒有想像中那麼堅韌無比。

到底人性是像三字經所說那樣性本善，還是如作者所說那樣每個人心中都有一頭把人導向野性的怪物呢？

作為經典文學作品，現在也有不少針對這本書的主題跟人物背後象徵的分析和解讀，有興趣的話可以在看完故事之後找找看喔！

Sorry for not updating sooner, after all I’m not very sure if this book counts as a children’s book…But considering how iconic this book is and how it’s a staple in many schools’ book lists, I guess there’s no reason why I shouldn’t recommend this book right?

In this story, the world was caught up in the middle of a nuclear war. A plane ferrying citizens from the UK to Australia was shot down, crashing onto an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The only survivors of the crash was a group of boys, who suddenly had to face the challenges of both surviving on the island and to find rescuers.

On this island there were no schools nor homework, and there were no nagging adults either. Instead there are fruits ripe for the picking and places to explore…this actually sounds pretty nice, almost like a paradise!

Surely nothing could go wrong, right?

However, everything changed when one of the kids claimed that he saw a “monster"…

To many people, children are supposed to be innocent and pure. Even when seeing a bunch of kids fighting, people would probably dissmiss it as nothing more than kids fooling around. It’s just child’s play, what’s the big deal?

On this island however, things are no longer mere child’s play. Because of ambition, because of distrust, or simply because of fear, even children can cause bloodshed, and what’s left of civilization and reason can fall apart.

As the saying goes, “the school is a miniature society". Similarly, the children in this book show the dark side of humanity, and how a civilized society isn’t quite the impenetrable fortress as you think.

So what is humanity exactly? Are people born with a kind soul as the Three Character Classic suggests, or is it like this book, where an animalistic monster lives in our hearts, waiting to guide us towards savagery?

Since this is a literature classic, naturally there are many analyses and interpretations based on the themes and symbols in the story. If you’re interested, feel free to check them out after you’ve finished reading the book!

 

 

書本介紹 – Esio Trot

大家小時候有沒有養過烏龜呢？雖然烏龜不像毛小孩那麼好動跟會跳上來撒嬌，但是小烏龜爬來爬去的模樣其實也挺可愛的嘛～

為什麼我會突然說起養烏龜？因為Esio Trot這本書正正就是跟烏龜有關，而Esio Trot這個書名其實是烏龜Tortoise倒著寫的結果。
故事的主角Mr Hoppy是一位住在大樓裡面的老人，多年來一直暗戀著住在樓下的Mrs Silver。雖然他們會在露台上聊天，但是害羞的Mr Hoppy還是沒辦法跟她表白。更何況Mr Hoppy現在也是跟別人爭寵呢…

啊不對，那個不是人，是烏龜喔。

原來Mrs Silver養了一隻名叫Alfie的烏龜，Alfie對她來說就跟自己的小孩一樣值得寵愛。倒是有一點讓她煩惱：為什麼Alfie這麼多年來也是長不大的呢？他又不是不會吃飯，可是為什麼一直都是個小不點呢？有一次她跟Mr Hoppy提到了這個問題，於是Mr Hoppy答應了會讓Alfie開始長大。

Mr Hoppy能不能成功解決問題，抱得美人歸呢？

跟Roald Dahl的其他作品相比，Esio Trot這本書好像沒有帶出什麼大道理，也不是什麼天馬行空的歷險，它只是一個輕鬆的愛情小品而已。不過這不代表這本書沒有亮點喔！Mr Hoppy解決問題的方法可以透露出作者一貫的想像力，Mr Hoppy跟Mrs Silver之間的互動也會讓人會心微笑呢～至於小小的Alfie，也許也想不到自己會變成中間穿針引線的人（龜？）吧？

Have you ever owned a tortoise as a kid? Although tortoises aren’t as lively as cats and dogs, nor could they jump onto you to show affection, but the sight of them crawling around is actually kind of cute.

Why did I suddenly start talking about owning tortoises? That’s because this book is about tortoises, and the book title “Esio Trot" is actually “Tortoise" spelled backwards. The star of the story, Mr Hoppy, was an old man living in an apartment. For many years, he had a crush for Mrs Silver, who lived right beneath his flat. Although they often chatted while standing on their balconies, Mr Hoppy was simply too shy and quiet to let her know about his feelings. Besides, he’ll be fighting for attention with someone else…

Well, not exactly someone. More like some tortoise.

