2010年10月10日 星期日

那年淡水游一夏,從此霧峰夢也多!

#2010-1010

2010年10月9日,我們幾位台中聖雅各堂英文部的教友,相約北上。先在徐子賢牧師家集合,茶敘片刻後,就由牧師、師母帶路,前往附近某家農舍享用鄉土風味的午餐。

餐後返回牧師家,繼續喝茶(泡咖啡)、聊天、唱歌、聽音樂......大夥兒還熱烈討論「聖誕節獻詩」的課題呢!

到了傍晚,我們前往聖約翰科技大學 check in -- 我們住宿於學校的 Guest Rooms -- 忍不住又「溜」出來,來到一家的氣氛浪漫的「那年夏天」用晚餐;在那裡,我拍了不少照片(圖片編號:004)。

隔天(10月10日)我們一同到士林的牧愛堂做禮拜(圖片編號:006),然後返回台中。兩天一夜的「淡水 + 士林」聯誼活動,在 主的恩惠保守中,就如此完美地告一段落。

圖片編號:001
The mouth of Danshui River, viewed from Rev. David Chee's home on the hill.



 圖片編號:002
What I saw on the way to the "farm house" where we had our first lunch.
The lunch-place is within a walking distance from Rev. Chee's residence.










 圖片編號:003
Rev. Chee lives in that tall, splendid building.



因情境自然,乃無所不談;
因無所不談,遂相談甚歡;
因相談甚歡,故表情自然!

是表情自然哩.......拍起照來,當然就如此好看......真好玩!




Like the movie-room and the sauna, this outdoor swimming pool is part of the useful facilities available here!



圖片編號:004
The nice cafe, named "那年夏天" (Summer Time), is located in front of the sea (or the mouth of Danshui River?) -- I like this cafe, and I like its title as well.



Rev. Chee is a respectable "teacher and friend" of mine.
He and his wife were sitting in the back of Summer Time.


  
Jean and Jerry, both coming from Wufeng (literally, Foggy Mountain), in Taichung County!






People from St. James' Church, Taichung
(Photographed in the back of the cafe "Summer Time")

 





 圖片編號:005
The Advent Church (降臨堂) at St. John's University (聖約翰科技大學), in Danshui, Taipei



 圖片編號:006
The Good Shepherd Church (牧愛堂), in Shilin, Taipei






圖片編號: 007
Photographs taken on the way to Taipei

In this following photo, from left to right are Kimberly, Hans, Shirley, and Jean.





- - -

2010年10月9日 星期六

English Sentences Noted (041--050)

---- The following English Sentences are noted by Warren Sevander in English and Jerry Liang in Chinese, which have been put onto the website of St. James' Language Institute.


41. This is not difficult, it's easy as pie.


The words in red are an American phrase that dates back to the middle of the 20th Century. The "easiness" does not come from making the pie, but in eating the pie. This phrase is used to describe a simple task. The contraction "It's" combines the words "it" and "is."

這個不難;小事一樁!(舉手之勞)

片語 easy as pie 源自美國鄉村搖滾歌手 Billy "Crash" Craddock (生於1939年) 於1975-1976年所發行的同名專輯 (Easy as Pie)。歌名的意思:「像吃餅一樣容易」。


42. It's a piece of cake.

The words in red are another phrase used to describe how easy it is to do something. Someone might ask "Do you think you will be able to finish your work on time?" If the work is easy, and it will be easy to complete, a typical casual reply could be "It's a piece of cake." The contraction "It's" combines the words "it" and "is."

是輕而易舉的事!(小事一樁;舉手之勞)

比方說,被問到:「你能準時完成任務嗎?」如果你覺得毫無困難,必能準時交差,則答案便是:A piece of cake!(比吃一碗雞絲麵還容易!易如反掌折枝啊!)


43. That job was as simple as 1-2-3.

Many times we all have tasks to do. When a job goes smoothly, without any problems or unexpected difficulties, it can be said to have been "as simple as 1-2-3."

那工作簡單到不行,極容易上手!

有什麼事比數 1, 2, 3 還容易呢?時下流行「簡單到不行」的說法,無非就是:簡單到了極點;非常容易;易如反掌折枝;小事一樁,舉手之勞。A piece of cake!


44. No news is good news.

This is a popular expression used in English. It means that even though a person has not heard from another person for a long time, everything is probably OK. It is thought that this expression goes back to King James I of England, in approximately 1616.

