出國留學的境界 / Studying abroad, but what for?

出國留學的境界 郭位	Studying abroad, but what for? Way Kuo
不久前在古城西安應邀餐敘，席間談起子女出國留學的事，很有感觸。有一位同桌，講到有個朋友家住鄉下，務農為業，兒子剛從大學畢業，要去美國留學。農家子弟能如此出色，前程似錦，令眾人讚嘆稱羨；然而做父親的幾句教子贈言，更令我心生敬佩。	NOT LONG ago, at a dinner gathering in Xi’an, China, I heard a chat about children studying abroad, which set me thinking. A guest at the table talked of a friend of his, a farmer in the countryside whose son, a fresh graduate, was about to leave for the US for further studies. That farm boy with his success and bright future ahead at once drew praise and admiration from all those present, yet it was the daddy’s wise advice to his son that touched me and impressed me the most.
他對兒子說，出國去留學，要緊的不在乎讀多少書、得甚麼學位，那些東西在國內也可以學到，也可以得着。到了外國，要緊的是學習人家做事的方法，看看人家有甚麼長處，要把外國人為人做事的精神學過來。	What really counts in studying abroad, the father told him, as was related at the table, is not how much you’ll learn at school out there or what degrees you’ll get – those things you could have within China as well. What’s important, while studying abroad, is for you to learn the way other people handle and manage things, to emulate their strengths, and to pick up the way foreigners behave and work in various situations.
這位老爸雖是農夫，其見識卻高於不少文化人。以我在教育界的經驗來看，那做兒子的若能謹遵庭訓，其留學境界必然會高，而他日的成就，也大有可能勝過許多但求考試及格、論文通過以便學位到手的留學生。	Though an ordinary land-tiller, the father showed deeper insights than many better-educated people can. Judging from my experience as an educator, the son is sure to benefit greatly from studying abroad by acting on his daddy’s words, and very probably will achieve more than those who aim no further than just passing exams and finishing theses to get a degree.
平心而論，讀書求學位的境界已不算低，這樣留學還是認真的。另有一些人出國，是留而不學，但求居留而不在乎學甚麼，甚至可以甚麼都不學，而有人果真留下了，在美國可見到不少這樣的人。再有一類人連留居國外也嫌辛苦乏味，原本就不樂意去，怎奈老爸要面子，硬要子女出國。子女甚麼也不學，留了一陣子學回來了，在老爸的公司或店舖裏幫手，會講一點英語應付外國客人，算是學有所成。此類人在香港頗有一群。老爸當初要他們出國，講明了只是要他們學說些洋話而已。	To be fair, those who study abroad for the sake of a degree have set their goals high enough, and at least they would study seriously. There are others who go abroad caring little about studying. They seek to stay abroad for good by means of attending school there and studying anything as they must – or nothing, if they can. Some of them did manage to stay, as one can find in the US. Others, again, don’t even want to stay, hating the hard and boring life in a foreign land. Indeed, they even wouldn’t have gone abroad if not pushed by their face-conscious parents. Then, having done little or no studies, they return from abroad and end up in daddy’s store or company. Now they can speak some English to foreign clients, the only attainment to show for having been abroad. Such youngsters now form a small subspecies of hongkongers. After all, their parents had only expected that they would pick up a foreign tongue.
出國留學而境界最下者，學得的只是連外國正派人也不屑的某些行為作風，結果只成了一個社會渣滓，且勿論其最終是留或不留。	Of those studying abroad, the most unworthy have acquired nothing but certain ways and behaviours that even decent people in foreign countries would loathe and despise. They have degraded themselves to the dregs of society, either eventually staying abroad or not.
身為教育工作者，我總是認為，出國留學，不僅是出去讀洋書，更是身心成長、人格完善的一個過程。僅以中國內地為例，青少年多是獨生子女，自幼享受父母家人呵護，若能藉出國留學之機學會生活自理、獨力辦事，已不失為一項人生收穫。事實上，來香港求學（算不算是留學？）的內地學生談個人體會，不少人都說，吸取了香港同學比較善於獨立思考、自主辦事的長處，自己也學會了獨立生活。	As an educator, I’ve always believed that studying abroad not only involves attending school in an overseas milieu, but it is a phase in one’s maturity of body and mind, or the building of his personality. Take the youth of mainland China for example. Most of them are their family’s only child, ever sheltered with care and love from parents and relatives. If they could just learn how to take care of themselves while studying abroad, that alone would be a gain in personal development. In fact, many mainland students in Hong Kong – is that studying abroad? – would testify that they have picked up strong points from local students who are more independent in thinking and action, and have become confident of living by themselves.
秉此心態，若是遠渡重洋，前往文化背景迥異的外國留學，收穫豈不更大更多？出國留學的境界之高下，乃至他日成就之大小，大半取決於既定的目標何在。那位西安農夫的見識，很值得深思。	With such willingness to learn, should they travel farther, perhaps across oceans, and study in a culture widely different from their own, wouldn’t they benefit even more from the experience? For them, success in studies and achievements in their careers later on would largely depend on where they set their goal before they start. The fatherly advice from that wise farmer in China can make excellent food for thought. (Translated by Allen Zhuang)
[源文與英譯文刊於香港城市大學網頁之“校長網誌”(2009-10-07). / Source text along with it English version was posted on “Way to Kuo Blog” (2009-10-07), City University of Hong Kong website. ]

一把米 / A Handful of Rice

一把米 金雨田	A Handful of Rice Jin Yu Tian
一把米，握在手心，往包裝袋內一擲，別小看這簡單的動作，它蘊藏着的人情可不簡單。	SCOOPING up a handful of rice in the palm, and dropping it into the shopping-bag: the action seems simple, yet it speaks volumes about human kindness.
我童時住的甘榜，隔條街的洋屋是家吉埃，我與店夥計阿福私交好，每次隨腳車尾送貨，借機參觀大戶人家的大房子，滿足好奇心。裝滿白米的麻袋阿福肩上一托往顧客家裏送。	Across a street from the kampung where I lived as a young boy, there stood a bungalow that housed a grocer’s, or “keat-ai” as they called it in Hokkien. Ah Hock, the shop assistant, was my good friend, so I would accompany him whenever he ran a delivery errand, riding on a bike. This way I got a peep into big houses of the rich, which satisfied my curiosity. Ah Hock would grab the sack of rice, lift it up onto his shoulder and carry it into the customer’s home.
店裏也作論斤計兩的零售。阿福有一個慣性動作，就是凡來零買的顧客，稱好後他總抓把米附送。有天好奇問他，他就是笑而不答。	The shop also sold rice by the pound. Habitually, after weighing out the right amount, Ah Hock would scoop up an additional handful as a gift to the buyer. Why? I wondered, and asked him one day. He smiled, but gave no answer.
前天在錦茂組屋區的一家雜貨店，驚訝地看到今天還有人來零買白米這回事。	The day before yesterday, in a grocer’s in Kim Moh housing estate, I was surprised to find rice still being sold in small quantities the old way.
只見一對夫婦帶著一對小孩來買米，老店主掄起米鏟，往膠袋裏裝米，稱好一公斤的米，臨打結封口時，我看到了一個早已模糊的動作：又是外加一把米。看着那一家四口，我才恍然大悟：爲什麽是一把米！	I saw a couple with two children come for some rice. The elderly shopkeeper took up his scoop and filled a plastic bag. When he had weighed out a kilogram and was going to tie up the bag, I saw once again the action, long faded out in my memory: adding a handful of rice. Looking at the family of four, suddenly I realised why. (Translated by Allen Zhuang)
[註：甘榜，馬來語 kampung，村莊；吉埃，閩台語，雜貨店。]
[原載新加坡《聯合早報》(2000)；收入《不着地族 / A Lift-Off People》(潘正鐳著、Allen Zhuang 英譯；Singapore: All Publishing House, 2002)]

To TRA222 participants (2009_04)

Dear TRA222 attenders, Online tools The following online sources of data and information are particularly helpful, both for your exercises for TRA222 and for your future work. (1) A Glossary of Securities and Financial Terms (證券及金融詞匯) provided by Hong Kong Exchange (香港證券交易所); the website is: http://www.hkex.com.hk/glossary/glossary.htm . You can use it both Ch-to-Eng and Eng-to-Ch, and it displays both simplified (簡化) and traditional (正體) Chinese characters. The beauty of it is that it also gives terms related to your target term. For example, you check on 盈利 for its English equivalent, and you get the English for not only 盈利 but also 每股盈利,核心盈利, 留存盈利, etc. (2) A search tool provided by Goldman Sachs (高盛); the website is: http://www2.goldmansachs.com/china/index.html . The page is in Chinese, but on the “搜索” line you can key in either English or Chinese, and then click on “查詢”. The search results are often given in bilingual texts, which is helpful for translation work. For a test, you may try “commodities” and “商品”. (3) A free financial dictionary provided by “The Free Dictionary by Farlex”; the website is: http://financial-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/ . It is not a Ch-Eng or Eng-Ch dictionary, but it explains financial terms, which helps your translation work. For example, if after you’ve got “earnings per share” (每股盈利, EPS) from the HKEx Ch-Eng glossary you wonder what it means, you can consult this free dictionary. Then you get not only the definition but also calculating formulas for EPS. More help online In addition to these tools that help business translation, you can use other similar online help. They are listed in this posting that I gave to students of another course: http://www.singakongcheng.com/2009/04/to-chin2333-participants-in-2009-10.html. Please check on them, and try them. Leave your feedback You are welcome to leave your feedback at 回應/feedback here below. Your fellow students can share your feedback or questions, and share my response to them, too. Enjoy using this online communication area for TRA222. Allen xx xx

