How to celebrate （如何庆祝）

很多学生看过我上一回写的STS后，也在他们的STSs中向我提了不少庆祝结婚周年纪念日的建议。我向他们一一道谢，并且向他们描述了我去年那个有惊无险的周年纪念日。

　　TEACHER'S

　　Dear students，

　　I would like to thank some of you for giving me some very good suggestions about how to celebrate my wedding anniversary. It is interesting to note that they all suggested one thing in common. They suggested I give my wife something that is made by myself. Good idea！ But the problem is—I am a poor hand at craftsmanship （the skill of making things by hands）。 I really don't know yet what I should make but I still have two more days to figure out what to make. May God grant me a good idea！ Besides， Eva suggested that I should give my wife 99 flowers which symbolize “endless love”。 How romantic！ But I would be broke （use all my money） if I did that. Thanks anyway！

　　Last year on our Eighth Anniversary something unhappy took place. That morning I went to school as usual. Honestly， I forgot that “big” day. The whole morning I was feeling very uneasy （nervous， uncomfortable， restless）。 I did not know the reason why I felt that way. I thought it was strange until my wife called me up at about one in the afternoon. She said on the phone， “Do you remember what 'day’ is today？” I immediately said， “Of course！” But to tell you the truth， I knew the answer only after a few seconds' thought. “Uhm， actually I am thinking about how to celebrate our anniversary in a special way，” I went on after a short “dangerous”silence. I promised to wait for her outside her school and take her to a special romantic place in Sai Kung where we could enjoy the sunset over the sea while having a nice evening tea. Everything seemed perfect. The best thing was that she never knew I had forgotten our wedding anniversary. （If she had known it， we would have lost a romantic afternoon.） I， however， still felt restless. Why？

　　We did everything as planned. Nothing unhappy happened. I drove my wife back home. I dropped her somewhere near our home before driving to park my car （the car park was quite far away from my home last year）。 I was feeling happy that I had narrowly escaped the danger of annoying my wife. My car was running at 50 km. per hour when I was making an ugly turn （sharp turn）。 My personal computer fell off the back seat with a loud noise “Boom”。 I turned my head to check what was going on. Unfortunately， I forgot that I was making a turn， so I failed to turn back the steering wheel. My car crashed into the metal railings on the right at such a high speed that it was thrown off the ground. I felt violent shocks and heard terrible engine noises in the following few seconds. When everything was still （motionless）， I found that my heart was calm and peaceful. I had felt restless the whole morning and afternoon but then I was peaceful. Strange！

　　Dennis

　　此处不能用proposals来代替suggestions，因为proposal是指正式的书面建议。

　　note可用其他单词代替，例如 It is interesting to notice/find that…

　　thing是非常有用的单词，既是可数名词，又可泛指任何人、事或物。

　　留意正确的表达方式：

　　●…suggested that I give…√

　　●…suggested that I should give…√

　　●…suggested me to give…×

　　figure out跟find out的意思相近，但前者的思考成份较重。

　　grant的意思跟give相近，但前者主要指上对下的赐予。

　　symbolize解作“象征”，用mean代替也可。

　　此处的broke是形容词，解作“破产”。用would be（过去将来时），表明作者认为不太可能发生。

　　anyway =无论如何

　　这里用on，是因为anniversary是一个日子。

　　留意不同解释：

　　●as usual =如往常一样

　　●as before =如以前

　　●as expected =正如所料

　　●as required =按照要求、需要

　　●as instructed =按照指示

　　●as demanded =正如所要求的

　　用called me或rang me都比用telephoned me流畅。

　　这里的day是指特别的日子。通常这种问题的回答是：Monday， Tuesday…Sunday.

　　另一种更简单的说法是：…how to have a special celebration.

　　因不是一种会导致伤亡的危险，故dangerous加上引号。

　　enjoy的意思是“欣赏/享受”；这里不能用appreciate（解作“赏识/感激”）来代替。

　　用I， however，…比用However， I…更有英语“味道”。

　　I dropped her的意思是I let her get off.

　　narrowly escaped的意思是“险些儿没避开”。

　　这里用annoying或upsetting都可以。

　　ugly turn解作“急转弯”。

　　这里with用in代替也可。

　　steering wheel解作“方向盘”，而wheels则解作“车轮”。

　　留意正确的被动语态：

　　●…was throw off…×

　　●…was threw off…×

　　●…was thrown off…√

　　这里的following可用next代替。

　　这里的then意思是at that time.

　　LANGUAGE

　　Second ＆ third conditional sentences

　　有两种句子最能使阅卷者留下深刻印象，它们便是第二和第三种条件句（second and third conditional sentences）。这两种条件句所包含的动词时态较为复杂，再加上它们所表达的意思比较婉转，因此不少学生对这两种条件句望而却步。

　　假如学生们能充分掌握这两种条件句的用法，则能“善用”它们，在适当的时机将它们“表现”出来，以显示自己良好的语言能力。请参考本单元的例子。

　　Ⅰ。第二种条件句：

　　EXAMPLE

　　But I would be broke if I did that.

　　说明作者不喜欢这样做，也不打算这样做。

　　Ⅱ。第三种条件句：

　　EXAMPLE

　　If she had learnt the truth， we would have lost our romantic afternoon.

　　暗示作者庆幸妻子并不知道真相，也庆幸没有错失一个难忘的下午。

　　通过写STS，我发现学生们的思考能力和表达能力都有进步，看完以下学生们的STSs后，或许读者也有同感。请在下列的条件句中填上正确的动词。

　　Test Your Understanding

　　1.Happy Anniversary！ It's lucky that you have not forgotten your Ninth Anniversary. If you______ （forget） this “big” day this time， your wife______ （not forgive） you. The restlessness you felt last year is the result of your sins （not so serious I think）。 You forgot the “big” day， so you felt sorry. After the accident， you might think you had already been punished. The feeling of restlessness was then gone.

　　2.I want to give you a suggestion for your “big” day. You can cut some colourful sheets into long strips and then use them to make paper stars. You can make 99 stars and put them into a glass bottle. Easy job！ If I______ （do not need） to take the test， I______ （do） it for you. Have a great anniversary！

　　3.Test week is coming. This is the last time I will write to you before the Test Week. If I ______（keep） writing STSs， I______（fail） in all tests. I hope the Test Week will end fast because after that， I will be able to talk to you again. Lastly， I hope you will be happy tomorrow. I'll pray for your “big” day.

　　4. Yesterday， Mr. and Mrs. Johnson went to a fortune-teller in Kwun Tong. That old woman said something about their son which was very interesting. She said she knew that their son went to hospital once when he was twelve. When the couple got home and told their son about it， the young man said that if he______ （know） it before it happened， he______ （take） better care of his own health. Well， I am not a fortune-teller but I know that you will soon have a happy anniversary.