春風化雨1996(Mr. Holland's Opus)

「春風化雨1996」"Mr. Holland's Opus" ，從中文譯名可知這是一片感人肺腑、饒富教育意義的電影。內容敘述一位音樂家兼作曲家的Glenn Holland為了生活家計而在一所學校教書，自許為音樂家的他也想在工作之餘創作出輝煌的音樂作品，然而接下來的數十年他都是待在這所學校教書，並未如願成為一個偉大的音樂家。不過也因如此，他在學校幫助了無數的學生， 教他們如何欣賞音樂與生活，但諷刺的是他卻無法幫助失聰的兒子…。影片點出親情與工作的取捨、理想與現實的掙扎、學校政策與教師理念不一的衝突等問題，發人省思。沒看過的要去租來看，看過的朋友則一起來回味一下吧！

(Mr. Holland's Opus, 1995)
Glenn Holland: Playing music is supposed to be fun. It's about heart, it's about feelings, moving people, and something beautiful, and it's not about notes on a page. I can teach you notes on a page, I can't teach you that other stuff.

Mr. Glenn Holland: Let me ask you a question. When you look in the mirror, what do you like best about yourself? Gertrude Lang: My hair. Mr. Glenn Holland: Why? Gertrude Lang: Well, my father always says that it reminds him of the sunset. Mr. Glenn Holland: Play the sunset. Close your eyes. One, two, three, four.

以前有個學妹聽過我彈琴，她跟我說聽我彈琴時總覺得缺少了點什麼…。嗯…檢討了一下，我想我彈琴時，的確太過注意是否都彈對每個音，而忽略彈琴時應投入的感情，忘了音樂唯有透過感情的注入才能從指縫間自然、悅耳地流露出來的道理。以上這兩個對白給了我一記當頭棒喝！

(向音樂教室的老闆娘A來的掛鐘，她人真好)

以下這句是Mr. Holland的太太(Iris)向他抱怨他鮮少照顧家裡的兒子，卻把心思都花在別人家的小孩身上。我想每個認真的老師應可體會Mr. Holland為何會胳臂往外彎。
Iris Holland: Why is everyone else's child more important than yours?

從事教育工作者的省思：
Principal Jacobs: A teacher has two jobs; fill young minds with knowledge, yes, but more important, give those minds a compass so that that knowledge doesn't go to waste.

以下是一位學生給Mr. Holland的感言，任一個老師只要聽到像這樣的真心話語，不動容也難！裡頭的比喻都和音樂用語有關，令人咀嚼再三，回味無窮！這段對話也正呼應其片名"Mr. Holland's Opus"，也就是Mr. Holland最偉大的音樂創作(opus)正是成就了一群能欣賞音樂又熱愛生命的學生!
Adult Gertrude Lang: Mr. Holland had a profound influence on my life and on a lot of lives I know. But I have a feeling that he considers a great part of his own life misspent. Rumor had it he was always working on this symphony of his. And this was going to make him famous, rich, probably both. But Mr. Holland isn't rich and he isn't famous, at least not outside of our little town. So it might be easy for him to think himself a failure. But he would be wrong, because I think that he's achieved a success far beyond riches and fame. Look around you. There is not a life in this room that you have not touched, and each of us is a better person because of you. We are your symphony Mr. Holland. We are the melodies and the notes of your opus. We are the music of your life.

英文小辭典：
symphony 交響樂
melody 旋律
note 音符
opus（有編號的）音樂作品

Riddles(猜謎樂)

These riddles are a bit hard, but some of them are fun. You may try looking for the answers on the Net. :)

1.How do you make a witch itch?
2.Did you hear about the guy that lost his left arm and leg in a car crash?
3.How can you tell if a planet is married?
4.If April showers bring May flowers,what do May flowers bring?
5.What day does a fish hate?
6.What did one cloned sheep say to the other?
7.What did one ocean say to the other ocean?
8.What did one wall say to the other wall?
9.What did the fish say when he hit a concrete wall?
10.What do you call a rabbit with fleas?
11.What kind of tree has hands?
12.What does an envelope say when you lick it?
13.What is the largest bra?
14.What does a bee use to brush its hair?
15.What kind of necktie does a pig wear?

(Riddles provided by Lisa from S1 He)

You are the reason I am. You are all my reasons.

The following is the acceptance address (致詞) from John Nash, who won the 1994 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. I find it very profound and touching. You may also link to http://www.americanrhetoric.com/MovieSpeeches/moviespeechabeautifulmind.html to listen to the speech delivered by Russell Crowe(羅素克洛) in the movie "A Beautiful Mind" (美麗境界). :)

Nash: Thank you. I've always believed in numbers and the equations and logics that lead to reason.

But after a lifetime of such pursuits, I ask,

"What truly is logic?"

"Who decides reason?"

My quest has taken me through the physical, the metaphysical, the delusional -- and back.

And I have made the most important discovery of my career, the most important discovery of my life: It is only in the mysterious equations of love that any logic or reasons can be found.

I'm only here tonight because of you [his wife, Alicia].
You are the reason I am.
You are all my reasons.
Thank you.