學年之始談學以致用 / Studying for Application’s Sake

學年之始談學以致用 椅子	Studying for Application’s Sake Yizi
香港的實業界翹楚如陳瑞球、田家炳、蔣震等先生，與人相見時常謙遜說自己沒讀過甚麼書。我覺得這說法很有意思，也值得探討。這幾位前輩賢達，在各自的事業領域都十分成功，而且對社會貢獻很大，絕非「沒讀過甚麼書」的不學無知者所能達到。他們或許未曾在高等院校修讀過學位課程，但絕對不是沒讀過書。究其實情，他們不但讀了書，而且善於將讀書所得運用於實務，其真正的學識才能乃至專業認識，都已達到極高的境界。	QUITE OFTEN at social gatherings, one would hear Hong Kong’s prominent industrialists such as Messrs Chan Sui Kau, Tin Ka Ping, and Chiang Chen say they have had little school education. I find the modest statement very interesting and worth discussion. Not only are these respectable persons highly successful in their own fields, but they have also contributed greatly to the community. People with “little education” and hence ignorant couldn’t have succeeded as they have. They may not have studied on degree programmes at a university, but certainly they are not uneducated. In reality, they have not only acquired education in their own way but have been good at applying what they’ve studied to practical work. Their actual knowledge and abilities, and even professional understanding, have reached advanced levels.
與此類似，較年輕的一輩，如內地的劉永好，台灣的郭台銘、旺旺的蔡衍明、美國微軟的Bill Gates 和戴爾電腦的 Michael Dell 等人，也沒有甚麼高級學位，有的甚至沒念完大學，他們硏究、從事的卻是精深的高科技，其成就皆有目共睹。	Likewise, their younger counterparts such as Liu Yonghao in mainland China, Terry Guo (of Hon Hai Group) and Tsai Eng-meng (of Want Want Group) in Taiwan, and Bill Gates (of Microsoft) and Michael Dell (of Dell Computer) in the US, do not hold higher degrees – some even without a first degree. Yet they are engaged in hi-tech researches or businesses, with well-documented achievements.
至於再年輕的一輩，如Google的創辦人Larry Page及Sergey Brin, Yahoo的楊致遠和David Filo等，都沒有完成他們的博士學位；Facebook創辦人Mark Zuckerberg甚至連本科學位課程亦沒有完成。	Those even younger, like the founders of Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and the founders of Yahoo!, Jerry Yang and David Filo, didn’t complete their doctoral programmes. Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, didn’t even finish his undergraduate studies.
Xxx 學位不等同於學識	xxx Degrees not the same as knowledge
這類事例，再次印証了學位絕不等同於學識才能。最近有報道稱，中國內地培養的博士人數已超越美國，成為全球博士最多的國家。然則中國內地的科學技術實力、人文社科硏究等，是否因此即可居於世界前列？博士人數短期內躍居世界之冠，或許只是為華人社會（不僅是內地）崇尚頭銜之風氣再次提供一個例証而已。	Degrees are not the same as one’s knowledge and abilities, as shown by these instances. Recent reports say that mainland China has now turned out more doctoral degree holders than the US, thus claiming the world’s largest army of doctors. Can this alone, one may doubt, place China in the world’s forefront of development in science and technology or studies on humanities and social sciences? The rapid growth into the world’s top producer of doctors, if anything, serves to illustrate how eagerly Chinese people (not only mainlanders in China) hanker after titles of honour.
博士頭銜是否絕對重要？當然不是。看到東西方科技界許多大有成就的人，並無博士學位，但他們從事的硏究是許多博士、教授正在共同努力的課題。香港也有同樣的實例。香港城市大學剛聘請到一位專家Jeffrey Shaw來領導創意媒體學院。他沒有博士學位，但在學術界貢獻巨大，專業成就卓著。可見博士學位不是絕對必要。	Is “Dr” a title of absolute importance? Certainly not. As far as I know, many people with great achievements in science and technology, in the East as well as the West, are non-doctors and yet they are researchers in fields where legions of doctors and professors are working hard in their concerted efforts. A good case in point is offered by Hong Kong, where the City University recently chose a new head for its School of Creative Media. The appointee, Mr Jeffrey Shaw, holds no doctorate but yet has contributed immensely to his discipline, both as an academic and a professional in the field. Clearly, the doctoral degree is not a necessity.
博士頭銜旣不絕對重要，名校效應也只是表面和暫時的。在美國科技界大有成就的華人學者專家，有許多並非出身於知名學府。許多人竭力追求而終於獲得的「名牌大學」學位，其實際效用，僅在於介紹之際的片刻間感覺舒坦，或事業起步時的一塊敲門磚，只可惜效力有限。試想假若有人工作多年，但除了名校學位外，事業成就卻乏善可陳，無論如何都不算是一個有用之材。換言之，此等人表面上有學位為證，但他們所學未能致用。	Neither does the prestigious-school halo last long or carry real weight. In the US, among the ethnic Chinese who have made great successes in science and technology, many come from less-than-famous colleges. The actual effect of degrees awarded by a “brand-name” university, which many people have devoted much of their lifetime to obtain, can only make them feel flattered for a moment when being introduced, or serve them as the first admission ticket when embarking on their careers. Such effects are limited, though. Suppose a person has nothing worth reporting for the long years he has spent working, except for a degree earned earlier in life from a well-known university, then he can hardly be counted as a useful talent. In other words, people like this are educated, as evidenced by their nice degrees, but they have failed to apply what they have studied for practical purposes.
有學位沒學識者，令人扼腕，卻隨地可拾。	With degrees but without applicable education or learning, such people can be found everywhere – a really pitiful lot.
xxx 學以致用古今皆然	xxx A shining example from the past
令人嘆為觀止的成都都江堰就是一個最佳實例。這項水利工程為李冰父子建成於公元前256年，其理論依據非常堅實精確，兩千餘年來灌溉四川平原的千里沃野，至今澤被大眾。這項偉大工程成於古早年代，但即使現代工程技術專家仍深為折服。李冰父子未曾修讀過近代物理學，但他們必有所學，而且學以致用。	A perfect model of knowledge well applied is the famous Dujiangyan Irrigation System in Chengdu, west China. The project was completed in 256 BC, but its theoretical basis is still found to be sound and accurate even by modern standards. For more than 2,000 years, thousands of miles of rolling plain in Sichuan Province has been made fertile by the irrigation, which benefits millions of people. Built in ancient times, the project still commands the admiration of engineers and technologists of today. Its designers-cum-engineers, Li Bing and his son, did not take courses in modern physics. Yet they must have studied some relevant subjects and, more importantly, applied what they had learnt to that timeless irrigation project.
李冰父子的功業，常人難以企及。然而我們平凡人做平凡事，即使再微小也同樣應當成為社會進步的助力，而非阻力；必須不忘學以致用的原則，秉此精神去求學和做事。致用，也即力求實際效用有助於社會、民生，而致用所依的媒介或曰工具等因素，倒是相對次要的。茲舉一例說明如下。	Ordinary people can hardly expect to emulate Li Bing and his son with their unusual success, yet even on our ordinary jobs we still can and should exert a force of assistance – rather than resistance – to society, however insignificant it can be. For that reason, we should always bear in mind the principle of studying for application’s sake, and keep on learning and working in that spirit. By application I mean we should ensure that the actual effect of our work will benefit the community and improve people’s lives. As to the means or medium by which we apply knowledge and learning, it is of secondary importance. Here’s an example.
論及二十世紀的科技成就，有兩個偉大人物，一是愛因斯坦，另一個就是日本著名的品管專家田口玄一(Genichi Taguchi)。愛因斯坦的貢獻暫時不表。至於田口從工程、技術、經濟、服務的視角對品質管理作出革命性硏究，創立了田口式品質管理理論與方法，對橫跨眾多領域的品質提升貢獻在當世首屈一指。田口講的英語非常糟糕，然而無損於其理論與方法的真正效用，因此舉世眾業跟隨師法，其影響無遠弗屆。	In 20th-century science and technology, two giants have stood out above all others – Albert Einstein and Genichi Taguchi, the latter being the famous Japanese who established the theory and methods of Taguchi quality control system. We may leave Einstein aside – he is too well-known. Now, Taguchi made his revolutionary studies on quality control from the perspectives of engineering, technology, economics, and service. Taguchi’s theory and methods have since made the greatest ever contribution to improving the quality of products and services in a wide range of industries. Mr Taguchi speaks very poor English, but that does not hinder his theory and methods from being adopted and practised for really great effects. People all over the world follow his ways, spreading his influence far and wide.
如今吾人談起國際化，就強調必須學好英文，似乎英文就是通往全球化的不二法門。有人能用華麗的辭藻寫出漂亮文章，然而別人讀了不知所云。修得深厚的語文功力，但言之無物或言不及義，失之於捨本逐末。田口先生英文欠佳，但大家並不計較，因為他言之有理。在美國大學任教多年，看到有些英語講得流暢甚至典雅的教師，教學卻最差。這些事例，說明應當以效用為先，而語文媒介為次，正所謂文以載道。	Today, there are people who can’t mention globalisation without emphasising the use of English, as though the language itself paves the one and only path for us to go global. There are people who write beautiful articles couched in flowery diction, which yet lead the reader to nowhere at all. Their linguistic talent merely results in verbal forms of no substance, or talks of no real sense – by attending to the trivial they have missed the essential. Despite his poor English, Mr Taguchi has been welcomed for his sound and arresting reasoning. On the contrary, in my decades of tertiary teaching in the US, I have seen lecturers who speak perfect English but yet teach miserably. All this shows that the actual effect of words and deeds must be valued more than the means or medium. Words work to convey the message, as the saying goes.
xxx 農夫的贈言，勉勵年青學子	xxx A farmer daddy’s advice
不久前在古城西安應邀餐敘，有一位同桌，講到有個朋友家住鄉下，務農為業，兒子剛從大學畢業，要去美國留學。農家子弟能如此出色，前程似錦，令眾人讚嘆稱羨；然而做父親的幾句教子贈言，更令我心生敬佩。	Not long ago, at a dinner gathering in Xi’an, China, I heard a guest at the table talk of a friend of his, a farmer in the countryside whose son, a fresh graduate, was about to leave for the US for further studies. That farm boy with his success and bright future ahead drew praise and admiration from those present, yet it was his daddy’s wise advice to the son that really impressed me.
他對兒子說，出國去留學，要緊的不在乎讀多少書、得甚麼學位，那些東西在國內絕對可以學到，也可以得着。到了外國，要緊的是實地學習人家做事的方法，看看人家的制度社會有甚麼長處。這些都不是任何學位所可以概括的。	What really counts in studying abroad, the father told him, as was related at the table, is not how much you’ll learn at school out there or what degrees you’ll earn – those things you could do or get within China as well. What’s important, once you’re abroad, is to learn on the spot the way other people handle and manage things, and observe the strengths of their society – not any degree can substitute for these.
新學年之始，謹以學以致用勉勵年青學子。	In a similar vein, as the new academic year starts, allow me to advise that our young students all study for application’s sake. (Translated by Allen Zhuang )
[本文據作者2009年8月3日在東方論壇年會的演講而寫，發表於《明報》2009年9月2日。/ The source text, based on the author’s speech at East Forum annual meeting on August 3,2009, was published in Ming Pao Daily News on September 2, 2009.]

