Story: A Deadly Strike

http://www.macfield.com.hk/chi/downloads/newsletter/media/2011-08/files/2011-08-newsletter.pdf

Letter from Dino – 與野生動物零接觸

http://chitchat.hk/visiting-jurassic-garage/?lang=zh

20-11-2013

在暑假，我嘗試了很多事，如去Jurassic Garage丶去Dialogue in the Dark、看了一本厚厚的中文書、一日之內乘坐了所有的地鐵線等。Jurassic  Garage 是一個地方能讓你近距離與動物接觸，而Dialogue in the Dark是一個黑暗的地方，給我體驗到視障的生活。

     

這個暑假有許多難忘的事，但當中最難忘的就是去Jurassic  Garage和去Dialogue in the Dark了！我還記得第一次去Jurassic Garage是非常緊張因為我是第一次觸摸動物，起初我連試也不想試把蛇、蜘蛛、蜥蜴等放在身上！不過看到其他小朋友玩得很開心，所以我最後都鼓起勇氣試一試，原來當親身觸摸到後，我一點也不要害怕，因為牠們很溫柔，後來還愈來愈喜歡牠們，所以現在我常常問父母我可不可以養蛇。而Dialogue in the Dark是一個黑暗環境，但佈置得像我們在日常生活的環境，如：公園丶餐廳丶劇場等地方。但是原來不能用眼睛看著走路是很難的，我們要靠其他感官去探索。這感覺上雖然奇怪，但也很好玩。

我覺得這個暑假過得很充實，感受到視障人仕的生活丶與動物嬉戲丶看了一本厚厚的中文書等，各樣都難忘。我也自己打破了自己的記錄，那種成功感和滿足感是無法用筆墨來形容的。在當中我明白了許多道理，如我有構想時可以和家人提出和商量，之後付諸行動；而我體會最深刻的就是「下次遇到困難，我也不怕，也不畏縮；因為我經歷過黑暗、我克服過恐懼、我創下自己紀錄」。

如果你是學生而有興趣成為我們其中一員，請電郵給我們。( 歡迎以中文投稿)

Letter from Dino – Visiting Jurassic Garage

http://chitchat.hk/visiting-jurassic-garage/

I went to Jurassic Garage (JG) to see reptiles.

     

When I arrived, I was very excited. The show started and the first animals that we saw were the tarantulas. At first I was scared, but the other kids loved it, so I tried to hold a tarantula in the palm of my hand. I found out that tarantulas’ legs tickle. The second group of animals were snakes. They are my favorite animals, but I had never touched them before, so I was both excited and nervous to see them. When I touched one, I was shocked at how friendly the snake was. It was amazing; I saw a few different types of snakes but forgot the names already. One thing I know however, is “SNAKES ARE AMAZING”. The third set of animals were tortoises. I fed them with lettuce. They were slow eaters, so I needed to be patient with them. It is because they enjoy eating slowly. And then the JG staff took a bunny to help finish the lettuce. The fourth types of animals were new born rat snakes; they were so cute. It surprised me that the length of the snakes is just as long as the span of my hand. They laid on my two palms comfortably. The fifth animal wasn’t friendly, it was the alligator snapping turtle. The staff explained its living habitat. They could stay in one place for long time, they will open their mouth and they have a tricky lure like line in their mouth that looks like a worm to attract fish. When a fish comes too close, the turtle can easily snap it. I have seen many animals, but my favorite one is taking pictures with a Burmese python. .It was such a big snake, it was 3 meters long.

When the show was over, I wanted to keep a snake. In my entire life I have been asking my parents to buy me a snake for a pet, but they just say “NO NO no no no no no no……” I wish they will change their minds someday.

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Press fights for freedom Journalists demand that CY uphold editorial independence as pledged

