Top notch

Following a year’s hard work, students will receive their end-of-year reports very soon. On the reports, teachers will write their students’ achievements, strengths and the areas which they need to improve. What results would you expect this year? Excellent, average or poor? 

In the English language, the word “excellent” can by replaced by the idiom “top notch”. 

John is very excited to receive a top notch academic report. 

Lame duck

When Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying（行政長官梁振英） made his final policy speech early this year, a South China Morning Post（《南華早報》）reporter wrote that he was showing that he was not leading a lame duck government for the rest of his term of office. 

If a duck is lame, it is unable to walk properly because of an injury or physical disability of one or both of its legs. Nowadays, the idiom “lame duck” is often used to describe a politician or a government that is not functioning properly in the final period of office. 

Flea market

The Hong Kong Tourism Board（香港旅遊發展局）has listed in its website various kinds of markets for tourists who like shopping in Hong Kong. These markets are Ap Liu Street（鴨寮街）, Flea Market, Temple Street（廟街）Night Market, and Chun Yeung Street（春秧街） Wet Market. While a night market is operated at night for people to buy and sell goods, a wet market sells fresh foods such as meat and fish. Since fleas are tiny jumping insects that feed on the blood of humans and animals, does it mean that a flea market is full of these insects? 

Necessity is the mother of invention

What is the most important invention in history? There is no definite answer. Some may say the wheel while some may suggest the light bulb. Perhaps most of us agree that the internet is the most important invention when billions of people in the world are connected by smartphones and computers. What was the driving force behind all these inventions throughout history? 

The following English proverb may tell us what made human beings produce these innovative things : 

Necessity is the mother of invention（需要乃發明之母）.