德士父女 / The Cabby with his Daughter

德士父女 金雨田	The Cabby with his Daughter Jin Yu Tian
在丹戎巴葛替張賢亮截一輛德士，前座有名小孩，司機說是我女兒，沒關係吧。這位中國大作家當然認爲沒關係，他或許還以爲這是我們這兒的常象呢。	I HAILED a taxi at Tanjong Pagar for Zhang Xianliang, my writer friend from China. We saw a little girl in the front passenger seat. “It’s my daughter,” explained the driver. “You wouldn’t mind, would you?” Of course not, said the celebrated author. Indeed, he might even think that was common in Singapore.
最近搭德士，又巧遇司機，又說我女兒，不介意吧？我也當然不介意。	Recently, flagging down a taxi, I chanced upon the same driver with his daughter, who again asked if I would mind. Of course I wouldn’t, either.
我問司機，你就帶着女兒兜客嗎？司機苦笑，學校假期，太太又上班，女兒獨自在家，看她孤獨，就帶着她，陪陪她，也讓她陪爸爸啦！	I wondered if he always brought along his child while working. “She’s lonely at home when there is no school and my wife has gone to work,” said the cabby, giving a wry smile. “So I bring her along to keep her company, and let her keep Daddy company, too.”
一般的搭客態度如何？	“But how do your passengers feel about it, generally?” I was curious.
還好還好，有些搭客還會跟我女兒搭訕呢。	“Well, that’s okay,” said he. “Some even get into conversation with my girl.”
碰上公司人員怎麽辦？	“What if your taxi company’s people happen to find this?”
他愣了一下。不要緊吧，我載的是我女兒。答案多單純多直接。	For an instant he fell speechless. “No problem, I guess. I’m just giving a lift to my daughter.” How simple and direct the explanation was!
司機說學校假期他就偶爾帶孩子兜兜風，一個兩個小時都好。“你知道啦，我們天天路上跑，哪有時間陪孩子。”好一幅父女圖。	Occasionally during school holidays, he said, he would take his daughter for a ride in his taxi, even just for an hour or two. “We cabbies are on the road all day long, you know,” he added, “and have little time with our children.” What a loving father for his dear girl!
我在報館門口下車，候車的同事忙着喊正走開的我，以爲我“丟”了女兒。我笑笑。	I got out at my newspaper office. Walking in, I heard some colleagues waiting there for taxis call out to me – they thought I had left my daughter behind. I just smiled back.
她們在車門前吱吱喳喳，當然，四個人，得再等下一輛德士了。	But the ladies started a twitter of discussion beside the car. Obviously, the vehicle minus one seat couldn’t accommodate the four of them. They had to wait for the next taxi. (Translated by Allen Zhuang)
[原載新加坡《聯合早報》(2000)；收入《不着地族 / A Lift-Off People》(潘正鐳著、Allen Zhuang 英譯；Singapore: All Publishing House, 2002)]

可靠度在21世紀 / Reliability in the 21st Century

可靠度在21世紀 郭位	Reliability in the 21st Century Way Kuo
隨著時代的進步，可靠性與維修性對我們的影響越來越大。美國於二次世界大戰前，因為軍事方面對高可靠性的要求，而相當重視可靠性的研究與發展；此外，可靠性在太空、核能應用與生物科技上，也有極為重要的影響性。	WITH times changing, mankind’s life is more and more affected by issues related to reliability or maintainability. Given the great value of high reliability in military affairs, the United States began to emphasise studies on reliability and its enhancement before Word War II broke out. In addition, the concept of reliability has since made a crucial impact on advances in such fields as space science and technology, nuclear energy’s application, and biotechnology.
可靠性是一種評估的方式。用可靠性的眼光來看，世上沒有歷久不衰的系統。本報告將分別從工程歷史及社會角度來思考可靠性與人們的密切關係，包括城市建築、航空、汽車製造及保險等多方面；另外，生病的治癒率和手術後的存活率、汽車品質的保證期、航太的維修性、金融方面的保值率等都是可靠性的表現。 在所有的系統中，人是最不可靠的，車禍次之，然後是戰爭，而微電子系統的故障率更低，與以上諸項相比，飛機及核能電廠的失事率則又更等而下之。 本報告也將由針對諸多可靠性的問題中瞭解並提供相關的改進方案，以便於人類達到二十一世紀中國古聖先賢『役物而不役於物』的旨意。	Reliability is an approach to assessment. In the light of reliability, there is no such thing as a system that lasts forever. This lecture will examine, from the perspectives of engineering’s history and social changes, how reliability relates to human lives in such areas as urban construction, aviation, car manufacturing, and insurance. Also, it will explore variant forms of reliability, including the cure rate of medical treatment, the survival rate after a surgical operation, the guarantee period for a new car, the maintainability of spacecraft, and the value-preserving rate in a financial transaction. Of all systems, mankind is the least reliable, with human errors presenting the highest probability. Less probable are traffic accidents from non-human causes, and even less so are casualties in wars, followed by failures in the working of micro-electronic systems. Compared with these, the rate of accidents involving aeroplanes or nuclear power plants is by far the lowest. This lecture will also discuss various topics about reliability so as to gain a better understanding of certain problems and to propose some solutions to them, in the hope that human beings in the 21st century will finally become “master of the material world, not a slave to it”, as advised by China’s sages in ancient times.
	(Translated by Allen Zhuang)
[作者於2004年4月21日在台灣演講，題為“古往今來可靠度”；此處源文是演講稿之前言部份；文稿轉載自台灣國家科學委員會。/ The source text is the introduction to a lecture given by the author in Taiwan on April 21, 2004.]

亞洲大學榜，台灣不高興 / What pulls down rankings for TW universities

亞洲大學榜，台灣不高興； 排名非主旨，落後有道理 椅子*	What Pulls Down Rankings for Taiwan’s Universities Yi-zi
最近QS公佈亞洲各國大學排名，香港大學高居第一，且前二十名中有四所大學（港大、中大、科大、城大）在香港；在台灣居首的台灣大學，排名僅得第22；台灣其他大學也都顯得落後。台灣各大學不高興，台大尤然。	THE LATEST QS.com Asian University Rankings placed the University of Hong Kong (HKU) highest on the regional list, along with three other universities in Hong Kong (CityU included) sitting among the foremost 20. By contrast, National Taiwan University (NTU), the cream of institutions in Taiwan, received no higher than the 22nd place in Asia, while others in Taiwan ranked even lower. Those universities are not amused. NTU, in particular, is simply annoyed.
QS排名榜無關學生程度	Student quality counts little
台大校友抱怨道，亞洲各地大學中，台大教師發表的論文數量最大，為何排名反而落後？難道台大學生比不上香港學生？	Some NTU alumni I know complain that, for one thing, among Asia’s universities NTU has the largest number of published faculty papers, and yet it ended up so low in the QS rankings. Also, they question whether NTU students are really so inferior to their Hong Kong counterparts.
這樣不高興，似乎不無理由。然而QS排名與不同地區的學生程度無關。從評比操作層面來看，排行榜的名次取決於評比指標，以及各項得分之權重。若以體育競賽為譬，可說是比賽結果反映遊戲規則。若說排名欠客觀，單從台灣本土大學的排名次序看，除交大排名落後令人吃驚外，其他大學的排名前後倒與一般認知相當吻合。	My Taiwanese friends have reasons to feel unhappy. Yet the fact is that the QS rankings have little to do with student quality of the universities assessed. A university’s place or rank depends on – or rather reflects – the indicators of assessment and the weightings carried by the marks scored for those indicators. By analogy, we may say that results of a sports competition reflect the rules of the game. So those rankings are not unfair for Taiwan’s universities in that the results appear pretty in line with the relative levels of quality they are commonly known to hold on the island, except for National Chiao Tung University, which landed in an alarmingly low place.
其實，台大校友的幾點抱怨，都可以從評比指標中得到解釋。位居第一的港大，在「亞洲學術界同行評量」一項取得100分（與其他六所大學並列第一），而該項得分之權重最高（30%），顯然由此得益。其實，台大在這一指標中排名並不低（第九）。雖然台大的論文數量較高，排名第26，高過港大的第51，但該項得分權重較低（15%），結果當然較吃虧。	In reality, the unwelcome place for NTU can find explanations in the indicators of assessment. For example, HKU, which won the top place overall, earned (along with six other universities) the First place – with the highest possible 100 marks – for the indicator of “Asian Academic Peer Review”, which carries the highest weight (30%). Obviously, HKU has benefited greatly from this. For the same indicator, NTU got the Ninth place, which is not bad. Then, for the indicator of “Papers per Faculty”, NTU did win a higher (the 26th) place than HKU (the 51st), but that indicator carries a much lower weight (15%). Naturally, NTU didn’t gain much advantage here.
至於學生的素質，本來就難以比較，更何況QS的亞洲大學排名計分指標中，僅有「僱主對畢業生的評量」略微涉及學生（不是在校生）。但是該項得分的權重低（10%），何況台大畢業生（第二十三名）並不優於港大畢業生（第六名）。另外有一項，台大明顯吃虧，即教學素質指標下「學生與教師的比例」，甚至跌出100名之外，而得分權重佔20%。其餘如論文引用次數、國際化等指標，台大都遠低於港大。	Student quality is, by nature, a factor hard to compare. The latest QS.com Asian University Rankings gave only an oblique treatment to the quality of students (not those still on campus) with its indicator of “Asian Employer Review” under a general criterion of “Graduate Employability”. That indicator carries a pretty low weight (10%) and, unluckily for Taiwan, graduates of NTU actually did get a lower (the 23rd) place than those of HKU (the sixth). NTU suffered an obvious loss when judged by the indicator of “Student Faculty Ratio” under the general criterion of “Teaching Quality”: it landed even lower than the 100th place. Yet, again unluckily for NTU, that indicator carries a pretty high weight (20%). Then, NTU appeared to lag far behind HKU when judged by “Citations per Paper” and by the several indicators under the criterion of “Internationalisation”.
高教資源不足拖累排名	Lacking in resources, low in ranking
台灣的大學排名落後，原因有如下數端。首先是台灣的大學數量大（約為香港的20倍，而人口僅為香港的三倍）而規模小，因此資源因稀釋而變得薄弱，導致設備不足、室內及校園髒亂粗糙（此事表面看來無關宏旨，然而恰恰反映出資源不足的弊端，引人詬病）、教授待遇甚低、行政人手欠缺，教學科硏的環境自然受累。	For the regrettable rankings of Taiwanese universities, causes can be identified as follows. First, the island – with a population about treble that of Hong Kong – boasts roughly 20 times as many tertiary institutions, but each is small-sized. So the thinly spread-out resources have led to poorly equipped universities on messy campuses that are a real eyesore – apparently not a big fault, but a sure sign of more damaging problems hidden behind. Naturally, given the underpaid faculty and understaffed administration, the general milieu there is far from conducive to teaching and research.
其次，台灣各大學的國際化水平偏低，原因是過去數年來台灣社會推行「本土化」政策，造成自身邊緣化，高等教育界首當其衝。台灣各大學與國外院校的學術交流、學生交換都不夠，在各大學任教的外國教師也較少。中央研究院院士固然有不少任教於本地大學，但至今甚少外國院士在台灣各大學正式任教。在香港各大學中，卻不乏中、美、英、法、俄、瑞典、澳洲等國的院士受聘任教，兩地恰成鮮明對比。	Then, the low level of internationalisation among Taiwan’s universities should be blamed on the “nativistic” policies pursued on the island in recent years, which have served to marginalise itself, particularly in the arena of higher education worldwide. Currently, no university in Taiwan keeps on sizeable academic or student exchanges with partner institutions abroad, and not many foreign professors are teaching in local universities. It’s true that Taiwan’s universities have quite a number of Academia Sinica members among their faculty staff, but so far few academicians from other countries are teaching in Taiwan on a regular basis. A striking contrast is seen in Hong Kong, where universities have no lack of academicians from mainland China, the US, Britain, France, Russia, Sweden, Australia and other countries teaching and doing research on campus.
台灣各大學因為這方面存在缺憾，不但在這次亞洲大學排名評比中失利，而且在一般的了解中也頗有落差。「國際化水平」是評比的重點標準之一，下轄的計分指標有「國際教師」、「國際學生」、「外來交換學生」、「出國交換學生」數項，台灣的大學都難得高分。	Thus, the poor performance in internationalisation has pulled Taiwan’s universities down on the scale. “Internationalisation” is one of the major criteria in the QS Rankings, but universities in Taiwan have generally scored low marks for its several component indicators – “International Faculty”, “International Students”, “Inbound Exchange Students”, and “Outbound Exchange Students”.
政治少干涉，教育多開放	Needed: less meddling and more open-up
上述兩項弊端，即大學數量大而規模小、國際化水平偏低，其實都是政治力過分介入教育所致。政府對高等教育指手劃腳，要求多辦大學，現已造成惡果，怨不得人。	And, the many yet small universities with low levels of internationalisation are the result, in turn, of meddling in education by political power. For years the Taiwanese government pushed hard for more universities to be launched, and now it has only itself to blame for the consequences.
嚴格來說，台灣眾多教授勤奮出色，大學管理傑出有效，即使在諸多不利條件下，仍有如此排名，已然令人驚喜。	To be fair, university professors across Taiwan are devoted and hardworking and the administrators efficient. Despite the various disadvantages, they have managed to earn those rankings, which is surprisingly good enough.
然而，台灣的大學資源有限，教授人數不足且待遇甚低，有些因市場機制的自然調整甚至逐漸流失到大陸名校。若繼續抱持閉關自守的政策，在大學過多、報考人數不足的情況下，既無法吸引外國學生就讀，又不肯開放大陸學生來台及不願採認大陸學歷，豈不是將今天的問題加碼留到明天解決？	Yet, Taiwan’s universities are hard hit by tight funding, with faculties short-staffed and professors short-changed. Because of the market mechanism, some prominent academics have moved to work at elite universities in mainland China. If Taiwan sticks to its isolationist policies, with its too many universities unable to enrol enough students and the island unable to attract young people from abroad, rejecting mainland China students and refusing to recognize their academic credentials, things can only go from bad to worse. All the problems besetting them today will be pressing in upon them tomorrow – with even deadlier weight.
見微知著，排名反映的現象不容忽視	Ranking is warning
評比已經過去，抱怨無濟於事。台灣教育界的先進與朋友，如要爭取提升高教素質，宜大量增加資源、重視投資回饋，拒絕政治介入。排名一事，固然不是教研重點，然而見微知著，排名為今日品質受重視的濫觴，其反映的現象甚關宏旨，值得思考。	The exercise of rankings is over, and complaints can serve no purpose now. Instead, I would like to suggest that my Taiwanese friends in the higher education circles, if they desire better-quality universities, try to input greater resources that promise solid returns, and try to ward off political interference in educational affairs. Places – high or low – on the ranking scale are not real goals in academic or research endeavours, but they can make a sobering warning. They help to call for a stringent system of quality control in future, as the problems they have revealed are worth serious reflection on the part of educators.
	(Translated by Allen Zhuang)
[*椅子為郭位教授小名；作者是台灣中央研究院院士、中國工程院外藉院士、美國國家工程院院士；現任香港城市大學校長。源文刊於2009年6月26日台灣《中國時報》，原題為“台大為什麼排名落後?”。/ The source text by Yi-zi, pseudonym of Way Kuo, who is professor and president of City University of Hong Kong, was published in China Times of Taiwan on June 26, 2009.]

