A magic wand

2016/11/29 08:41:16 網誌分類: 生活

29 Nov

        As I have said many times before, it is no big deal to make grammar mistakes if English is not your first language. Even fluent English speakers sometimes make grammar mistakes. But it is imperative (very important) to avoid making mistakes when using idioms, proverbs, or other expressions. Idioms and other types of expressions are a colourful part of the English language and should be used correctly. Last week, Lo Wai-kwok, who represents the engineering constituency in the Legislative Council, mixed up two well-known expressions on an English-language radio station. He said many young engineers had asked him if engineers could look forward to a good future in Hong Kong. He said he did not have a magic ball to tell them the answer.



        　　Lo Wai-kwok mixed up the expressions “crystal ball” and “magic wand”. He should have said “crystal ball” instead of “magic ball”. A crystal ball is a transparent glass ball that fortune-tellers look into to see the future. Superstitious people believe that crystal balls can tell the future but I don’t believe it at all. You can use the expression “crystal ball” in several ways. If your friend asks you who will be Hong Kong’s next chief executive, you can say: “I don’t have a crystal ball”. This means you don’t know what will happen in the future. The word “wand” has several meanings. The most common meaning is a thin long stick.

        　　

        　　The stick that music conductors use to guide musicians in an orchestra is sometimes called a wand although the proper word for such a stick is baton. A magic wand is a short thin stick that some magicians use to perform magic tricks. If you have seen Harry Potter movies, you will know he has a magic wand to perform magic. When Lo Wai-kwok said he did not have a “magic ball”, he mixed up “crystal ball” and “magic wand”. Maybe he meant the Magic 8 Ball. This was a popular toy for children in the 1950s. To play with this toy, you must ask a “yes” or “no” question. The toy only has 20 simple answers, which are not specific.

        ***

        　　我曾說過不少次，如果英語並非你的母語，犯一些文法錯誤實在沒甚麼大不了，即使操流利英語的人，偶爾也會犯些文法錯誤。但大家卻必須（imperative）避免在使用成語、諺語或其他習語時出錯。成語和其他慣用語是英語中生動而饒有趣味的部份，應當正確使用。上星期，代表工程界的立法會議員盧偉國，就在一個英語電台上，混淆了兩個眾所周知的習語。他說，許多年輕的工程師問他，工程師能否期望香港有一個更好的將來。他說他沒有 magic ball去解答他們的疑惑。

        　　盧偉國將習語「crystal ball」和「magic wand」混淆了。他說的應是「crystal ball」而不是「magic ball」。A crystal ball 就是算命師用來預視未來的水晶球。迷信的人相信那些水晶球（crystal balls）能預知未來，但我毫不相信。習語「crystal ball」可以有幾個不同的用法。若你的朋友問你，誰會當選下任香港特首，你可以說：「I don''t have a crystal ball」，意思就是說你不能知悉未來會發生甚麼事。Wand有幾個意思，最常見的解釋就是指一根長棍或權杖。

        　　音樂指揮家用來指揮樂團的指揮棒也可叫作wand，雖然它更正統的叫法是 baton。A magic wand就是魔術師用來表演魔術的魔術棒。若你有看過《哈利波特》電影，你便知道哈利波特有一根魔杖（magic wand）來施展魔法。當盧偉國說他沒有一個「magic ball」時，他是混淆了「crystal ball」和「magic wand」兩個詞語。或許他說的是神奇八號球（Magic 8 Ball）吧，它是1950年代很流行的孩童玩具。玩這個玩具球時，你必須問一道是非題。這個玩具球只有二十個簡單的預設答案，而且答案並不明確。

        mickchug@gmail.com

        中譯:七刻

        Michael Chugani 褚簡寧

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chinese and english subtitle 2016/11/29 09:17:11 回覆

Dear Michael

Your column is very helpful for my studies, but may I ask you that do you can provide the chinese and english subtitle together in the video shows, it will let us easy to understand the Article content

Thanks

Marco

A magic wand

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