Issue No.36 June 2009 OFFICIAL LANGUAGES DIVISION, CIVIL SERVICE BUREAU 1
When will a group of people do things as one man? This happens when they act in unison, or are in complete agreement, as if they were just one single person. For example, The laid-off workers speak up as one man to negotiate with their employer, while the company partners are also as one man on the issue of lay-offs. Otetani was the chief of the Seneca a group of Red Indians in North America in the early 19th century. In 1805, a Christian minister went to speak to his tribe in an attempt to baptise his followers. In response to the minister s oration, Otetani stated the following in his eloquent address, affirming his wish to uphold the tribal values: It was at your request that we came together at this time. We have listened with attention to what you have said. You requested us to speak our minds freely. This gives us great joy; for we now consider that we stand upright before you and can speak what we think. All have heard your voice and all speak to you now as one man. Our minds are agreed As the tribal chief and his followers representative, Otetani spoke the mind of all with one voice. In using the phrase as one man, he emphasised the fact that his tribesmen would not be divided by the minister. As one man may also be expressed as as a man. For those who have grave concerns about political correctness, here man can perhaps be replaced by woman if a group of ladies are being referred to instead. X 100% 200% 300% 200%300% 400% increase X- foldincrease twofoldincrease tenfolddouble triple doubletriple double 2
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886 9999 99 24/7 The store is open 24/724/724 24/7 24/7Why are you complaining 24/7? fifty-fifty fifty-fifty We have a fifty-fifty chance of winning 101 101 investing 101online gaming 101fishing 101 parenting 101 101 3 4 101 investing 101 101 101 A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers. Plato The Formulas Cherry Mu Official Languages Officer II Education Bureau I work from Day 1 to Day 7. 24/7 is no Greek to me. When and where will it stop? Good heavens. Sleep more than 6 hours not an option, but a luxury that I hold dear. I work from Day 1 to Day 7. 5 years later will I survive the same pattern? Earning money just to pay off bills? When and where will it stop? Good heavens. This formula must be undone b4 I am choked with tears! I work from Day 1 to Day 7. 3, the answer to all questions, is the only salvation for me. When and where did it start? O, heavens. 2 be free from this unfenced prison, I yearn for a blessed release. I will start over with 1 + 1. What, when, where is timelessness? 7 8 9 2009 4
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When we were small, most of us learned how to count on our fingers, which enables us to count up to ten. So something that can be counted on our fingers is a very small quantity. For example, job seekers might be disappointed to learn that vacancies can be counted on one s fingers. By contrast, when something exists in a great quantity, we might lose count of it. We refer to someone as a miser if he enjoys hoarding money and hates spending any of it, like the one in The Miser and His Gold from Aesop s fables the miser cries over the loss of his gold which he has buried at the foot of a tree and used to fondle every week. In the modern world, if someone perceives everything with a money-minded approach and has no regard for non-monetary issues, we may, disapprovingly, call this person a bean counter, where bean is an informal term for money. Though not addicted to counting money as much as a miser is, we do counting in many different situations. For example, we count down to midnight on New Year s Eve, or to the launch of a spacecraft. To count down means counting backwards, usually aloud, before something happens. As your birthday draws near, you might plan to throw a party. Before deciding on the size of the birthday cake, you will have to count heads or count noses, which means counting the number of guests. Upon receipt of your invitation, some of your friends might ask you to count them in, while others might apologise and request you to count them out for the party. To count someone in means to include someone in something. Conversely, to count someone out means to exclude someone from something. In another context, count me out may be used to show someone s disapproval of an idea. For example, some directors might say count me out when discussing liquidation at a board meeting. That signifies their refusal to be counted as supporters. Organising a birthday party single-handedly is no easy thing. Seeking help is a good idea, like counting on others to do the decorations or to prepare food. To count on someone means to rely on that person. When we say someone is down for the count, we mean this person has failed in something. This idiom comes from the sports language. A boxer knocked down by the opponent and failing to get up before the referee has finished counting is considered to have lost the fight. Here is an example: Every time Hong Kong is plagued by the avian flu, the poultry trade is down for the count. Or we may say, The poultry trade takes the count every time Hong Kong is plagued by the avian flu. A boxer who has been knocked out is said to be out for the count, which means the athlete remains unconscious when the referee has counted to ten. Humorously, this expression may be borrowed to describe someone sleeping like a log. There is a proverb about counting: Don t count your chickens before they are hatched. Its origin is found in another Aesop s fable The Milkmaid and Her Pail: A milkmaid goes to the market carrying a pail of milk on her head. On her way, she begins to think about the things she can get after selling the milk some fowls, some eggs, a frock and a hat... But before waking from her dream, she loses her balance and the pail falls off. Back home, she is moralised by her mother: Don t count your chickens before they are hatched. The lesson is: one should avoid making plans or drawing conclusions based on good results that are only anticipated but have not yet materialised. Take for example the stock market. Despite soaring prices, investors should not count their chickens until all the shares in hand have been cashed. Numbers constitute the only universal language. Nathanael West 6
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Life is full of numbers from telephone digits to security passwords. While some are of great significance, some do not mean much to us. In the box below are twelve numbers, chosen from zero to a million. Their literal meaning may or may not be of any particular importance, but they form part of the phrases or idioms we use in our daily communication. You may wish to fill in the blanks in the following sentences. Give it a go. Please note that some numbers may appear more than once, but only in the same sentence. zero one two six nine ten twelve nineteen forty fifty eighty million 1 I felt so sleepy and took winks this afternoon. 2 I gave the poet out of for his beautifully written ode. 3 Putting and together, she knew who had stolen the money. 4 It really knocked me for when my boss announced the wage cut. 5 He was on cloud because his wife had just given birth to their first child. 6 Whenever the girls meet, they talk to the dozen. 7 You might win a big prize in the lucky draw, but it is a chance in a. 8 Her personality did a one - after the accident. 9 The pianist struck in his first public performance and won great acclaim. 10 All sectors of the community will adopt a united stance on tolerance to domestic violence. 11 The chances of his winning the match are only -. 12 My proposal was rejected. I am now back to square with the work. Please send your entry to the Editorial Board of Word Power, Official Languages Division, Civil Service Bureau, Room 2310, High Block, Queensway Government Offices, 66 Queensway, Hong Kong before 14 August 2009. Watch out for our coming issue to see if you get all the answers right and if you are one of the lucky five to win a prize. The Editorial Board will have the final say on the answers. Name : Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms Department : (delete as appropriate) Post : Tel. No. : Office Address : * Dr Gillian M. Humphreys Hon Chinese Adviser Dr Hong Po-man Hon English Adviser Dr Gillian M. Humphreys Editorial Board Chairman Mrs Stella Mui Member Miss Holly Lo Member Ms Iris Tai Member Miss Hilda Yan Member Miss Candice Lo Executive Editor Mr Kenneth Luk Member Mr James Ho Member Mr Albert Leung Assistant Editor Ms Shirley Lui Member Mr K W Cheng Member Ms Dawn Chan (http://www.csb.gov.hk/tc_chi/publication/2006.html) 662310 (csbolrs@csb.gov.hk) Word Power is also uploaded to the homepage of the Civil Service Bureau (http://www.csb.gov.hk/english/publication/2006.html). If you have any comments or suggestions about this publication, please write to the Editorial Board of Word Power (Official Languages Division, Civil Service Bureau, Room 2310, High Block, Queensway Government Offices, 66 Queensway, Hong Kong or csbolrs@csb.gov.hk). 8