To Chin2333 participants in 2009 (10)

Dear Chin2333 attenders, A translated version of “練武不練功，到老一場空” is now re-posted here below as an example ( see http://allensghkcheng.blogspot.com/2008/12/little-basic-training-much-old-age.html ). Again, please don’t take it as the answer to the assignment. You may notice that some “tough” points in the source text are highlighted for your attention. xxx More help online： So far, you have been shown how to use some online tools to help you translate more effectively. For your convenience, here is a list of them. You may try them out here and, if you find them useful, bookmark them on you desktop PC or laptop and let them serve you from now on. xxx 林語堂當代漢英詞典(香港中文大學) http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/Lindict/ xxx One-Look dictionary (多種網絡版英文辭典的綜合大檢索) http://www.onelook.com/ xxx 有道海量詞典(英漢互譯資料的搜索工具) http://dict.youdao.com/ xxx CNKI 翻譯助手(有英漢互譯資料、全文文獻檢索、學術定義查詢等功能) http://dict.cnki.net/ xxx Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary (7th edition) 牛津高階英語詞典(第7版) http://www.oup.com/elt/catalogue/teachersites/oald7/lookup?cc=global xxx Thesaurus online (英文同義近義詞庫) http://thesaurus.reference.com/ xxx Corpus Concordance Sampler (英文詞語搭配檢索）(Collins Corpus 柯林斯語料庫) http://www.collins.co.uk/corpus/CorpusSearch.aspx xxx Enjoy using your online tools.

To Chin2333 participants in 2009 (09)

Dear Chin2333 attenders, While working at your term paper, you are all the more encouraged to make use of the 回應/Feedback area here, to communicate among you or with the lecturer.

看天 / Sky-Gazing

看天 金雨田	Sky-Gazing Jin Yu Tian
老師要孩子們去看看天，說說天空，描述天空，孩子們好興奮。	THE CHILDREN were excited when the teacher told them to go and take a good look at the sky and then describe it in their own words.
天，不是天天在看嗎？但大夥兒躺在草地上，天空這塊大銀幕，天藍藍、雲飄飄，原來還有綿羊、公雞、小狗、床單、花、山……小孩們都樂了。	The sky – hadn’t they seen it every day before? Yes, but the kids were nonetheless exhilarated when, lying on the grass and gazing up, they found an enormous azure screen, on which floating clouds were being transfigured into sheep, roosters, puppy dogs, and then bed-sheets, flowers, mountains.
不屬於靠天吃飯的一代，大都喜歡低頭往地上尋寶，忽略了抬頭的廣闊遼遠，放眼的無拘無束。	The joy of looking up into the far and vast and gazing away with infinite freedom has been neglected by people nowadays. No longer at the mercy of Heaven for their livelihood, the younger generations tend to keep their eye on earthly gains alone.
小時候，望天，是無所事事的習慣。童年裏，樹是最親密的夥伴，在樹蔭下，乘涼就望天，如羅大佑唱的 “望着天空發呆”。	Sky-gazing was my hobby in those idle days along with the trees, my best childhood companions. Enjoying the coolness under their foliage, I would gaze up into the sky – “Lost in a trance, staring heavenwards”, as a popular singer crooned.
發呆，哎，紅塵滾滾，自問已多久沒有享受發呆的神馳之趣了。	Alas, long lost is the pleasure of staying in a trance, now that I’m deep in the hustle and bustle of the world!
有一回，一個人到幸福島去，一個下午就獨自的在海邊看天，突然間一股清明的情緒襲來，海浪一來一往的在腳尖，仿佛大自然在撫慰，什麼都想到什麼都不想時，生命裏諸多的歡欣和流淚的事，靜止不動；恐懼與欣喜，心頭一掠而過。	The solitary afternoon I spent on Fortune Island surfaced from memory. Gazing at the sky, all alone on the beach, I felt something cool and bright surge over my heart. With the waves rushing up and down close at my toes, Nature herself seemed to be caressing my soul. My mind was taken up by everything – and nothing – with the many joys and sorrows in life standing still, but fears and ecstasies flitting past.
聽孩子們說看天的事，心在一刻之間，又如雲出岫，從這冷氣冷冷的辦公室裏出走。	Hearing the children talk about sky-gazing, for a moment I felt my inner self, like a wisp of cloud flowing out of a hillside cave, escape from me to flee this chilly air-conditioned office. (Translated by Allen Zhuang)
[原載新加坡《聯合早報》(2000)；收入《不著地族 / A Lift-Off People》(潘正鐳著、Allen Zhuang 英譯；Singapore: All Publishing House, 2002)]

To Chin2333 participants in 2009 (07)

Dear Chin2333 attenders, Thanks to Amy’s kindly consent, we shared her excellent translation in class today. Also, we discussed the various versions of the other piece, which I did for Chin2333 last year. So far, you’ve got back two assignments (twice marked) and we’ve discussed them. Now you can also read those versions of 宋楚瑜表錯情 posted here – http://allensghkcheng.blogspot.com/2008/02/mr-soong-misspeaks-himself.html xxxx plus my translation of 回歸新解, newly done for this year – http://allensghkcheng.blogspot.com/2009/03/return-to-hong-kong-another-reading.html xxx More of such postings will be coming as our Chin2333 progresses. They are not, however, meant to serve as the answer to the assignments. In fact, I enjoy and appreciate the various renderings you've done. Your input and feedback are always welcome. xx More help available online In addition to various dictionaries, very often your translation task will call for help from a good thesaurus, namely a dictionary-like book in which the words and phrases are arranged in groups that have similar meanings. Thesauruses are now available online just as dictionaries are. Please try this: http://thesaurus.reference.com/, and try to find synonyms and near-synonyms of “vulgar” in the sense of “rude, offensive”, if you need them for that piece about Edison Chen. Instantly, you get a legion – from base and blue all the way down to villainous. Enjoy using such online aids.

