I came across this and find it quite funny. How do you say them?
1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13) They were too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
Hints: each sentence has two words with the same spelling but different pronunciations and meanings.
Because Internet Explorer crashes every time when reading this blog, I have put the answer at Yahoo! blog.
How do you say that word?
How do you say that word? Answer - Part 1
How do you say that word? Answer - Part 2
How do you say that word? More .... |
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A quote from one of the customer review of the book
"Dumbing Down Our Kids : Why American Children Feel Good About Themselves But Can't Read, Write, or Add"
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312148232/ref=reg_hu-wl_list-recs/002-9433596-0888068?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=283155
In a statement symptomatic of "progressive" educational thinking, William Glasser rails against the "fallacy that knowledge remembered is better than knowledge looked up", prompting Mr. Sykes to comment that "Glasser thus redefined knowledge as something that did not need to be known."
有些人常愛引用愛因斯坦連自己的電話號碼也忘記的詄事，來證明「能夠在幾分鐘內能找到的資料，根本不應該記在腦中，這樣腦子才有足夠的空間思想更重要和有創意的事情」。首先，這個故事可能根本就是虛構，況且，以一件個別事件來引伸出一個原則，本來就是不合邏輯。另外，這些人可能對愛因斯坦的生平可能不大清楚。愛因斯坦的 absentmindedness 是極之嚴重的，而且並形容為一個 lousy hushand。他只不過要為自己的 absentmindedness 找過下台階罷了！事實上，很多大有成就的科學家都只醉心於自己的研究，其他一切也不放在心上，這與記憶和學習的關係根本就風馬牛不相及。
BTW, some more anectodes of Einstein . They are funny though some of them may not be authentic. |
在 Slashdot 讀到一段我十分有同感的說話
"Personally, I don't believe in Evolution. That doesn't make me an idiot. I simply disagree with the theory. That doesn't mean I don't understand it, I simply don't agree with it. It doesn't mean I'm ignorant either - I know more about Evolution than most people I know."
"I believe the Theory of Evolution needs to be understood better/differently - in Evolution's case I think it needs to be drastically different."
An insightful article on the argument regarding Darwinism and Intelligent Design by Orson Scott Card
http://www.ornery.org/essays/warwatch/2006-01-08-1.html
Creationism 的而且確談不上是科學，Intelligent Design 指出 Darwinism 之不足，但本身卻不能就此"證明"有一個"intelligence"創造生命。然而 Darwinism (or neo-Darwinism) 的破洞又實在太大太多！ |
| » Tilly Smith |
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我於2005年一月三日的journal 提到的小女孩 Tilly Smith 被法國的一本兒童雜誌Mon Quotidien選為"Child of the year". 她並且於布吉的一週年紀念活動結束時讀出以下的一段話：
"It wasn't devastation or death that won the day. It was humanity that triumphed, The shining victory of generosity, courage, love."
除此之外，根據 Wikipedia 所載
Tilly has appeared at the United Nations in November 2005, meeting Bill Clinton the UN Special Envoy for Tsunami Relief, and at the first year
anniversary in Phuket, as part of the campaign to highlight the
importance of education.
Jan. 26th, 2006 @ 09:59 pm
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| » 眼屎、鼻屎、 耳屎的英文是甚麼？ |
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有時和小朋友講英文，有很多生活上的字眼都不知如何說好。例如，可能大家都知道blow your nose 是擤鼻涕，pick your nose 是挖鼻孔，耳屎是 earwax，但眼屎、鼻屎的英文又是甚麼？剛好給我找到了一個有趣的網頁：
和脸有关的英语口语－非常有趣
http://www1.hjenglish.com/doc/oralen/509_2655.htm
鼻屎是 booger（美式) 英式是 bogey
鼻涕是 snot 或 snivel
染滿鼻涕的手巾可以說 snotty handkerchief
眼屎沒有特别名稱，可以說 eye discharge
眼皮跳可以說 twitch
口水是 drool 或 slobber
Sep. 4th, 2005 @ 11:14 pm
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| » The Myth of the Perfect Mother |
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二月二十一日號的新聞周刊封面故事題目為 The Myth of the Perfect Mother.
