昔日文章

“Does this man really need my help? Seems that he will tumble（滾落）any second, but he didn't ask for assistance（協助）. Moreover, I am in such a rush!”  Godwin always leaves home at the very last minute for school and every morning he has to rush. First he dashes（趕緊跑）all the way from his place to the MTR station, he darts across（衝過）the street no matter what the traffic light shows. Then he races（飛馳）down the escalator, bearing the risk of running over someone. The last move is to squeeze （塞入）himself onto the train during rush hours（交通擁擠時間）when he goes to school, like many other students do.  Now the train is arriving at the station, Godwin needs to get off. In the split of a second（一剎那）, he sprints（飛奔去趕）to the escalator getting ready to rush up. But while he is hurrying, a middle-aged man blocks his way. This man does not look old at all, perhaps in his fifties. But both of his legs are so bended（彎曲）that they form an O shape. Each of his steps is slow and shaky. This man carries a walking stick and is approaching the escalator. Godwin is thinking if he should slow down to help or not.  Wha t would you do i f you were Godwin?  I would not stop to bother a man whom I would not consider（認為）as someone in great need. If he needed assistance, he would have voiced out. I would just go ahead of him to make my way.   I would slow down to go after him. I would not say anything but in case he tripped（絆倒）, I would be right behind to give him a hand. That might slow me down for 30 seconds, but I would be willing to do so. 

“I need to sit down so I can write on my homework book, but this tired pregnant （懷孕）lady seems that she can fall down any minute⋯⋯oh lady, please do not look at me with begging eyes（乞求的眼神）, move somewhere , now everyone is looking at me⋯⋯”  It is already after nine at night and Jennifer just finished her ballet lesson. She is having a lot of extra practice for the show upcoming this weekend. On one hand, she is excited to be one of the performers, on the other, she is worried that all these nightly rehearsals will eat into（花掉）her study time. To make up （彌補）, she has been doing her homework on the train. She is lucky that she can get on MTR from the Hung Hom Station and sit all the way to Tuen Mun, which is the very first stop to the very last. Sitting down, with her schoolbag on her lap（膝部）, she can get so much done because the ride is over an hour.  Suddenly at the Tsim Sha Tsui Station a big crowd pushes into the train. There are many people holding onto the poles and a pregnant lady with the tummy of the size of a water melon stands right in front of Jennifer. Usually Jennifer will stand up without a second thought（不需思索）. But right now she has so much to do before arriving home, and she cannot write anything while standing up. A scene（情景）comes to her mind（浮現腦海）.  Recently there is this cartoon that has been passed around numerous times through Whatsapp and Facebook about a lame（跛腳的）young lady offering her seat to an old man. It is touching indeed since the ride is five hours and no other healthier person is willing to do so. The main message is that we should be ready to offer what we also need.     What would you do if you were Jennifer ?   I would ask the person next to me if he / she would be willing to offer the seat to the pregnant lady as I was not feeling at my best（不太舒服）.  I would offer my seat to the pregnant lady while mentally（心裡）work on my homework or do some revision first. This would be a little sacrifice I’d be happy to make.

Some surveys found that Hong Kong teenagers may not be sleeping long and well enough. Many of them sleep less than seven hours every night and do not “sleep tight”.  The expression “sleep tight” means sleep deeply and well. It first appeared in a diary written by Susan Bradford Eppes, an American writer, in 1866.  “Goodbye little Diary. ‘Sleep tight and wake bright,’ for I will need you when I return.”  Why do people use the word “tight”, which normally means firmly and securely, to describe the quality of their sleep? There are two popular stories behind this saying.  The first one goes back to the early 19th century when people slept on rope-beds. Nowadays, the mattress is put on sturdy wooden boards or metal springs. However, in the past, the mattress was put on bed frames made of ropes. People needed to tighten the ropes regularly to prevent the mattress from sagging.  The second origin is related to a popular bedside nursery rhyme. The first two lines are: “Good night, sleep tight,  Don’t let the bedbugs bite, …”  However, both stories have been rejected by scholars. While rope-beds were invented many years before the first appearance of “sleep tight”（睡個好覺）, the nursery rhyme was created in the late 19th century.  Instead, scholars suggested that the word “tight” in the expression means “soundly” and “well”. This usage can be traced back to the Shakespearean time in the 17th century.  A quality sleep keeps us healthy both physically and mentally. Let’s go to bed early and, most important of all, sleep tight.   

Sherman is the only child at home. She has a very affectionate(親切)family. Mom and Dad love her dearly and she is the apple of their eye(掌上明珠). Most of the time Sherman is taken care of by the domestic helper as her parents have long hours at work. The helper does all the housework(家 務). Recently, Sherman is interested in cooking and requested the helper to teach her. In a very short time, Sherman has improved a lot. She starts cooking on Sunday when the helper is on holiday instead of dining out(出外用膳). Dad and Mom enjoy their daughter’s dishes so very much. Cooking becomes a joy to Sherman. Last week was Sherman’s birthday. Mom and Dad thought of a creative (有創意)idea to surprise her . Despite(儘管)their tight schedule(緊密日程), they managed(能夠安排) to take half day off from work and asked the helper to bring them to the market to get the ingredients(材料) needed. They spent the whole afternoon preparing, making a big mess(弄得凌亂)in the kitchen. They really wanted to cook something with their own hands as a big present to their birthday daughter. The intention(意向)was good, but the dishes prepared were unpalatable (難吃). Mom and Dad were eagerly pushing(催促)Sherman to have more. They kept putting food on her bowl of rice. At the same time, they also kept asking ardently(熱切地) how the food was. If Sherman told them she did not like the food, her parents would be disappointed. If she praised(讚)the food, the poor girl would have to take more. She did not want to swallow(吞嚥)down anymore. What would you do if you were Sherman? To appreciate and not hurt my parents’ feelings, I’d just gulp(大口吞下)down whatever they serve me, not really tasting the food. Then I’d pretend(扮)I had a stomach ache and rush to the washroom. Put the blame not on the taste but on the cleanliness(潔淨), so that they’d never cook for me again. The fun of cooking is that all food can be remedied(糾正) by cooking it again by using some cooking tricks. With my limited knowledge(有限的認知)in cooking, I’d tell them what had gone wrong. I’d ask the helper to give some ideas and invite my parents to cook the dishes all over again, but with me as well. This way we could enjoy a great family time in the kitchen, hurting no one’s feelings.