回歸新解 / Return to Hong Kong: Another Reading

回歸新解 （節選）	Return to Hong Kong: Another Reading (excerpt)
程步奎	Cheng Bu-kuei
中國人說緣份，是解釋人生境遇到了智窮之時，推諉給終級動因的託辭，並非宿命論，反倒是愜意溫馨。 說我和香港有緣，不但是說我喜歡香港，而且還有超乎個人喜好的不可知的外力，因此，我來香港城市大學，也就似乎冥冥中自有天意。 “天時地利人和”進行了一次轉化的創造，不禁使我緬想，到城市大學來推展中國文化科目，是不是“天之將降大任於斯人也”？辛苦大概是難免了，但既是天意與緣份，也倒開心。	Destiny has been the final reason the Chinese would cite when they are at a loss how to explain certain circumstances in their lives. Instead of fatalism, here destiny conveys a rather tender feeling of satisfaction. By “predestined for Hong Kong”, I mean that not only do I like the place but some unknown power far beyond my own preference plays a role, too. So it seems that, in the unseen world, Heaven’s will decided that I should come to City University of Hong Kong. Thus, a blend of “the right time, right place, and right people” has created a big change for me. This cannot but make me wonder whether my given task of launching the Chinese Civilisation programme at CityU is a sign that “Heaven is about to place a great responsibility” upon me. Hard work is almost sure but, since Heaven or destiny has willed it, I would rather enjoy it. (Translated by Allen Zhuang)
(源文載《明報月刊》1999年11月號，頁99 / Source text was published in Ming Pao Monthly November 1999 issue, p 99)

To Chin2333 participants in 2009 (06)

Dear Chin2333 attenders, Here is the passage for your assignment: xxx 練武不練功，到老一場空 站樁是所有習武之人入門的基本功，站樁不僅是練你腳下的功夫，更重要的是磨練你的心志。
習武的精髓是習心，習心就是要讓你自己的心志得到磨練。習武之人最重要的是要做到身心要平靜如水，心靜思遠能達千里。
站樁的時候，你就是一棵樹，你要把自己想像成參天大樹。樹高萬丈在於根，你整個身心，要在你腳下的土地生根，根扎得越深，你的功夫就越深。
習武要內外兼修，最終要與天地萬物融為一體，如果到達了這個層次，到了那個時刻，你的整個身心就會變成水了。
從一棵大樹，變成能滲透萬物之中的水，到那時那就是習武的更高境界了。這個境界就是要融化自己，化成水，只有你自覺不自覺地把自己融成一汪水了，你才能夠將你的身心融入你腳下的土地，到那個時候你才算是真正入了武道。
“李小龍傳奇"電視劇中，詠春拳師傅葉問大師指點李小龍的一段話。

書法義工 / Volunteers with Brushes

書法義工 金雨田	Volunteers with Brushes Jin Yu Tian
中華文化，是從竹管裏流出來的，這裏說的是毛筆。	CHINESE culture stems from a little bamboo shaft, by which I mean the writing brush.
前些時候，高信疆來訪，談起在台灣發起文化義工的事。他說反應奇佳，一批批愛寫書法的人士，帶着筆墨，到各地去免費教授書法。	Not long ago, a friend came and told me about a “Learn calligraphy” drive in Taiwan. The appeal for volunteers, he said, had evoked such a warm response that groups of calligraphy enthusiasts, bringing along their brushes and ink, went around giving free lessons in Chinese penmanship.
難得的是，參與的人男女老幼都有，地點不計，學校工廠皆行，有些人還是平生第一次握這管子呢。	And remarkable crowds of learners they did draw – old and young, male and female, in schools, factories, or any other venues. Some of them came and had a try at writing with a brush for the first time in their lives.
他們還到雛妓收容所，教導這些肉體與靈魂曾經備受摧殘的人，運用筆墨，治療心靈的創傷。	The volunteers went to the halfway house for child prostitutes, too. They taught calligraphy to the girls who had been badly abused in body and mind so that, working with the brush and ink, they could expect to recover from the trauma sooner.
毛筆，長長時間曾是最為一般的書寫工具，更是文人不可或離的創作工具。時不我與，讓位給現代用筆和電腦鍵盤，但它的使轉順遂，也最經得起時間考驗。歷史上多少的藝術精靈，就依附在這管竹尾的毫毛而流芳百世。	For a long, long time, the Chinese brush has been the most ordinary tool for writing or, for the literati, the indispensable medium in their creative work. Then, with the passing of years, it has given way to various modern pens and pencils, and recently to the computer keyboard. Yet, it is the simple brush that has stood the test of time best. Gliding on paper with ease and freedom, the fine long hair attached to a bamboo shaft has rendered numerous literary and art geniuses immortal for posterity.
明人陳繼儒說：“筆有四德，銳齊健圓”，借用這句話形容那些書法義工，由銳而至圓，不也是人生追求的一種可貴的精神體現？著力，用心 —— 至性的嚮往。	Like humans, the brush has virtues. A worthy specimen, remarked a scholar centuries ago, must have a writing tip that is keen, neat, resilient, and well-rounded. The same could be said, I think, to describe those volunteers with brushes. Keen to render help, they devote themselves to noble pursuits until they themselves become well-rounded through experiences in life. Men’s hand and heart act in unison towards perfection in penmanship – and in humanity.
	(Translated by Allen Zhuang)
[原載新加坡《聯合早報》(2000)；收入《不著地族 / A Lift-Off People》(潘正鐳著、Allen Zhuang 英譯；Singapore: All Publishing House, 2002)]

To Chin2333 participants in 2009 (04)

Dear Chin2333 attenders, From time to time, you may need an English version for a classical quotation, say, from The Analects (《論語》) or Dao De Jing (《道德經》), or you may want to put a couplet from a poem by Tang Dynasty poet 李白 or 杜甫 into English. Then you can find great help from this website for Chinese Classics & Translations entitled “溫故知新” at http://www.afpc.asso.fr/wengu/wg/wengu.php?l=intro . Take《論語》for example. Along with the original Chinese text, the website gives you the time-honoured English version by James Legge (理雅各, 1815-1897), an older-generation British sinologist, and also the well-acclaimed modern rendering by D. C. Lau (劉殿爵), a contemporary Chinese scholar. It even gives you a French version translated by Couvreur. So, for the oft-quoted saying by Confucius, “學而時習之，不亦說(悅)乎？”, you can have a choice between “Is it not pleasant to learn with a constant perseverance and application?” and “Is it not a pleasure, having learned something, to try it out at due intervals?”. In addition to 《論語》) and 《道德經》, the website features 《詩經》,《大學》,《中庸》,《三字經》,《易經》,《唐詩三百首》,《孫子兵法》 and 《三十六計》, along with their translated versions in English (in some cases, plus French, and plus German). It may be updated later on and include even more Chinese classics and translations. Enjoy using these online resources.

The Man and His Two Wives / 一夫兩妻

The Man and His Two Wives Aesop’s Fables	一夫兩妻 伊索寓言
There was once a time when a man was allowed more wives than one, and a middle-aged bachelor, who could be called neither young nor old, and whose hair was just beginning to turn gray, fell in love with two women at the same time and married them both. One was young and lively and wanted her husband to look youthful; the other was somewhat more advanced in age and was concerned that her husband look about the same age as she did. So, the young wife seized every opportunity to pull out all her dear husband’s gray hairs, while the older one zealously plucked out every black hair she could find. For a while the man was highly flattered by their attention and devotion until, one morning, he discovered that, thanks to his two wives, he did not have a hair left on his head.	舊時男子娶妻，可不限一人。有一中年光棍，歲數可謂不大不小，頭髮正當由黑轉白；同時愛戀兩女，遂一併娶來。一女年少活潑，願夫君形象青春；另一女已頗為老大，急欲夫君相貌年齡與己相仿。於是少妻每得機會，即將良人之白髮悉數擢去，而老妻亦孜孜不倦，盡力將其黑髮逐一揀出拔除。男子兼享兩妻關愛呵護，一時大為自得；直至某日清晨，始知經兩妻如此照顧，自家頭頂竟已毫髮不存。
Whoever allows his principles to be swayed by the influence and different needs of conflicting parties will end in [sic] having no principles at all.	凡有人願受諸方勢力所左右，而不顧各方要求之彼此牴觸，則其自身行止，終將至於全無操守。
[From Aesop’s Fables, Selected and Adapted by Jack Zipers, Penguin Books, 1996]	( Allen Zhuang 譯)

To Chin2333 participants in 2009 (03)

Dear Chin2333 attenders, There are various online resources of database or information that can help you do translation, either for your assignments now or your job tasks later on. xxx For English equivalents of Chinese words or phrases, particularly those in literary or classical Chinese (文言) or those laden with significance in Chinese culture, you may want to try this online version of 《林語堂當代漢英詞典》 created and maintained by the Chinese University of Hong Kong at http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/Lindict/. For example, you can find the English for single characters 緣, 福, and 邪, and for multi-character words or phrases like 孽緣, 惜福 and 邪氣. xxx You may also find help from this online tool of 有道海量詞典 (Youdao) at http://dict.youdao.com/. Please note that, despite the name, this is not a dictionary but a database or search tool, and it is a “two-way” tool capable of both Eng-Ch and Ch-Eng searching and retrieval. Also, please be aware that 有道 focuses on data of mainland China and so you need to exercise greater caution when using the data it retrieves. Alternatively, you may download the software of 網易有道桌面詞典 and install it on your PC, and activate it from your desktop. See http://down1.tech.sina.com.cn/download/down_contents/1201363200/37900.shtml xxx Please note that, whether using the《林語堂當代漢英詞典》or 有道 search tool, you may not get exactly what you need, but you can expect to find tips or hints that guide you to your target. xxx Enjoy using these online helpers.