主題文章的連結：
Mommy Madness
What happened when the Girls Who Had It All became mothers? A new book explores why this generation feels so insane
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6959880/site/newsweek/
Meet the Slacker Mom
One mother says it’s time to stop the madness
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6960732/site/newsweek/
The Good Enough Mother
Forget about day camp or mandatory Gymboree. What's the point of raising kids if we don't have a good time and a few laughs?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6960127/site/newsweek/
這些是不少現代美國中產家庭之母親的寫照，香港一些中產家庭的情況其實也頗類似。但從 Newsweek 的報導看來，美國的情況更極端。我想，可能是因為他們普遍比香港人要求更高，同階層之間的比較看來比香港更利害，加上近年美國十分強調 family values 等等。
一方面，我其實很佩服她們的努力，為下一代願意付出巨大的代價，但另一方面，我常常想著一個問題：我們是否為下一代安排得太多，要求又太高，以致於我們自己疲於奔命，忘了生命最寶貴的東西？事事為下一代安排又是否對他們最好？
又或者，這些報導是因為一些女權份子，面對美國重投 family values 的懷抱，以致越來越多位高權重的女性，甘願放棄個人理想，留在家中照顧小朋友，因而大感不滿，所以要把她們的犧牲醜化？（早前六十分鐘時事雜誌也有報導美國社會的這個趨勢，那些受訪的女性都是CEO級的人馬，包括CBS自己本身的高級行政人員！）
Feb. 17th, 2005 @ 11:12 pm
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| » 「地震次數越來越多」的神話 |
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「地震次數越來越多」是一個神話，曾由不同的人提出。有人認為是滿足了 Nostradamus 的預言，也有人認為是按聖經所言，是末世臨近的證據。例如一些研究聖經預言的學者，引用了美國官方 Geological Survey (USGS)的數據，指地震在二十世紀中不繼增加。隨意在網上找找，可以找到其中一個宣稱引用USGS數據得出這樣結論的網站：
http://www.according2prophecy.org/41colleague.html
Earthquake with magnitude > 6.0
1890 to 1899, only 1
1900 to 1910, there were 3
1910 to 1930, there were 4
1930 to 1940, there were 5
1940 to 1970, there were 13
1970 to 1980, there were 56
1980 to 1989, there were 310
1990 to 1994, there were 747
以上的數字，看起來真的十分嚇人。但後來有人指出，那些數據其實極不全面，或簡單來說根本就是錯誤的，但這個神話卻一直被宣揚和流傳至今。
根據美國 USGS 的數據，正確的數字其實遠遠超過以上的數目，但這一百年來，地震的數目一直都沒多大變化，每年的平均數字如下:
Frequency of Occurrence of Earthquakes
http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/eqstats.html
| Descriptor |
Magnitude |
Average Annually |
| Great |
8 and higher |
1 ¹ |
| Major |
7 - 7.9 |
17 ² |
| Strong |
6 - 6.9 |
134 ² |
| Moderate |
5 - 5.9 |
1319 ² |
| Light |
4 - 4.9 |
13,000
(estimated) |
| Minor |
3 - 3.9 |
130,000
(estimated) |
| Very Minor |
2 - 2.9 |
1,300,000
(estimated) |
¹ Based on observations since 1900.
² Based on observations since 1990. |
至於七級以上的地震 1900 - 1999 的數據如下
http://wwwneic.cr.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/7up.html
1900 13 1930 13 1960 22 1990 12
1901 14 1931 26 1961 18 1991 11
1902 8 1932 13 1962 15 1992N 23
1903 10 1933 14 1963 20 1993M 16
1904 16 1934 22 1964 15 1994 15
1905 26 1935 24 1965 22 1995E 25
1906 32 1936 21 1966 19 1996 22
1907 27 1937 22 1967 16 1997 16
1908 18 1938 26 1968 30 1998 12
1909 32 1939 21 1969 27 1999 18
1910 36 1940 23 1970 29 2000 15
1911 24 1941 24 1971 23 2001 16
1912 22 1942 27 1972 20 2002 13
1913 23 1943* 41 1973 16 2003 15
1914 22 1944 31 1974 21
1915 18 1945 27 1975 21
1916 25 1946 35 1976$ 25
1917 21 1947 26 1977 16
1918 21 1948 28 1978 18
1919 14 1949 36 1979 15
1920 8 1950 39 1980 18
1921 11 1951 21 1981 14
1922 14 1952 17 1982 10
1923 23 1953 22 1983 15
1924 18 1954 17 1984 8
1925 17 1955 19 1985 15
1926 19 1956 15 1986# 6
1927 20 1957 34 1987 11
1928 22 1958 10 1988 8
1929 19 1959 15 1989 7
Total 1900-1997 = 1960 events = 20 per year
* Most active year since 1900
# Least active year since 1900
$ Year with most people killed since 1900 (295,000 - 699,000;
dominated by the Tangshan quake with casualty estimate from
255,000 - 655,000)
N First full year of operation on NSN/digital recording system
M Year moment magnitude quotes were introduced
E Year energy magnitude quotes were introduced
Statistics were compiled from the Earthquake Data Base System of the U.S. Geological Survey, National Earthquake Information Center
事實上 USGS 在網站的 FAQ 也明確指出「地震次數越來越多」是一個神話，不知怎的卻仍然有人相信和宣揚這個神話！
Common Myths About Earthquakes
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/faq/myths.html#8
Q: Why are we having so many earthquakes? Has earthquake activity been increasing? Does this mean a big one is going to hit? OR We haven't had any earthquakes in a long time; does this mean that the pressure is building up and there will be a big one?
