英大學取締榮譽畢業評分傳統   8-11-09

2009年11月06日

英國大學將會推行新成績表，不再只重視學業成績，而是把學生在校內參與的課外活動情況，一一臚列在成績表上，在三內年取締沿用了 200年的一級、二級和三級榮譽畢業的評分傳統，以便僱主能挑選出更全面的畢業生做僱員。

新成績表名為「高等教育成績表」（ HEAR），長達六頁，臚列學生在大學期間各科成績、有否參加學生會、各體育學會、做義工等。

以便僱主全面了解學生

英國大學作出改革，是因應僱主投訴難以根據大學畢業證書上的三級制學位，來區分每年 30萬名畢業生的能力，推行 HEAR，可讓準僱主知道畢業生在學業成績以外的活動，以免僱用了書獃子。這也反映大學鼓勵學生要自行獲取技能，以便受聘。曼徹斯特大學、倫敦大學和聖安德魯斯大學等 18間學府，答允試行 HEAR，到 2011年再擴展到其他大學。

英國《泰晤士報》

* * *

Introduction of the HEAR scheme (appropriately translated into “HEA” scheme in Chinese) represents the death of university education.

We must remember that university is meant to be an academic institution. Not an employment agency. The HEAR scheme effectively transforms all UK universities into “德成女傭”. And all university students into Filipino maids.

There is a long-standing distinction between academics and extra-curricular activities. There are always people who try to muddy the waters by creating concepts like “physical education”, “hall/college education”, and “work education”. One day, we might find people using the tautologous phrase “academic education”.

However much employers value students’ engagement in extra-curricular activities, it does not follow the universities should become slaves of all employers.  Work and education should remain as separate pursuits.  It is an absolute shame for universities to start printing CVs for students instead of academic transcripts.

It remains for me to hope that Oxbridge will not simply follow suit and go astray.

A joke of a joke    14-10-09

曾蔭權搞英文gag

(from http://diumanpark.mysinablog.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=1970572)

特首曾蔭權發表施政報告，期間泛民幾個人全程舉牌，標語如下：Bow Tie keep your election promise。

煲呔中途飲水時搞gag，喃喃自語，指著標語牌說「文法錯了，英文單數動詞應該有s」。

煲呔搞gag咋係嘛，不然就是自暴其短啊。

呢句說話當然沒錯，因為呢句係imperative，中譯「祈使句」，並非一般的statement(陳述句)。

Imperative是直接叫人做某事，不是陳述那個人做甚麼事，中英一樣，茲舉例如下：

(1) 彼得，仆街吧 (Peter, go to hell)。

(2) 彼得仆街 (Peter goes to hell)。

(1) 是imperative，(2)是statement，前者彼得還未仆街，是你想佢仆街，後者則描述「彼得仆街」這個事實(雖然聽落怪怪地，只是舉例說明)。

說話時有語氣幫助，有停頓位，不易誤會。轉成文字時，加逗號便沒人誤會了，不過正常人聽得多英文都不會誤會，但煲呔，太忙嘛……，泛民沒有做「逗號」這個牌，叫人誤會，做事不夠認真，沒有體會煲呔貴人事忙。

煲呔下午會否學溫家寶誤寫「火山岩」而道歉呢？或發聲明指自己只想搞GAG，或指自己一向認為自己已恪守選舉承諾，沒有理由那句不是陳述句。不然，特區家長又要一窩蜂推子女去外國，促進了人家的六大產業之一了。

* * *

Once again, Donald Tsang got himself into deep shit by uttering words not included in his prepared speech.

His suggestion that “Bow Tie Keeps Your Promise” cannot be saved by any method of construction. Someone can keep his (own) promise, but not “your” promise or anybody else’s promise. Not even the principles of agency can save him.

He was probably trying to start a joke by suggesting the (doubtful) fact that “Bow Tie Keeps His Promise” to the pan-democrats, but he only remembered to change “keep” to “keeps”, but not “your” to “his”.

Presumably when person A criticizes person B about matter X, person A is impliedly asserting that s/he is good at X, or at least better than B at X. The funny thing is that this implied assertion may turn out to be a false statement. And this false assertion may come back to haunt A.

This A was Donald Tsang when he made his speech at Legco today, but now replaced by the author of the above article (re-read the bolded sentence which reflects his poor English ability).

An important lesson that Richard Eng has taught us:

七百年後    13-8-09

曲：柳重言

詞：林若寧

你那太空艙

能夠發出金色的光

我廢置一方

抬頭便會為你守望

一天天催迫生活在現代化

繽紛星空拋低我寄存繁榮垃圾崗

多得你原諒我骯髒

送你破黑膠

廉價發出歌聲依稀

送你破燈泡

便宜地照亮你天地

一箱卡式帶一直沒落仍能回味

那套舊文藝戲

生生不息的悽美愛情逾越物質跨過世紀

* 文明能壓碎

情懷不衰

無論枯乾山水

舊時年月投入垃圾裡

你我一起同居

仍然能送你

兒時玩具

老地方抱著一起安睡

七百年

潮流裡

瞬息過去 (建築統統破碎) *

棄置那棵花

容我帶它的根歸家

送你這棵花

來懷念已逝去初夏

漆黑的星體花葉樹木無從留下

你會在流淚嗎

花開的沙丘滋養我們貧窮地方優美似畫

Repeat *

天天進化熱潮已記不起

用霓虹去建設歡喜

雖則你我被每粒星唾棄

我們貧乏卻去到金禧

文明能壓碎

情懷不衰

無論枯乾山水

舊時年月投入垃圾裡

你我一起同居

仍然能送你

兒時玩具

老地方抱著一起安睡

七百年

隨年歲

記憶老去

仍然有你的忠心愛侶