人民幣偽鈔 / Fake RMB Notes

人民幣偽鈔 xxx	Fake RMB Notes xxx
相信不少內地旅客趁農曆新年來港消費，但可能成人民幣偽鈔流入本港的高危期。警方去年檢獲逾1萬張人民幣偽鈔，較2007年增加近一成半；警方指，九成檢獲的人民幣偽鈔，利用柯氏印刷技術印製，質素普通，市民可憑手感及肉眼察覺，能分辨鈔票真偽。	Many visitors are expected to arrive from the mainland and spend money in Hong Kong during the Lunar New Year holiday, which may become a high-risk season when forged Renminbi banknotes flood in. Over 10,000 fake RMB notes were seized by the police during 2008, almost a 15% increase over the figure of 2007. According to the police, 90% of the seized counterfeits had been produced by offset printing and were of such a mediocre quality that local residents could tell them from the genuine notes by hand touch and naked-eye examination.
[源文摘自香港《都市日報》2009年1月14日; 此處標題為譯者所加]	[Source text taken from Hong Kong newspaper Metro, Jan 14, 2009; headline here given by this translator ] (Translated by Allen Zhuang)

To Chin2333 participants in 2009 (02)

Dear Chin2333 attenders, Glad to see you now can use this tool for communication. Hope you’ll enjoy it. Your feedback is always welcome. Wish you a fruitful Year of the Ox. For your convenience, here is the Chinese text for your homework:
兩岸交流外一章（節選）
楊孟瑜
話說宋楚瑜在清華大學演講時，對於校方在歡迎辭中盛讚他，宋楚瑜感激在心，並特別用了一個台灣不會用，但北京會用的 “特”字，來形容自己是 “特窩心”的。 咦，宋楚瑜此話一出，聽眾們的反應好像 “怪怪的”，隨行有家台灣電視台記者嗅覺特敏銳，馬上走訪北京民眾，才知道這 “窩心”在兩岸的意思可是完全相反。 在台灣說 “窩心”，是指對方的言行彷佛說到自己心窩裡，感覺相當溫暖、舒服，甚至是很感動；而在大陸說 “'窩心”，則是指心裡彷佛被堵住一樣，特不舒服。

古詩今植見新松 / Classical Poetry Finds New Life

古詩今植見新松 莊開仁	Classical Poetry Finds New Life
去年（2008）夏，中國文化中心舉辦創立十周年慶祝晚宴，席間穿插崑曲選段、笙歌等文娛節目助興。突然，中心助理主任馬家輝博士宣佈臨時插入特別節目，請中心某導師即席賦詩，並由中心主任鄭培凱教授命題──「十周年」。這位導師上台，來回踱了幾步（據說有人數得七步），略一思索，朗聲吟出一首七絕：	THE SUMMER of 2008 saw CityU’s Chinese Civilisation Centre (CCIV) marking its 10th anniversary. A celebratory feast was going on, punctuated by entertainment like Kunqu opera arias to the accompaniment of the sheng pipe. Unexpectedly, Dr Ma Ka fai, Assistant Director of CCIV, announced a last-minute-added show of talent – a poem done extempore by an instructor of the Centre. It should be about the anniversary, added Professor Pei-kai Cheng, Director of CCIV, setting the theme for the composing. A young man went on stage and, after a bit of pacing (someone counted seven steps, reportedly) and musing, incanted in a clear voice a seven-character-line quatrain, which roughly translates as follows:
十載滋蘭十載心， 嚶鳴處處有清音。 飛觴舉箸燈歌醉， 此日高情何處尋？	A decade’s talent-grooming, with a decade’s fond love , Like a flock at once chirping, we’ve echoed heart and soul; Amid songs and music tonight, and festivities around, Such bliss and high spirits – where else can be found?
這位今日古典詩人，就是主持城大「新松詩社」的導師之一董就雄博士；他和另一位導師張為群女士都修習古典文學，一同執教於中心，講授中國文化課程。兩位導師2005年11月創組詩社，邀集愛好古典詩詞的學生，一同硏討詩藝，傳承中華文化這一瑰寶。	That poet – a present-day classicist – is Dr Dung Chau-hung, one of the twin tutors for the Xin Song Poetry Group, a band of poetry enthusiasts at CityU. His partner, Ms Sharon Cheung Wai-kwan, is also a tutor with CCIV. Both studied classical Chinese literature, and both have been teaching courses in Chinese civilisation at the Centre. They set up the group in November 2005 to bring together students keen on classical poetry to explore that art, so as to help keep a treasure of Chinese culture alive and hand it down to the young.
詩社之名，取自杜甫詩句「新松恨不高千尺，惡竹應須斬萬竿」，期望青年詩友志高千尺，如新松般青蔥昂揚、茁壯成長。 詩社每月聚會一次，講創作、談賞析，也交流切磋習作。聚會前幾日，社員將習作電郵給導師；詩聚時，作者講述其意念構思，詩友評論建議，最後由導師總評。董、張兩位導師也各有詩作，供大家硏討。 除暑期外，每月均有詩會，三年來22次聚會、21次詩課的成果，終於匯編成《新松詩集》。	The group’s name “Xin Song” (literally, young pines) was taken from an oft-quoted couplet by Du Fu, the famous Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) poet – How I wish young pines would rise a thousand feet tall, While evil bamboos be felled, ten thousands in all! It was so named to signify the hope that budding poets would set their aims high and, like new saplings, grow in vigour and vitality towards maturity. The group met monthly. Members gathered to discuss how to compose and appreciate poems, read one another’s exercises and compare notes. Each time, they would email their homework to Dr Dung and Ms Cheung a few days in advance. The meeting would then start with the aspiring poets explaining the ideas and conceptions of their verses, followed by comments and suggestions from their peers, and wind up with a general critique by the tutors. Both Dr Dung and Ms Cheung brought their own poems to the group for discussion. The monthly exercises over the past three years (except summer holidays) have resulted in a published volume, Collected Poems by Xin Song Group.
兩位導師談起詩社、詩集，難掩欣喜之情，因為這是城大建校以來首本由師生攜手創作的古典詩集。香港近年各大專院校成立詩社、出版詩集者不多，城大雖是理工科為主的學府，卻重視培育人文素養，如今有此詩社、出此詩集，確實值得高興、自豪。	The tutors talked about their group and the Collected Poems with obvious satisfaction. And justifiably so, as it is CityU’s first ever published collection of classical poems written by students and teachers together. The past few years have seen few poetry groups formed or poems published in Hong Kong colleges or universities. Yet CityU, despite its focus on science and engineering, has been promoting culture and liberal education for students. The Xin Song Group with its Collected Poems is certainly a cause for pride.
有人質疑，今時今日，學作古詩有何用處，誰能超過李白、杜甫？董博士說，創作古詩不是為了勝過古人，而是希望上接古人，加深對文化寶庫的認識，恢復文化認同。 他慨然嘆道，「有何用處」之問，顯示缺乏文化自信心。對西方古典音樂、芭蕾舞，大家不會問有何用處，只覺得高雅、有品味，為何中國古典詩詞就被說成古老、無用呢？這很值得深思。何況古詩在今日仍有生命力，《新松詩集》中的電器、聖誕等詩題，以及吟詠奧運火炬、悼念四川地震等篇章，以舊體詩技巧表達現代人思想感情，即是明證。談到古典詩詞的前景，董博士還是樂觀的。	What’s the point, some may question, in learning to write poems nowadays in the classical style? And could anyone ever expect to surpass Li Bai and Du Fu, the paragon of poets from more than 1,000 years ago? To this, Dr Dung remarked that people learning classical poetry today do not seek to outdo the ancients, but hope to preserve the heritage and embrace their own cultural legacy and identity. The doubts about “usefulness”, he sighed, reveal a lack of confidence in one’s own culture. No-one doubts the value of Western classical music and ballet – people just see elegance and refined taste in them. Then how come they tend to dismiss Chinese classical poetry as passé and useless? Here’s something worth thinking about. Moreover, he continued, classical poetry retains its vital power even today, as evidenced by such themes as “electrical appliances” and “Christmas” in the Collected Poems, and by those pieces on recent events in 2008 such as the Olympic torch relay and the disastrous Sichuan earthquake. The skills and devices of classical poetry have served well to express the heart and mind of people in modern times. Dr Dung was optimistic about the future of classical poetry.
張導師也有同感，但似乎更加樂觀。她說，中國的書法、繪畫、古琴等藝術瑰寶，都有待現代人去傳承；以古典詩詞為例，結社聚會、講授作詩之法，就是保留一塊園地，讓傳統得以繼續發揚。 她認為，只要大家真心誠意做些工作，傳統是可以保存下來的。張導師不單喜愛詩詞，念大學時曾修讀中國書畫史，近年更醉心於古琴，並在所授課程中加入相關課題，於文化之薪火傳承，可謂躬行實踐，絕非浮言泛談。	Ms Cheung echoed her partner’s view, and in an even more upbeat tone. Gems of Chinese art such as painting and calligraphy, and the qin or Chinese zither, she noted, have yet to be inherited by modern people and be handed down. Take classical poetry for example, she added, forming a poetry group to teach and learn it would help preserve a park area, as it were, in which the tradition could grow and flourish. So long as all of us do our bit with zest and sincerity, she believed, the heritage could be carried forward. An ardent lover of poetry, Ms Cheung also studied the history of Chinese painting and calligraphy in her university days, and the past few years have found her increasingly enthralled by the ancient instrument, qin. These interests have enriched her teaching at CCIV. In handing down the torch of culture to the young ones, Ms Cheung has been a real doer rather than a mere talker.
講到現代人的創作態度，兩位導師認為，應保留古典詩但不拒新詩、發展新詩但不廢古典詩之求新發展。 香港粵方言仍保留較完整的平上去入古音體系，本地社會仍保留許多傳統文化內涵，這對於古典詩詞的傳承乃至發展，都是很有利的因素。新松詩社的活動，大有希望。	As to how people should approach poetical composition today, both Dr Dung and Ms Cheung agreed that it would be advisable to preserve classical poetry without impeding modern poetry, and enrich the modern without squeezing the classical out of growth and renovation. Moreover, they pointed out, the indigenous Cantonese tongue in Hong Kong still utters the rich sounds and tones in traditional Chinese speech, and age-old cultural traits still abound in local society. All this makes an encouraging milieu for Chinese classical poetry to live a new life. The Xin Song Poetry Group has a promising future.
	(Translated by Allen Zhuang)
[中英文原載香港城市大學《靈機》第275期，2009年1月；貼於本網頁之英譯略經修訂。/ The Ch-Eng texts were published in City University of Hong Kong: Linkage, Issue 275, January 2009. The English text here is slightly revised.]