沒有消息就是好消息。

此種說法據信可追朔到西元1616左右,英王詹姆士一世的年代。中文「好事不出門,壞事傳千里」的諺語,似乎為 No news is good news 做了明確的註解。


45. I'd forget my head if it wasn't attached.

This popular expression is said by persons who have too much to do and who keep forgetting things they need to take with them. Sometimes, they repeatedly forget to take the same thing with them when they go out.

我忙得昏頭轉向;要是頭不連身,恐怕早被我給遺忘了。

本句形容一個工作繁忙,忙到忘東忘西(忙昏了頭)的人;頭跟頸,若不是緊緊相連,恐怕老早忘了隨身攜帶,或者忙得「團團轉」而把它給「轉」飛了!


46. Getting my hair cut was a spur of the moment decision.

When a person decides to do something, or go somewhere, without any planning, it is said to be a "spur of the moment" decision. To think of this expression literally, try understanding it like this: A moment is an instant in time. A spur is something small which grows from something that is larger.

心血來潮,我去理了個頭。

On the spur of the moment (作副詞片語用) 指事先沒有計畫,卻突然想到就做。本句的 a decision 用 spur of the moment 加以形容,就是「一個衝動的決定」。


47. Get out of my hair.

There are a variety of uses for this expression, but all of them involve something or someone that is bothering you. Sometimes a parent will say this to a child who bothers them when something important needs to be done. Sometimes a person has an unfinished task which finally is completed. I finally got that out of my hair.

離開我;別來煩我!

本句有多種用途,卻都跟「造成麻煩」的人、事、物有關。例如:父母有事要忙,可能跟小孩說:「別纏著我」(get out of my hair);而好不容易做完一件苦差事之後,可能說:「啊!終於將它擺平了」 (I finally got that out of my hair)。


48. I can't carry a tune in a bushel basket.

A bushel basket is used many times to carry a large amount of fruit or vegetables. A person who cannot sing well is said to not be able to carry a tune (melody) in a bushel basket.

我五音不全(歌不成調)。

Bushel basket 是用來裝蔬果的大籃子。形容一個人唱歌難聽,就說:他用大菜籃(或水果藍)裝不了什麼好旋律!本地人則說:「牛車下坡!」(吱嘎吱嘎響)


49. We decided to strike while the iron was still hot.

Hot irons leave marks on what they touch, if they stay in that place for some time. In the old American west, branding irons were used to mark the hip of an animal to show that the animal belonged to a certain person. Today, if a person wants to do something at the best time, they do it when the iron (idea) is hot (ready to use).

我們決定打鐵趁熱(馬上做)。

從前鐵匠以手工打鐵,須把鐵塊放入爐中燒紅,取出後立即捶打;否則鐵冷了、變硬了,就打不動了。對於「打鐵趁熱」的由來,另一種見解,請參考英文說明。


50. I think it's time for me to get some new threads.


"Get some new threads" are a slang expression that means "buy some new clothes."

該是我添購新衣的時候了,我想。

Threads 為「(絲)線」的複數形;片語 get some new threads 就是「買新衣服」的俚語說法。句中 it's time for (某人) to (做某事) 之句型,乃英語人士最常用句型之一,值得你我細加揣摩及運用。

 
---- The above English Sentences are noted by Warren Sevander in English and Jerry Liang in Chinese, which have been put onto the website of St. James' Language Institute.

- - -


2010年10月8日 星期五

English Sentences Noted (031--040)

---- The following English Sentences are noted by Warren Sevander in English and Jerry Liang in Chinese, which have been put onto the website of St. James' Language Institute.


31. It's six of one and a half-dozen of another.


The expression in red can be used to describe a comparison that is thought to mean the same thing, or when two options would produce the same result. The contraction combines the words "it" and "is."

那是半斤八兩----彼此相當,不分高下。

「台斤」一斤 16 兩,半斤等於 8 兩。當兩者相較,不相上下、無分軒輊,或勢均力敵、平分秋色時,便可如此說----因為一打 12 個,半打等於 6 個。


32. I can't believe that you lied to me again; that's the last straw.

A famous story describes a camel whose back was broken when it was used to carry too much straw. The words in red are used to let someone know that a behavior is not acceptable and that you will no longer tolerate it. The contractions combine the words "can" and "not," and "that" and "is."

真不敢相信,你竟然再一次欺騙我;這可是最後一次了!