在喫茶趣(Cha For Tea)找碴

Last night my friends and I went to "Cha For Tea"(喫茶趣), a tea house where lots of people hang out with friends or enjoy delicious meals with their family. Since my friends and I didn't make a reservation, we had to wait to get a table. We were so bored while lining up, so we decided to take a look at the menu first. To my astonishment, I saw "mango mouse" on the menu! And there are some other mistakes on it as well. I showed the typos I found to my friends, and one of them was teasing me by saying "You would never overlook such teenie tiny errors, would you?" "I can't help it. It's my job.(沒辦法,職業病嘛~)"I replied. Haha~~~

Well, here are the typos I found on the menu:
1. Green tea mango mouse
2. Please chose one of the items
3. King's tea flavored pork with noodle

Can you correct all of them? Actually, I wrote them down on the sheet of the customer's feedback. I hope next time when you/I visit the tea house, these typos will have been corrected.:)

Well, some of you might think I'm crazy. But you know what? Such a typo reflects how the tea house runs a business. I think you might have seen errors/typos like these on the menus of some restaurants, or on the notebooks you bought or some other stationery. These errors all result from irresponsibility. It might also leave a bad impression on those English speakers in Taiwan. Remember some part of a movie was made to mock at the products made in Taiwan--cheap but with bad quality?! Of course, no one is perfect, and we all know "To err is human; to forgive, divine." But if you make mistakes and don't want to make them up, it's inexcusable, right? I do hope the tea house would correct their errors after "someone" had already given them some heartfelt feedback. Maybe you can try doing the same thing as I did last night to help some restaurants or companies and further to make Taiwan better. :)

Brainstorming(5)!--看圖造句(5)

Use Subjunctive Mood (假設語氣) to make a sentence.
(If S were/Vpt., S would/should/could/might V....)
Ex. If you just had a mouse for dinner, you would smile like me.
Ex. How wonderful it would be if Ted proposed to me!

Brainstorming(4)!--看圖造句(4)

Make a sentence with "as if"(就好像).

(S V as if S Vpt./had Vpp.)
Ex. The cat looks unhappy as if the world were going to end.

Putting it togeter

Make up a story that includes at least ten of the words below. You may begin your story with "One day..." or "Once upon a time." After finishing your story, please read it carefully again and make sure your storyline is logical.

(Please click the picture to see an enlarged view of it.)













(An activity from Far East Book B2 L1)

Q & A on Friends (六人行)

S1 He & Shiu: You've watched one of Friends episodes (六人行) today, and from roars of your laughter, I can tell that you enjoyed it a lot. Now, please try to find out the answers to the following questions.


Questions on Friends Season 7 Episode 8:
1. What were they celebrating? (A) Christmas (B) Thanksgiving (C) Easter
2. Ross wouldn't eat anything until (A) he wrote down all the names of the states in the U.S. (B) he could find the dog (C) he could cook pumpkin pies.
3. How did Monica and Chandler figure out that a dog was in their apartment? (A) They saw it from the window at Ross' apartment (B) Joey told them. (C) Someone told them.
4. Chandler _______ dogs. (A) was allergic to (B) hated (C) was fond of
5. How many states did Joey name at first? (A) 36 (B) 46 (C) 56
6. Why did Ross not like ice cream?
7. Whom did Rachel want to date with? (A) her assistant, Tag (B) her boss, Tag (C) her customer, Tag
8. Who hid the puppy in the room? (A) Tag (B) Phoebe (C) Joey
9. What will you NOT see on a "globe"? (A) Names of rivers (B) Names of streets (C) Names of countries
10. Where did Tag come from? (A) Colorado (B) Paris (C) Athens.
11. Did Ross name all the states at the end of this episode?
12. When Rachel said to Tag "I have a crush on you" , what did she mean?

Charlotte's Web

Have you ever read Charlotte's Web, a book about friendship and loyalty by E. B. White? Or have you seen its movie starring Julia Roberts and Dakota Fanning? You can't miss them! Besides, the movie is perfect for you to learn English. It is now playing in the theater. Check it out!

Well, if you've seen the movie or read the book Charlotte's Web, do you still remember what the story is about and can you work out the answers to the following questions?

1. What did Charlotte the spider say to the pig named Wilbur when they first met? It is also Charlotte's fancy way of saying "hello"?
(Hint: The word starts with "s".)

2. When Charlotte told Wilbur the reason why she couldn't go to the fair with him at first, she said "I'm expecting." What did Charlotte mean?

3. To save Wilbur, Charlotte weaved some words in her web four times? What are the words?

The Art of Brand Name

Have you ever noticed the brand name of some milk powder "KLIM"(克寧奶粉) is actually the word "MILK" in reverse? Or do you ever think it interesting that "SWEAR"(思薇爾), a brand name for underwear, might suggest "We SWEAR you'll be satisfied with our products." Isn't it fun? Take a closer look at the products around you, and you'll discover a brand new world. Could you name some, either from the point of view of (1) the reverse of an interesting brand name or (2) your interpretation of why the product is tagged with a certain name?