To Chin2333 participants in 2009 (01)

Dear Chin2333 attenders, Welcome to this website! It will serve as a tool for you to communicate with one another and/or with the lecturer. You are encouraged to make a good use of this tool to aid your learning. Here you can have extra examples of translation work. And here you can give feedback, make comments, or just say anything else you would about our course. It is simple – just click on 回應/Feedback (below) and key in your words, in English or Chinese, or even Cantonese. With best regards, Allen P. S. (1) For your readings (already reserved in Main Library), please first read: Susan Bassnett: “Untranslatability” in “General Issues”, from Translation Studies, pp 37 – 44, and Guo Jianzhong: “A Cultural Approach to Translation”, in 郭建中：《文化與翻譯》, pp 276 – 290; (2) For your convenience, here below is the Chinese text for your homework:
回歸新解 （節選）
程步奎
中國人說緣份，是解釋人生境遇到了智窮之時，推諉給終極動因的託辭，並非宿命論，反倒是愜意溫馨。說我和香港有緣，不但是說我喜歡香港，而且還有超乎個人喜好的不可知的外力，因此，我來香港城市大學，也就似乎冥冥中自有天意。“天時地利人和”進行了一次轉化的創造，不禁使我緬想，到城市大學來推展中國文化科目，是不是“天之將降大任於斯人也”？辛苦大概是難免了，但既是天意與緣份，也倒開心。
(載《明報月刊》1999年11月號，頁99)

跳Q / Jumping the Queue

跳Q 金雨田	Jumping the Queue Jin Yu Tian
寫了篇帶女兒看牙醫，讀者問怎麽你碰上的都不是東西？孰知當今行醫如賣雜果，生意好，少你個人又怎樣？	AFTER publishing an essay about taking my daughter to see a dentist, I got responses from readers wondering how it was that I had always come across mean doctors. They don’t know that many practitioners nowadays are like those fruiterers who, complacent about their good business, just don’t care about losing a customer.
年前駕車，胸口悶，才發覺自己對心呀肝呀肺呀的位置都摸不清，生命誠可貴，下句還是生命誠可貴。立即停車奔進診療所，櫃枱小姐竟擋駕，推說醫生準備出診，不看！不看！我說，好，我只要等醫生出來告訴我心臟在左在右呢，還是在中間？	Late last year, when driving, I suddenly felt suffocated somewhere in the chest. This reminded me how I had neglected myself, ignorant even about the position of my heart, liver, or lungs. “O verily, precious is life;” – the oft-quoted line flashed across my mind, followed by my impromptu version – “Nothing more precious can I find!” At once I stopped my car and dashed into the nearest clinic, only to be stopped by the receptionist. “No, no,” said the girl, telling me the doctor was just leaving for a house call. Well, I replied, I would just like the doctor to tell me where exactly my heart was – in the left, right, or middle of the chest.
才隔一天，牙根來折磨，年除夕大早，急下樓看牙醫，櫃枱小姐也推說不看不看，因爲我沒預約。“小姐，這是牙痛啊啊！”連續兩個啊，她都懶得睬你呢。	Two days later, a decayed tooth root came to torture me. Incidentally, it was the New Year’s Eve, so I hurried to the community dentist’s downstairs early in the morning. The receptionist turned me away because I had no appointment. “Oh, my young lady,” I pleaded, “but this is TOOTHACHE. Ouch! Ouch!” Yet the girl granted me no attention, despite my double exclamations of agony.
歲末得跟時間賽跑，只好急奔公司牙醫。嘩，少說也二十多人在輪候，都是友族病人，但沒幾個人，我便被傳召了。雖然麻醉藥還在擴散，醫生已把那“傢伙”幹掉了。“Happy New Year！”老醫生奧利佛說。	The year approaching its very end, I had to race against time. I rushed into my company’s clinic and found – oh no! – at least 20 patients in the waiting queue, all of them Malays and Indians. But very soon I was attended to and, under anaesthetic, the troublemaker in my mouth was removed. “Happy New Year!” said Oliver, the old doctor.
一面捧著腫脹的面頰一面感覺“如沐春風”，尤其對著候診室裏讓我跳Q的友族同胞 –– 新年快樂！好兆頭！	Even with my cheeks still swollen, I felt a soothing breeze caressing me. “Happy New Year to you, too!” I replied, particularly to all my Malay and Indian colleagues in the waiting room, who had kindly allowed me to jump the queue. What a good omen for the New Year! (Translated by Allen Zhuang)
[原載新加坡《聯合早報》(2000)；收入《不著地族 / A Lift-Off People》(潘正鐳著、Allen Zhuang 英譯；Singapore: All Publishing House, 2002)]

練武不練功，到老一場空 / Little Basic Training, Much Old-Age Regretting

練武不練功，到老一場空 xxx	Little Basic Training, Much Old-Age Regretting xxx
站樁是所有習武之人入門的基本功，站樁不僅是練你腳下的功夫，更重要的是磨練你的心志。	Of the basic training for all martial-arts beginners, standing meditation (or post-standing) is the number-one must. That exercise not only trains your legs; more importantly, it cultivates your mind and will.
習武的精髓是習心，習心就是要讓你自己的心志得到磨練。習武之人最重要的是要做到身心要平靜如水，心靜思遠能達千里。	The essence of practising martial arts is mental exercise, namely subjecting your mind and will to tough workouts. For a martial arts practitioner, it is crucial to try and keep his body and mind as tranquil as still water. Then his mind and thought, being calm and deep, can go as far as thousands of miles.
站樁的時候，你就是一棵樹，你要把自己想像成參天大樹。樹高萬丈在於根，你整個身心，要在你腳下的土地生根，根扎得越深，你的功夫就越深。	When you practise standing meditation, you ARE a tree – just imagine yourself turned into a giant tree reaching into the skies. Yet, though the tree can be thousands of feet tall, it has to rest on its roots down below. Likewise, the whole of your body and mind must be deeply rooted in the earth under your feet – the deeper they are rooted, the more advanced you’ll be as a martial artist.
習武要內外兼修，最終要與天地萬物融為一體，如果到達了這個層次，到了那個時刻，你的整個身心就會變成水了。	In practising martial arts, one must aim at self-cultivation both physically and spiritually, seeking union with all Creation in the end. If and when that aim is attained, you’ll feel the whole of your body and mind turning into water, as it were.
從一棵大樹，變成能滲透萬物之中的水，到那時那就是習武的更高境界了。這個境界就是要融化自己，化成水，只有你自覺不自覺地把自己融成一汪水了，你才能夠將你的身心融入你腳下的土地，到那個時候你才算是真正入了武道。	From a giant tree, to water that’s found in all living things, you will have done the journey for a martial-arts practitioner to arrive at a higher stage, where you’ll feel yourself melt into water, consciously or unconsciously. Only then can the whole of your own body and mind merge with the earth under your feet. Only then can you count yourself as a member of the martial artists’ community.
[引自電視劇《李小龍傳奇》，詠春拳師傅葉問大師指點李小龍的一段話。]	[Advice given by Master Ye Wen, in TV series Bruce Lee, the Legend ]
	(Translated by Allen Zhuang)