Mrs Silver owned a pet tortoise named Alfie, and she loved Alfie as if the tortoise was her son. However, there was something that worried her: Why didn’t Alfie grow any bigger over the years? It’s not like Alfie refused to eat or anything, but why was he still the same pipsqueak as before? One day she brought up this question while chatting with Mr Hoppy, and Mr Hoppy promised to help Alfie grow up.

Will Mr Hoppy succeed and win Mrs Silver’s hand in marriage?

Compared to Roald Dahl’s other works, Esio Trot doesn’t really attempt to teach any life lesson, nor is it any kind of bizzare adventure. In its core, Esio Trot is simply a short but sweet love story. That doesn’t mean that it’s a boring read though! The way Mr Hoppy solves his problem still shows the same imaginative mind the author is known for, and it’s hard not to smile when reading about the interactions between Mr Hoppy and Mrs Silver. As for little Alfie, I bet he wouldn’t have expected to become the “red string" connecting the two together, right?

 

新年快樂!!

最近都比較忙所以都沒很多時間更新，真的很對不起 O<<

來跟大家拜年吧～祝大家身體健康，學業進步，生活愉快！
（之後我也會想想看有沒有跟新年有關的豆知識der）

Since I’ve been rather busy these days, I didn’t have much time to update this blog. Sorry about that!

I guess it’s time to send some best wishes for the new year~Hope everyone stays healthy and happy, and your kids can excel with flying colours!

(Don’t worry, I’ll try to think of any new-year-related trivia to write about too!)

書本介紹 – Exploralab

相信有不少小朋友的夢想是要當科學家，對吧？穿著帥帥的白袍在高科技的實驗室中探索科學的奧秘，聽起來很棒耶～不過科學家好像也很不容易當，小朋友聽到要讀到博士有多難可能會被嚇倒了吧…

但是也不用氣餒，當不成那種科學家，就把實驗室搬到家裡去，來當小小科學家吧！

這本書是Exploratorium的出品，那Exploratorium到底是什麼來著？這是一個位於三藩市的著名博物館，以富有趣味性的互動展品跟輕鬆好玩的教學手法見稱。走進Exploratorium就好像走進一個科學家的遊樂場，而館內的展品就是科學家的玩具。小朋友當然最開心啦，但是成年人來參觀也許也有機會當回一次小朋友呢！

而這本書可以說是把Exploratorium變成一本書。雖然內容肯定沒有真實的Exploratorium那麼豐富啦，不過說到以互動形式讓小朋友認識科學，這本書絕對是成功了～因為這本書不只是用來看的，而是用來玩的！由於Explorabook的取材都以日常生活為主，所以裡面的活動用到的物資也是能夠在家裡找到的，小朋友看書的同時也能夠動手動腳一起做小實驗，把自己的家變成實驗室。
透過這本書也可以發現，原來我們日常生活中也藏著不少學問，就算小如一個鬧鐘也大有來歷喔！

當然啦，Explorabook最好還是由家長跟小朋友一起看。小朋友看不懂的話還有家長幫忙解說，而且做小實驗的時候有家長陪同也會安全一點呢。

I’m sure that there are plenty of kids who dream of being a scientist, right? Wearing a snazzy white labcoat, exploring the secrets of science in a high-tech laboratory, it sure sounds awesome…But it’s not easy being a scientist, chances are some kids would freak out if they realized how tough it is to get a doctorate…

But there’s no need to fret. If you can’t become those scientists, then let’s bring the laboratory into our home and become little scientists!

This book is produced by the Exploratorium, but what exactly is the Exploratorium anyways? It’s actually a world-famous museum in San Francisco, well-known for its intriguing, interactive exhibits and it’s informal and fun teaching style. Entering the Exploratorium is like entering a scientist’s playground, and the many exhibits are their toys. Obviously the kids will have a blast in this museum, but even grown-up visitors might have a chance to relive their childhood fun too.

This book is pretty much the Exploratorium in book form. Sure it’s contents are not as jam-packed as the actual museum, but it certainly delivered when it comes to introducing kids to science in an interactive way. This book isn’t just for reading, but it’s also for playing! As the Exploralab’s content is based on everyday life, a lot of its activities use household items. While reading this book, kids can also roll up their sleeves, do little experiments and turn their home into laboratories.
Moreover, through this book we also find that our everyday life is full of things to learn, even something as small as an alarm clock is more than meets the eye!

Of course, it’s best for parents and their kids to read the Explorabook together. Parents can help explain things if their kids don’t understand what they’ve read, and it’s safer to have a grown-up around when doing little experiments too.