還記得「壓到駱駝的最後一根稻草」那則故事嗎?句中 the last straw 就是那最後一根稻草,用來警告對方:「我已忍無可忍,這是你最後一次耍我了。」

33. This could be the start of something big.


This sentence is a very often used expression. It is used when something successful has just happened, and there is the hope and potential for more success in the future. The expression can be used in business or in personal relationships.

這可是大好的開始!

如俗話所說「好的開始為成功的一半」,本句乃是稱許對方,在生意上或人際關係方面已有相當進展,可望未來更進步、更有成就的意思。是英語常用語句。


34. The story was just more of the same.

The words in red are an expression that can be used when what has happened, or what has been said is just like what has been experienced before. There is nothing new: no new ideas, no new thoughts. A series of books, or movies, where the characters don't change would be examples of where this expression can be used.

那故事(那種講法)簡直一個樣(沒什麼不同)。

More of the same 形容所發生的事,或所說過的話,跟先前的情況雷同,了無新意。一系列的書或電影,其中的角色要是過於類似,便是 more of the same 了。


35. Here we go again.

This is a sentence said many times when what you are about to experience is just like what you have experienced before, like when listening to someone's often-used explanation for why something did not get done on time or why they are late.

又是老套重演!(老戲重演啦!)

本句可採直譯,指壞事兒「又開始了」。中文的「老套」有 the same old stuff (or story); old ways(同樣的玩意兒、故事、舊方法)等含義;屬貶義之詞。


36. She is killing him with kindness.

This type of sentence is used to describe someone who for whatever reason is being extra nice to another person . . . to gain that person's favor. This could happen in a work environment, or oftentimes in a relationship when one person either wants to make the other interested in them, or wants to apologize for some offense.

1. 她會寵壞了他。 2.(為討他歡心)她對他百依百順、特別殷勤。

本句用於不同時機,可作不一樣的中文翻譯。其實,原句意義不難揣摩,因單字皆屬常用字;要點是,為了討好對方,這對方(him)是她的晚輩?上司?或男友?


37. Don't forget to dot the "i's" and cross the "t's."

This is a sentence that is used to describe something that needs a lot of attention to detail. It means to be thorough.

別忽略了細節。

有時,連最微小之處都得留意,以免「因小失大」釀成錯誤。原句中的 i's 和 t's 代表要「加上」或「刪除」那小小一撇,都是學問;應一絲不苟、重視細節才是。


38. He left no stone unturned when doing his research.

The words in red are used in a variety of situations. The police may do a complete investigation. A person may look in every conceivable location for something that was lost. A student may read extensively about a subject before writing a report.

他做研究的時候,可說是「上窮碧落下黃泉」(翻遍了所有資料)。

Left no stone unturned字面義為:翻遍每塊石頭。舉凡研究生博覽群籍、警方做詳盡無遺的調查、或你我翻箱倒櫃找尋失落的物品等,皆可用此片語來形容。


39. Don't cry over spilled milk.

Sometimes, a child cries when they reach for something at the table and knock over the cup that had their milk in it. Once something like that happens, little can be done except to clean up the spill. It does no good to cry about it. This is a lesson people need to learn over and over again as they go through life: be careful.

悔恨無濟於事。

別為打翻的牛奶哭泣,意思就是:不要做無益的追悔。這誠然是我們一生當中,亟需儘早學會的功課。與君共勉,好自為之!


40. I've had it up to here with that !

A person might be angry about another person's repeated inappropriate behavior. Or, a person could be upset because something does not work correctly. That person could angrily say the words in red and at the same time tap beneath their chin with their fingertips. The contraction "I've" combines the words "I" and "have."

我已經受夠了,就到此為止吧!

對於他人一而再、再而三的無禮(或無理)行為,你我難免會生氣;對於本身怎麼做都做不來的事,內心或許更難過、更洩氣。屆時,不妨以這句話自我表白。


---- The above English Sentences are noted by Warren Sevander in English and Jerry Liang in Chinese, which have been put onto the website of St. James' Language Institute.

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2010年10月7日 星期四

荒蕪不染心 (I Will Never Be Devastated)

#2010-1007

Zou zai zhenguang-li, huangwu bu ran xin. (走在真光裡,荒蕪不染心。)
[English paraphrase]  In the Light of Truth, I will never be devastated.

