昔日文章

If you were in this difficult situation, you would probably...... Enoch and Bert are in the same table tennis team, they are preparing for a match to come. They are high in spirit (興致勃勃)and practise at school whenever they can. A little misunderstanding(誤會)took place yesterday and they have not been talking to each other for many hours now. Bert sent out a text(短訊)to Enoch in Whatsapp that he could meet up at lunch the next day. Enoch confirmed by texting(發短訊)back. There was something Enoch had to arrange. First, he re-packed his bag for he had PE class the next day, and he needed to bring extra clothing(服裝)for table tennis practice. Then he went to his mom and asked for a packed lunch as he would not have time to go out and buy food. He even asked for a double portion(雙倍份量)so that he could split(分)half for Bert, knowing his friend always skips meals. It was quite bulky(笨重)to bring everything to school, but he did it with delight. (喜悅) The next day Bert was asked to stay in the laboratory with the whole class, the Chemistry teacher needed extra time to go over an upcoming test. Cell phones were all locked up and Bert had no chance to communicate with Enoch. He was anxious to leave but he could not. He asked to be excused(離開一下)for the toilet, the teacher rejected. Poor Enoch waited and waited. Half an hour passed when Bert ran over panting(氣喘). Enoch did not talk to Bert and left, not even returning his Whatsapp messages. I’d text him and explain what happened. I could just be a victim(受害者)too. If he insisted to be angry with me, we just could not enter a competition if we could not share any tacit understanding(默契). I believe there must be a good reason for his infuriating(大怒)behaviour , I must give him time to let the anger die away(逐漸消失). Meanwhile I could only send my apologetic(歉意的) texts and pray for him. 

Rodney’s family is receiving(接待) Uncle Kwok Man at their place as a house guest. This uncle is brother of Rodney’s dad and is twelve years older. He lives in Taiwan and is now visiting Hong Kong, sharing Rodney’s room. Things have been super fine. Uncle Kwok Man is extremely(非常)friendly. They share a lot of different topics after dinner. Only that something went very differently on the day of 10th October. Rodney came home that after school, it was a Wednesday. He could not even recognize(認出)his own room because big Taiwanese flags(旗) were hoisted(吊起)all over. Uncle was singing something like a national anthem(國歌)on the top of his voice (以最大的嗓音)with music blasting(轟著)from the stereo (立體音響裝置). Mom told Rodney to leave his uncle alone that day. Rodney simply had no idea what was going on. The scene lasted quite a few hours(好 幾小時). Over dinner, Rodney inquired(問) about Uncle’s behaviour, and Uncle Kwok Man explained the “Double Ten Day”(雙十節)being the Taiwan National Day. He further shared his passion(情懷)about his country. Yet, as he went along(說下去), he blamed (責怪)Rodney’s dad for not passing on their Taiwanese root to Rodney. Instantly, Rodney discovered that his dad has his origin from(原籍)Taiwan. Uncle Kwok Man suggested that Rodney should study in Taiwan and spend some more time to understand his homeland(故鄉).  What would you do if you were Rodney ? I’d tell my uncle that I have no passion for a country in where my father came from. I’d only study in a place where I’d find most appropriate for the subject I’d choose, and that would have nothing to do with family ties (家庭關係). I’d save all my queries(疑問) until my uncle has left so I could hear more from my parents. Not arguing does not mean agreeing.   

Joachim had no idea why he had no school on 1st of May. Early that morning, according to what the holiday was named, Labour Day, he listed（列出）his parents many items that he had been wanting to get fixed by them. That included changing the light bulb（燈膽）in his room, hammering（揼）the broken bookshelf, screwing the leaking tap（漏水龍頭）in the toilet, shopping for new things and many more… In return, he only got a cold shoulder（冷淡而不瞅睬）from them.  With much doubt, Joachim looked up for the meaning behind Labour Day. He found out that it is an annual holiday to celebrate the achievements of workers. Labour Day has its origins（起源）in the labour union（工黨）movement, specifically the eight-hour day movement, which advocated（提倡）eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest. Happily he proclaimed（公布）to his parents immediately that going to school already took up eight hours a day and he would refuse（拒絕）to study any more at home. His mom and dad agreed but they also started not doing any housework from that day onwards, claiming（聲稱）that they had worked over eight hours at the office. For the whole week, the laundry was not done, no one cooked dinner and the house has been very messy.   What would you do if you were Joachim?  Said is said, I would insist my stance（立場）and see who could stand the mess longer. I’d guess my parents would give in（讓步）soon if I feed myself with the most unhealthy food.  I’d rethink why they could be so upset. In a family, it is very hard to calculate who is doing more and who less. Apologizing would be too disgraceful （丟臉）, I’d tidy up the house and that would show my sincerity（誠意）to end this cold war （冷戰）. 

School has resumed（復課）for almost two weeks now, but many students are still in their holiday mood（心情）. Is that the same with you?  Terence had a wonderful summer vacation. He helped out in a few NGOs（非牟利機構 non-governmental organizations）, winning a lot of praises from people around. His parents also took him on a short trip. The family did not go anywhere far but Cheung Chau（長洲）, where his uncle has an empty flat（單位）. To Terence, taking it relaxingly（輕鬆地） doing nothing was the best thing to do once in a while（偶爾）.  He is now a F1 student, life is so much different from primary school. Instead of just Chinese, English, Mathematics and General Studies, there are so many more subjects now. Yet Terence’s mode（狀態）is still set going slow. It is tough（不容易）for him to wake up early each morning. He never likes Math, and during Math lesson, he feels so tired that he has been dosing off（打瞌睡）most of the time. There are some Math worksheets daily, Terence has great difficulty doing his homework. His buddy Paul lets him copy his work. He believes this is a good way of helping out a friend. So by arriving school fifteen minutes earlier to quickly copy down the answers, Terence can submit（提交）his assignment（作業）without having to work on the exercises at all.  What would you do if you were Terence?  If I really dislike（厭惡）Math and someone can help me to finish my homework, I’d be grateful（感激的）. Without the help, I’d have to spend hours and hours on it. In case my friend needs help in other areas（方面）, I will surely let him copy my work so it will be a smart way of sharing the workload（工作量）. Time saved can be spent on reading, playing or preparing other subjects that I enjoy.    I believe the Math teacher knows that I am falling asleep in his class, just that he is not saying a word so far（至今）. I have to be brave to face him and tell him I cannot follow what is being taught, therefore unintentionally（非故意地）doze off. The more I fall behind, the sooner I have to shout for help. There will be Mathematics every year till graduation, no way I can escape from it.