English story 1

Here is my story of learning English. I must say sorry for those don't understand Cantonese, coz it is my music show on radio, but MUSIC is universal language, you can feel what I was talking about. Enjoy and stay tuned, more story is coming!

你有無曾經咁樣學英文？

英語指南 黄履卿氏輯譯 香港書業公會發行
中華民國十八年初版 中華民國卅八年增訂第一版

Grow up

 

The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder.

I turned round to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.

She said, "Hi handsome. My name is Rose.

I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?"

I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course you may!" and she gave me a giant squeeze.

"Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?" I asked.

She jokingly replied, "I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids..."

"No seriously," I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.

"I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!" she told me.

After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake.

We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to this "time machine" as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.

Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went.

She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up.

At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet.

I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor.

Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, "I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this

whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know."

As we laughed she cleared her throat and began, "We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing.

There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.

We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it!

There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up.

If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight.

Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change. Have no regrets.

The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets."

She concluded her speech by courageously singing "The Rose."

She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives.

At the year's end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago.

One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.

Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be.

(Story from the facebook)

Speaking

想語文有進步，不二之法是keep住講。

最近再跟local language exchange partner接觸，雖然不是傾很久，但用英文去談天是一種挑戰，尤其是我未能直接用英語思考，有時仍然有「中譯英」的情況，講到不倫不類，嗚。可是，我發現自己轉台講英文的速度，比以前快了一點點點點點，有時都可以兼顧到不同時序的tense，講過去的事識用past tense，而不是任何情況都用最簡單的present tense，就連language exchange partner都發覺我的英文有進步！（樂）

她的工作環境全都是廣東話人，迫住她要講廣東話，令她很痛苦，但我告訴她這是最快學到廣東話的方法啊！

其實，要我講英文，又何嘗不是一件苦差呢？但鬼叫你講得差咩，頂硬上囉！

這裡有一篇關於英文心魔的文章，學英文會話時，有七件事千萬別犯，必看啊！

相連的結：
Speak slowly and clearly
Practise listening
Tense
Free learning source
The power of powerless.
唸課文

海灘與八婆

你識讀以下這兩個英文字嗎？

Beach（海灘）
Bitch（八婆）

有沒有發現二者的讀音其實頗類似？ （ok，可能你一早就知道二者的正確發音，係我孤陋寡聞囉得未？）

正因為我分不清二者的發音，所以鬧出了一次誤會！

有一次，我跟瑞典女生談到我想去海灘：I want to go to the beach.

她聽到後，靜默了一會兒，問：你剛才的那個字 (beach)，是指「八婆」嗎？

幸好她理解我的上文下理，明白不會在談海灘時，無端端彈出這個字，而且她認識我的為人，知道我不會鬧她「八婆」（！）

此後我知道如何發音，以區別這兩個字，就是beeeeeeeeeeeeach，要拉長中間的音（？），而bitch的發音則是短促的（不專業的教法，想讀得字正腔圓，請自行上網研習 ;p）

*******

有一次，有位同事帶一位外國嘉賓到我的工作間參觀，忽然要我轉台講英文，還要講解工作內容，腦袋停轉，講到結結巴巴，樣衰到死。難道疏於練習英文一陣子，之前所學的就全都消失？！我不甘心啊啊啊啊啊啊啊！

為了keep住英語會話能力，我一直都想找一個本地language exchange partner，能夠見面練習英語（用視象通話和真人交流是兩碼子的事），但並不容易。在我快要放棄、又經歷「樣衰接待事件」，深受打擊之際，在這個時候，失去聯絡多時的local language exchange partner，竟然自動跟我聯絡，說想跟我繼續language exchange！

天啊，「當你真心想一件事情發生，全宇宙都會來幫你」，這是真的啊！

相連的結： 
First time to meet language exchange partner.
Second language exchange partner.

學生字的小遊戲

想學英文學得好，掌握愈多生字就是王道。

最近我迷上這個小遊戲，4 pics 1 word，就是四幅圖畫表達同一個字，考你能不能猜出答案。其實這遊戲大部份的生字都不算艱深，只是頗考聯想力，因為有時同一個生字，有幾個意思，例如：train，除了解作「訓練」之外，還代表火車，所以玩這遊戲不但要識字多，還要聯想到生字的不同意思。

你又知道下圖是哪個生字嗎?

 

 答案：（請反白以下空間）

Quiet

相連的結： 

生字。Vocabulary

Thesaurus 

Homework

Draw something。Learn something

喉嚨痛

我以前不懂中文輸入法，所以跟朋友通短訊時，會寫英文，但由於英文水平太差，就曾經鬧笑話!

有一次我喉嚨痛，send短訊告訴朋友：「hau lung tong」

豈料對方回覆問：「你幹嗎講粗口?!」

原來對方誤會我講「好x痛」（！！！）

後來我查字典，認識喉嚨痛的英文：sore throat。真是一世難忘！XDDDDD

學英文的心得

這blogger的學英文心得很實用，而且令人很鼓舞。雖然她去外國打工旅遊，但不是單單因為出過國，英文就突飛猛進，而是她切實地下過苦功。

她的分享令我最興奮的是，不一定要跑到外國才有全英語的環境，因為去到外國，也可以跟華人混在一起，根本無助英語學習。相反，在本地也可以為自己製造全英語的學習環境。全視乎自己有沒有恆心，以及找到適合自己的方法。

回想起瑞典女生教我英文的方法，認真花樣百出，由看英文書，查字典作句，閱讀理解到填充題再到看圖作文，跟我之前在學校學英文的模式很不同。雖然有時有點壓力，不過總算能夠令我提起學習的興趣，開始肯看英文書和電視節目。可是，仍然未能自如地跟外國人談天說地，文化差異是一大問題。要想想如何解決，大家有何建議？

蛇年快樂

蛇年到了，祝大家英文進步，日日升呢！XDDDDD
Wish you luck and always be happy in the Year of Snake!

各國元首都努力講中文恭賀新春，雖然口音有點怪怪，但總算一片苦心，值得嘉許！

而美國駐港領事館的賀歲短片都好好笑，認識了各大部門和領事館內部的環境，看得很開心！



英國駐港總領事第一年在香港過年。唔係講笑，她寫揮春仲好過不少中國人，她講的廣東話好多不少我去lanuage exchange認識的外國人！不愧為總領事！

點樣用英文講呢d新春祝賀說話?（答案公佈）

How to say these Chinese greetings in English?

 

出入平安：Wishing you safety wherever you go
恭喜發財：Wishing you prosperity
身體健康：Be healthy all year