You shi libaisi le, laopo de jiemeitao zhaoli yu jiudian duo lai yao ta "pa shan" qu. Laope dingling wo, shuo, "Ni zuihao ye chuqu zouzou . . ." Wo shuo, "Huide. Wo hai yao daizhe xiangji daochu qu buzhuo xie shenme ne!"
[English paraphrase]  It's Thursday again. My wife's good friends would come and invite her to go hiking somewhere, as usual. "You should also take some exercises today, my dear!" she said to me. And I replied, "I will. I'll go somewhere with my new camera. . . ." 

Wo shuodao zuodao. Suishen xidai qian bujiu huozeng de jinianpin -- Panasonic DMC-ZS7GT xiangji, wo zoule yitiao pingshi jiaoshao zou de lu.
[English paraphrase]  I did what I planned to do. Carrying with me the Panasonic DMC-ZS7GT which I had just been given as a "souvenir," I left home right away, heading for somewhere I had less explored before.

Shouxian yingru yanlian de, jiu shi zhege li wojia budao 100 gongchi de, bei Fanabi taifeng (凡那比颱風) chui huai le de hongludeng. A! Shenme shihou cai hui xiufu ne? -- Suiran
ludeng han huangdeng dou po le, na hongdeng hai guigui-juju de zhaochang liangzhe, fangfu zhihui lu-guo-de xingren ji cheliang, shi ta wuke-tuiwei de zhongze-daren.
[English paraphrase]  The first thing I saw was the broken traffic lights very near to my house. Obviously the green and yellow bulbs had been destroyed by the typhoon Fanapi (凡那比), but the red light was still functioning as normal; it was working as though guiding the passing vehicles and pedestrians was the number-one priority -- something so important that a traffic light cannot give up doing! Well, when will these traffic lights be repaired?

Jiezhe, wo laidao yishuo bufu-cunzai de tuoersuo qianmian. Zheli zhi shengxia canpo-bukan de damen, qita de jianzhu tongtong hui yu 1999 nian de 921 dizhen. Wo zai menkou paile liang-zhang zhaopian, zuowei zhe tuoersuo cengjing cunzai de zhengju.
[English paraphrase]  Then I came to this broken gate -- the gate to a nursery school that had been completely destroyed by the devastating 9-21 earthquake in 1999. Now you can see nothing of the nursery except this old and broken gate. I intentionally took two pictures of the gate, which would remind me of the nursery school that had actually existed long ago.



Xiamian zhe dong sancenglou de fangzi ye shi bei 921 dizhen pohuai de. Wuzhu bu jiayi-xiufu, shibi zao yijing bandao biede zhu le. (You ke xiao shu, jiuxiang wenjingde xiao nanhai yiban, hai cong erlou de chuanghu tanchu tou lai, momode kanzhe wo ne!)
[English paraphrase]  This 3-story building (see pictures below) was also damaged by the 9-21 earthquake. The owner of the house, hadn't bothered to repaire it, must have moved away to live somewhere else. (I saw a tree reaching its branches out of the side window on the second floor and . . . quietly staring at me like a shy boy!)



Er xiamian zhe ji-zhang zhaopian, you shi shenme ne? Tou yiyan kandao zhe qiguaide jingxiang, queshi jiao wo xia yidatiao. Zixi duanxiang yifan zhihou, cai faxian zhe yinggai shi yixie bei xianzhi yijiu de "yishupin" -- zhuozhe dagai yao biaoda mouzhong "huangwu" (荒蕪) de hanyi ba!
[English paraphrase]  Well, then, what are seen in the following pictures? Frankly speaking, I was shocked and upset at first sight of those things that looked so ugly and weird to me. However, after studying them for a while, I told myself that they could be some very special works of art, the creator(s) of which might have wanted to express something about "desolation" (or devastation) in these seemingly-deserted objects.











Gai shi tingbi de shihou le. Qie rang wo fushu wenzhang kaitou de na ju hua: Zou zai zhenguang-li, huangwu bu ran xin. (走在真光裡,荒蕪不染心。) Zhe shi ziwo mianli, ye tongshi tixing duzhemen, qianwan bie jianjing-shangqing. Wubi zai "huangwu" zhong kanjian Zhenli zhi Guang!
[English paraphrase]  To conclude this piece of writing, I would like to repeat the opening sentence: In the Light of Truth, I will never be devastated. Yes, I would encourage myself, and also all of you, my dear readers. Please don't be too sad when seeing these pictures of "desolation" (devastation); instead, be smart enough to see the Light of Truth among them.