A: Although it may seem that we are having more earthquakes, earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 or greater have remained fairly constant throughout this century and, according to our records, have actually seemed to decrease in recent years. A partial explanation may lie in the fact that in the last twenty years, we have definitely had an increase in the number of earthquakes we have been able to locate each year. This is because of the tremendous increase in the number of seismograph stations in the world and the many improvements in global communications. In 1931, there were about 350 stations operating in the world; today, there are more that 4,000 stations and the data now comes in rapidly from these stations by telex, computer and satellite. This increase in the number of stations and the more timely receipt of data has allowed us and other seismological centers to locate many small earthquakes which were undetected in earlier years, and we are able to locate earthquakes more rapidly. The NEIC now locates about 12,000 to 14,000 earthquakes each year or approximately 35 per day. Also, because of the improvements in communications and the increased interest in natural disasters, the public now learns about more earthquakes. According to long-term records (since about 1900), we expect about 18 major earthquakes (7.0 - 7.9) and one great earthquake (8.0 or above) in any given year. However, let's take a look at what has happened in the past 32 years, from 1969 through 2001, so far. Our records show that 1992, and 1995-1997 were the only years that we have reached or exceeded the long-term average number of major earthquakes since 1971. In 1970 and in 1971 we had 20 and 19 major earthquakes, respectively, but in other years the total was in many cases well below the 18 per year which we may expect based on the long-term average.
A temporal increase in earthquake activity does not mean that a large earthquake is about to happen. Similarly, quiescence, or the lack of seismicity, does not mean a large earthquake is going to happen.
至於這個神話的更詳盡研究，可參看
http://www.icr.org/research/sa/sa-r06.htm
EARTHQUAKES AND THE END TIMES: A GEOLOGICAL AND BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE
by Steven A. Austin and Mark L. Strauss
但願這個神話從此在這世上消失。
Jan. 25th, 2005 @ 06:50 pm
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| » Nip/Tuck 凹凸容醫 |
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看完第二集的 Nip/Tuck 凹凸容醫，發覺有幾個情節頗反映美國文化。
劇中講述一對孖生姊妹，因為討厭常被人「攪錯」，要求主角，即兩個整容醫生幫她們做手術，一個整面，一個整身。手術完後，還沒有離開病房，她們發覺二人對其他人的吸引力不再是一模一樣，她們忍受不了，所以要求醫生幫她們還原！
現在的社會常強調每個人都是獨特的，但另一方面又要求絕對公平，這是否有點人格分裂？
另一個劇情講訹女主角，即其中一個醫生的太太，因為忍受不了她女兒的沙鼠(Gerbil)在家中到處留下糞便（當然還帶著對他老公的憤狠，因為是他老公不顧她的反對買給她女兒的），一怒之下把那隻沙鼠掉進馬桶中。後來厠所塞了，工人發現了原來是她把沙鼠掉進馬桶中，連金錢也不收，因為他不要「殺鼠兇手」的金錢。之後，她女兒的所有同學都避開她！
西方的環境哲學其中所提出的動物權利論，認為所有動物都有它們的權利。那些極端的甚至認為細菌和病毒也有它們的生存權。這是否有點過了火？
最後一個劇情講訹男主角的兒子要求他的父親幫他做割包皮的手術，原因是他害怕女朋友不喜歡。但他的父親認為沒有這個需要，不肯做。而且因為沒有父母的簽名，也不可以找其他醫生做。結果他在網上找到怎樣自己做，最後的一幕他望著自己滿手鮮血，暈倒了！
之後我在網上也試試找找，會否找到這些網頁，結果找到了一些令我十分驚訝的結果：原來美國成年男人絕大多數都有割包皮。割包皮甚至成了文化認同的一部份，只有低下層的人太窮才不做！美國是所有先進國家之中唯一有這現象的，其他的所有都是回教國家或猶太人。原來美國醫學界以前認為割包皮有好處，所以「係唔係」都做。現在這些醫學上的好處越來越被質疑，所以有不少人大力反對再為初出世的小孩割包皮。以前認為是不清潔的 smegma 現在認為是有用的，而且年齡太少的時候（五歲前）勉強把包皮反起是會做成傷害的。最重要的反而是教導男孩怎樣清潔。
反對的意見：
Mothers Against Circumcision
http://www.mothersagainstcirc.org/
Medical Arguments Eliminated
http://www.mothersagainstcirc.org/med-argu.htm
The Final Cut
http://www.infocirc.org/mpo0699.htm
Articles on Circumcision Information Resource Centre
http://www.infocirc.org/articles.htm
其他：
美國兒科學會的立場
http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics%3b103/3/686
有關的爭論點
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Male_circumcision
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_analysis_of_circumcision
Jan. 22nd, 2005 @ 11:28 pm
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