組屋居民相見不相識 / Why Neighbours Feel Like Strangers

組屋居民相見不相識 梁文寧	Why Neighbours Feel Like Strangers Liang Wern Ling
搬離舊家已十四年，但當年在15層樓高長長的公共走廊上的溫馨回憶，卻依然清晰地印在腦海裏。	IT HAS been 14 years since my family moved out of our old flat, but I still cherish a vivid and sweet memory of life in the long common corridor high on the 15th floor.
除了小孩們（當然也包括筆者）把走廊當球場的嘻笑玩鬧，還有主婦們隔著鐵門的閒話家常。 偶爾一陣香味飄過，隔壁鄰居已笑臉吟吟地站在門外，“來，試試我剛在聯絡所學會的咖喱魚頭。”	That was where ball games were played among kids of the many families – myself included, of course – and where the housewives engaged in chitchats across their iron grilles. Occasionally, an aroma wafted our way and presently we saw our next-door neighbour outside our flat. “Come have a taste of my curry fish-head,” said the auntie, smiling. “I’ve just learnt how to cook it at the community centre.”
小時候，媽媽跟外婆出國旅行，相隔了好幾個單位的羅阿姨，每晚還特地多煮些菜，溫暖了我們的肚子和心房。	Once my mother was away on a trip abroad with my grandma. Auntie Loh, who lived several doors away, prepared some more dishes for us children every evening, which filled our stomachs and warmed our hearts.
同一層樓共有12個單位，除了兩戶人家，其他鄰居我們都曾上門拜訪，相熟程度比一些遠方親戚還高。	There were 12 units spread along the corridor on our floor. We kids were guests to almost every one of these neighbouring homes. We knew them better than we did some relatives living far way.
如今住在一層只有四個單位的點式組屋，認識的鄰居大減，更別說上鄰居家坐坐。	Today, in the point block where I live, only four units share a level. The average HDB resident knows much fewer of his neighbours now, let alone visit their homes.
建屋發展局日前公佈的調查就顯示，國人認識的鄰居數目有下降的趨勢。為了增加居民碰面的機會，該局正考慮在樓高40層的組屋的一些樓層（比如第20層）設辟社交空間，讓居民不須下到地面層就可與鄰居們溝通交流	The sample household survey released recently by the Housing Board shows a downturn in neighbourliness among Singaporeans. To help people meet one another, the Board is considering the idea of mid-level void decks in the forthcoming 40-storey blocks. With the special space on the 20th floor, fellow flat-dwellers are expected to socialise with their neighbours more easily.
當局採取主動，設法在讓居民有隱私（所以不再建長走廊的組屋）的同時，提高人們見面的機會，確實值得鼓勵；然而，那增設的空間作何用途，才是具影響的因素。	To provide greater privacy for HDB residents, the government has stopped building blocks with long common corridors. Now, to curb the loosening of community bonds, it is encouraging people to meet one another more often. All these efforts are praiseworthy. Yet it is the actual use of the proposed mid-level void deck that matters.
如果只是擴大電梯等候廳，或是辟設露台，恐怕也發揮不了甚麼作用。暫時撇開條例限制，當局或可在這些社交空間設置印有棋盤的桌子，座椅當然更少不了，還可24小時播放輕音樂。	The space would not help much if it were just an expanded lift lobby with balconies built around. The Housing Board would do well to allow tables with chessboards and accompanying chairs to be installed on the level. Besides, light music may be played around the clock for a relaxed atmosphere.
建屋局也不妨重新考慮，把咖啡店和便利店帶回組屋底層。儘管一些人可能會覺得吵雜，但相信也有不少人會喜歡更有生氣的居住環境。	Moreover, the Housing Board may consider allowing coffee-shops and convenience stores to come back and operate on the ground floor of the blocks, that is, the void deck. While some residents may dislike the hustle and bustle, not a few will love to see the surroundings full of life.
硬體固然重要，軟體卻是關鍵。	The hardware is important, but the software is crucial.
患上“鄰居冷感症”的，多數是上班一族，退休人士、家庭主婦大部分時間都在組屋周圍活動，所以還較有可能跟鄰居打交道	Those who feel frigid towards their neighbours are mostly the working people. By comparison, retirees and housewives are more sociable, as they spend more time about the housing estates.
跟從前比較，現在的人呆在家的時間確實減少許多，一些人還自嘲地說“家跟酒店沒分別”。	Working people spend much less time at home today. Indeed, some even find little difference between their home and a hotel.
可是，生活忙碌不該是“對面不相識”的藉口。夜晚、週末或假日，在家樓下洗車、遛狗、帶小孩到遊樂場玩耍，平時在巴士車站等車、到附近小食店買東西吃，都有機會碰到左鄰右舍。	But being occupied with work should not be reason for treating one’s neighbours like strangers. One still has lots of opportunities for meeting fellow residents in the evening, on weekends or holidays when taking his kids to the playground, walking his dog, washing his car, or buying titbits at the corner shop.
碰歸碰，碰了卻有如碰到牆壁，連牽牽嘴角都嫌麻煩或不好意思，那再碰上個10年，這些熟面孔也只不過是組屋生活的活道具。	Some, however, may be too shy or too lazy to show a bit of smile when meeting people. To them, familiar faces seem to be mere living props in the drama of HDB life.
沒有共同話題嗎？孩子、汽車、歐洲杯、組屋垃圾、天氣、蔬菜價格、郵差派信時間……這些生活話題本已掛在嘴邊，就看你要不要開口罷了。	No common topics? Life itself has provided a lot to chat about – the weather, one’s children or car, the European Football Championship, garbage in the neighbourhood, vegetables’ prices, the mail delivery time. One just needs to start a conversation.
國人真如此“靦腆”嗎？如果鄰居在電梯裏跟你打招呼，除非心如鐵石可以視若無睹，不然一定會至少報以微笑回禮。	Are Singaporeans so shy that they shun a conversation with a neighbour? Not really. If one person would greet another in the lift, at least the other would smile back, unless he has a heart of stone.
說到底，其實是個人主動與否的問題。	After all, it is a matter of taking the initiative.
笑一個，會死很多細胞嗎？問聲好，要很多力氣嗎？一次生，兩次熟，這道理簡單易懂。可惜，懂了不做，是太多國人的通病。	A smile costs nothing, and a greeting takes little effort. Strangers the first time, acquaintances the next, as the saying goes. But it is easier understood than done. Understanding without feeling like acting upon it – that is the problem with many Singaporeans.
即使知道禮多人不怪，有些人卻礙於不知道該以什麼方式來“示禮”而情願無禮。就用你覺得最自然的方式吧：點頭、微笑、做了糕點敲敲鄰居的門，隨你便。	Many understand well that one can’t be too courteous but still choose to remain uncouth just because they find it hard to display courtesy. In fact they might try any way they feel natural: a nod, a smile, or an offer of the cake you have just made, or any other way you like.
別依賴居民委員會起帶頭作用。要是你連打個招呼都辦不到，恐怕也不會下樓參與什麼“居委日”還是中秋節慶祝會。	Don’t rely on the Residents’ Committee to start you up. If you grudge a greeting, then you won’t be enthusiastic about the RC Day or Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations held downstairs.
反倒是本已認識的鄰居，可以充當“媒人”。有一次筆者回家時經過組屋底層，就聽到一名熱心的鄰居對另一人說：“你要買車啊，那個住11樓的林先生就是賣二手車的，我帶你去找他。”	Neighbours one already knows well may act as a go-between, though. Once I overheard one fellow resident giving a tip to another: “You’re buying a used car? Well, Mr Lim on the 11th floor is an agent. I’ll introduce you to him.”
俗語有云：遠親不如近鄰，如果跟鄰居關係融洽，日常生活就能互相照應、諒解，進而免除許多不必要的問題和糾紛。	A near neighbour is closer than a distant cousin, as they say. If fellow residents know one another well, there will be more mutual help and understanding among them, and many problems can be averted.
此外，家的舒適自在感也會隨之擴大，一走進自己的鄰里，處處都碰到熟人，親切感油然而生。家，並不局限在四堵牆以內。 [作者是《聯合早報》記者]	The comfort of home will expand into the neighbourhood when you meet acquaintances everywhere around where you live. After all, home is not confined within the walls of one’s own flat. [The author is a correspondent of Lianhe Zaobao.] (Translated by Allen Zhuang)
[ 原載新加坡《聯合早報》2000-07-03社論/言論/天下事 (Bilingual Section)]

不着地族 / A Lift-off People

不着地族 金雨田	A Lift-off People Jin Yu Tian
友人家住布萊德嶺地鐵站旁，雨蓋連接，下樓即走入地道，辦公室在華聯中心，出了地道即可搭電梯上樓，再也沒有這麼方便的上班族了。	GOING to work couldn’t be more convenient for an office worker like my friend. Leaving his flat in a block next to Braddell MRT station, he goes downstairs, walks through a roofed passage, and is right underground for the train; then he gets off at another station, takes a lift up the OUB Centre close by, and arrives in his office.
其實也有很多人跟他差不多，家住高樓，駕車上班，上了電梯以後，再也不見天日了，下了班也是同樣的返家公式。	In fact, there are many others like him, who live in a high-rise building, drive to work, take a lift to get to the office, and then go home by reversing the route, without staying in the open air.
雖說頂不着天立不着地的形容有點過火，但我常喜歡自嘲為“不着地族”。	While “levitating” would be too hyperbolic a description, I take delight in dubbing my folks “a lift-off people”.
一位台灣朋友批評新加坡人鄉土觀念薄弱，因為都住不着地，我從都不以為然，人來人往，本就是都市的特質，不管是不是歷史的意外，五星伴月，紅白飄揚，這就是一個都市國家，何必生造那土地鄉愁，自我煽情。	A friend from Taiwan often comments that Singaporeans lack a sense of attachment for their homeland because they all live off the ground. I don’t think he is right. To me, moving around is simply natural for an urban population and, by accident or by design, ours has evolved into a city-state over history under the flying red-and-white flag of moon and stars. Why create a land-linked nostalgia out of nowhere and wax sentimental over it?
自從組屋底層不建居間後，“不着地族”的人口更是迅速膨脹，有百分之九十了吧。	Since the ground floor of flat-blocks became the “void deck”, our lift-off residents have increased rapidly, now accounting for about 90% of the population.
居於空中，漂浮若夢，打開窗，萬家燈火照人眼，不也是一番景致。	For those who live in lofty flats that seem to float mid-air in a dreamland, the window view of myriads of brightly lit homes under the night sky does make a real spectacle.
不着地族何懼之有，要擔心的倒是骨質鬆脫症呢！ xxx [注：組屋類似香港的屋邨，是多數新加坡人的居所。]	There is nothing we lift-off folks should be wary of – except osteoporosis, a bone weakness from lack of exercise. (Translated by Allen Zhuang)
[原載新加坡《聯合早報》(2000)；收入《不着地族 / A Lift-Off People》(潘正鐳著、Allen Zhuang 英譯；Singapore: All Publishing House, 2002)]

邪眼 / The Evil Eyes

邪眼 金雨田	The Evil Eyes Jin Yu Tian
銀幕上的邪眼，都是閃青光，故作懾人狀。這是沒見過鬼的人搞的玩意。我沒見過鬼，卻見過邪眼，而且是在法庭的犯人欄內，面對面。	VIRTUALLY all villainous beings on the screen would scare people with a bluish evil look, but that is a mere concoction by those who have yet to encounter a genuinely wicked spirit. Although I haven’t met any ghost either, I have seen the real evil eyes – in the dock at a law court, face to face with the accused.
這人是殺人犯，專事欺淩婦女，誘殺小童。案件初審，老記者說：此人準死。趁推事暫休，我們跑向前與此人扯聊。	The serial killer had specialised in sexual assault of women and kidnapping-murder of children. At the first trial, my colleague – a seasoned reporter – knew the sentence would be death. While the court officer was taking a break, we went over to have a chat with the prisoner.
“天堂已在上邊等我。”這是他開口的第一句話，我仍記得這句話，因為他口講，卻是用眼睛說。他的眼瞳渾濁，目光卻顯得堅定，直接向我們這些小記者身上射來。	“Heaven’s expecting me above” was his opening remark to the newsmen. This I remember well to this day, because it was not so much uttered as flashed out of his eyes, which had dim pupils and yet a harsh stare that seemed to pierce us all.
一句一句的講他在印度和緬甸山林裏練術的駭人經歷。我們一提起無辜的小童，這人眼睛發出的冷光，酷似獄火，我心裏感覺，他還想再殺。	Calmly and coherently, he gave a bloodcurdling account of how he had practised witchcraft in the jungles of India and Burma. When we mentioned those innocent kids he had thus sacrificed, the man’s eyes gleamed with chilling cruelty that reminded me of Hell. I had the feeling that he would go on killing if he could.
眼睛是靈魂之窗，一點都不假，一個人的眼睛一時之間顯得渾濁，又變得堅定，再轉成冰冷，一股邪惡之氣，來自他那邪惡的靈魂深處。	How true the saying is that the eyes unveil the soul! For an instant those eyes turned muddy-murky, then stony-stern, and finally icy-cold, betraying a streak of infernal evil from his innermost soul.
前前後後，吸攝了多少迷途羔羊的精血，就是這一對始終沒閃過青光的邪眼，一個世間鬼。	It was those eyes that had ensnared the many lovely little ones into torture and death – eyes that had never actually shone bluish, an earthly devil’s eyes. (Translated by Allen Zhuang)
[原載新加坡《聯合早報》(2000)；收入《不著地族 / A Lift-Off People》(潘正鐳著、Allen Zhuang 英譯；Singapore: All Publishing House, 2002)]

雅俗引語(二) / Quotes Classical or Otherwise (2)

雅俗引語（二）	Quotes Classical or Otherwise (2)
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You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time. (Abraham Lincoln)	有時候，你可以騙盡世人； 有的人，你可以愚弄終生； 但你無法永遠蒙騙天下之人。 (林肯)
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A man is as old as he feels, and a woman as old as she looks.	男人老，自家曉； 女人少(女人俏)，打扮妙。
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一個籬笆三個樁， 一個好漢三個幫。	A fence is propped up by its stakes; A hero is backed up by his mates.
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心中有，口中無。	More felt than said
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讀書都為稻粱謀 (仿龔自珍)	For what is all this book learning If not a livelihood earning?
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學是學此樂， 樂是樂此學。xx (王艮)	Learning – it’s learning about this delight; Delight – it’s delight in learning.