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2010年10月5日 星期二

溪頭剪影(金黃雪白曼陀羅)

#2010-1005

This morning Jean and I visited Xitou again. We took a different path, Bird-Watching Trail (賞鳥步道), to start getting up the hill. At the end of the Bird-Watching Trail, we continued to walk up along the so-called Hiking Trail (登山步道), which is one of the two most challenging trails in the whole of Xitou Nature Education Area (溪頭自然教育園區). [The other trail that is graded "challenge class" is Forest Bath Trail (森林浴步道), which we already conquered the other day!] Although we walked terribly slowly, we did fulfill ourselves by walking all the way up and down the hill, and we did have some sense of achievement when returning home.

圖片編號:001


2010年10月5日再度遊溪頭,這回我倆所採擷的是.........請看圖片編號 002(共 6 張)。
Well, for more information, look at the pictures numbered 002 (below).


圖片編號:002
  學名稱為 datura stramonium 的「曼陀羅花」有許多別號,例如:醉心花、狗核桃、醉仙桃、瘋茄兒、南洋金花、山茄子、鳳茄花、朝鮮牽牛花。

  根據網路版的《維基百科》,其英文名稱也是千變萬化(千奇百怪);除了叫作 thorn apple (帶刺蘋果) 之外,亦稱為: jimson weed (???), devil's trumpet (魔鬼的喇叭), devil's weed (魔鬼的菸捲或野草), tolguacha (???), Jamestown weed (詹姆斯鎮的野草), stinkseed (臭草籽), locoweed (瘋草), datura (曼陀羅屬植物), moonflower (月光花), 在南非還有 malpitte (???) 和 mad seeds (瘋狂的種子) 等名號呢!









附註:曼陀羅花整株有毒,種子毒性最大。

又註:據查,除了草本曼陀羅花外,還有木本曼陀羅,木本曼陀羅與草本曼陀羅同科同屬,一般為灌木或小喬木。與草本的曼陀羅不同的是,木本曼陀羅花筒較長,能長到20~35公分,花朵下垂,有芳香果木實質不裂。由於花朵形態優美,狀如喇叭,所以英文名為Angel's Trumpet (天使的喇叭)。

 - - -


2010年10月4日 星期一

Good Friends! I Miss You So Much!

#2010-1004

The painting on the right was produced by my former colleague Mr. Lin Hongzheng (林紘正老師). He gave me this as a gift for . . . well, for what I don't really remember now! But I know for sure that I miss him very much at the moment.

As old as I, Mr. Lin has been a kind and respectable "gentleman" in my mind. He is an artist, especially good at the traditional Chinese painting. But, more importantly, he is an excellent "teacher and friend," always giving you good advice and help when you need it [and, of course, only when he can actually provide with it]. Sometimes he would impress you as a fairly modest (humble) person; nevertheless, you can be assured that he is a gifted and hard-working man and that he's very capable of doing artistic creation and study. So, I admire his attainments in fine art, and I especially admire the way he gets along with others. He is one of the good models that I should try my best to learn from.

Another artist that I'd like to mention here is Mr. Chen Zhongyong (陳中庸教授), one of my best friends. Look at the Chinese calligraphy below. Mr. Chen's calligraphy is so excellent (as you can see with your eyes!) that he has won the well-known Zhongshan Arts Award in our country.

Living in my neighborhood, Mr. Chen is a diligent and prolific worker, too, in the fields of academic research and artistic creation. I enjoy seeing (reading) his calligraphy very much; what is more, I am very impressed by his humorous personality. He has told me quite a few stories about himself -- about his childhood, his school days, and so forth. Every time I met and chatted with him, his sense of humor made me very delighted.

Above all, he is a very sensible and reliable man. He can kindly give you help and advice if you ask him for. I hope I will go and visit him (or invite him to come to my humble place) a lot more often in the future!


- - -

2010年10月2日 星期六

小蜜蜂的曾祖父

#2010-1002

這天「小蜜峰」還沒出生(但快了,預產期為10月21日),身為爺爺奶奶的
我倆回到國姓老家,與他的曾祖父一同喝茶聊天,非常快樂,特別拍下
這些照片,作為留念!(巧的是,曾祖母外出探親尚未返家。)

圖片編號:001
My father and I are so very happy, drinking tea and chatting!
(Pictures taken on Sat. Oct. 2, 2010.)








圖片編號:002
Jean and my father are also chatting and drinking tea -- so happily!
(Pictures taken on the same evening.)






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