KEY IDEAS : 1. Journalists protested for freedom of the press. 2. They expressed concern over the threat posed on Hong Kong's broader freedoms. 3. The government said it would not interfere with editorial freedom. AROUND 6,000 journalists and supporters took to the streets to demand that Chief Executive (行政長官) Leung Chun-ying (梁振英) honour his pre-election pledge to defend the freedom of the press. Police said only 1,600 people set off from Chater Garden (遮打花園), with around 2,200 at the demonstration's peak outside the chief executive's office. The Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA, 香港記者協會) said the march was aimed at highlighting what it believes are attempts to silence the media. The march was led by HKJA chairwoman Sham Yee-lan (岑倚蘭), commentator Ching Cheong (程翔) and sacked Commercial Radio (商業電台) talk-show host Li Wei-ling (李慧玲). The Foreign Correspondents' Club, which took part in the demonstration, said it is concerned about what it calls the "creeping encroachment" on press freedom, and the threat this poses to Hong Kong's broader freedoms. British singer Kashy Keegan, who came to town in October to show support to Hong Kong Television Network (香港電視網絡) staff during the TV licence saga, returned on Saturday and joined the march. "I have been closely following Hong Kong news and I learned about Ms Li's dismissal, which was bizarre," he said. "The media environment is much more restrictive here compared to my home." Jenny Ng Pui-ying (伍珮瑩), the consultancy executive who stepped down after criticising the government for refusing to issue a licence to HKTV, made her first public appearance since her resignation. "If journalists are afraid to speak the truth to keep their jobs, we will eventually lose our core values," she said. A spokesman said the government would not and could not interfere with the editorial freedom, independent operation and internal management of media organisations. Meanwhile, Basic Law Committee (基本法委員會) member Lau Naikeung (劉迺強) on Monday accused the HKJA of having double standards and ignoring a complaint he lodged 22 months ago. Lau said he sent an e-mail to the association on April 16, 2012, accusing the Hong Kong Economic Journal of stopping a column he had been writing for more than 30 years. However, the HKJA said Lau had failed to provide the required evidence to support his complaint. (The Standard, Kelly Ip, 24 February, 2014) 1. honour (v) 兌現 2. highlight (v) 強調 3. silence (v) 使緘默 4. encroachment (n) 侵蝕 5. saga (n) 一連串的事件 6. restrictive (adj) 約束性的

‘Ugly’ food discarded by industry: HK dumps $60m worth of products a year

MOST ‘unattractive’ food is simply thrown away, according to Oxfam Hong Kong. “The food industry often categorises food as surplus products when they look ‘unattractive,’” Oxfam Hong Kong said in its findings. The charity investigated the local food industry. It started the study at the end of 2011. They interviewed 353 food businesses, including 225 convenience stores and 128 food manufactures and distributors. Most businesses (84.6 percent of respondents) claim that they have measures in place to reduce food waste, but 66.3 percent stilldiscards excess food products. The findings suggest that food companies have not fully implemented their policies to cut down on food waste. The report also shows that an overwhelming 90.4 percent of respondents do not donate their surplus food to food banks or charities because of legal and liability issues. Consequently, food companies are throwing away HK$60 million worth of surplus food annually. Oxfam urges the government to clarify legal terms and relax its regulations to encourage food donation. 1. unattractive (adj) 無吸引力的 2. discard (v) 棄置 3. implement (v) 執行 4. liability (n) 責任 5. urge (v) 催促 6. consequently (adv) 因此

Casinos facing licence cuts Media report says Macau gaming industry operators to get 5-yr term

KEY IDEAS : 1. A shorter renewal period is expected for Macau's gaming licences. 2. Licence terms may also be harsher. 3. The Sino-US relationship may affect licensing. CASINO-related shares fell on a media report that renewal terms for Macau (澳門) gaming licences may be shortened to just five years. Macau's gaming industry has entered a stable development phase and it is thus not necessary to give out 20- or 10-year licences, and a 5-year licence may be more appropriate, the Hong Kong Economic Journal (信報) quoted a source as saying. Also, the shorter renewal period is said to act as a political restraining move against US-based operators including Wynn Macau (永利) and Sands China (金沙中國), which are among the six Macau casino operators up for licence renewal in 2020 and 2022. The central government will take the Sino-US relationship into consideration when renewing licences, the source said. Both Wynn Macau and Sands China are subsidiaries of US firms. Licence holders may also be required to invest more in the non-gaming business to helpdiversify Macau's economy during the interim review, which falls next year and in 2016, the source said. SJM Holdings (澳博控股) fell 3.5 percent while Galaxy Entertainment (銀河娛樂) slid 2 percent last Wednesday as gaming-related stocks reacted to the report. Macau's Secretary for Economy and Finance (澳門經濟財政司司長), Francis Tam Pak-yuen (譚伯源), said the government will not comment ahead of the interim reviews, adding that future development strategies will also be taken into consideration. He did not react to the political consideration stated in the report, but said the government is open to suggestions. He stressed the Macau government will firmly adhere to its plan that gaming tables will not increase by more than 3 percent annually in 10 years. Analysts said if the licence term is cut to five years, operators will be severely affected as their huge investments mean they need longer return periods. Licence renewals are also expected to involve harsher terms such as higher tax rates, which may see operators post a drop in returns. Meanwhile, MGM China's (美高梅) reported net profit rose by 17.7 percent to HK$5.33 billion last year. The annual net profit of Macau Legend (澳門勵駿) fell 4.8 percent to HK$510 million. (The Standard, Ling Wang, 20 February, 2014) 1. gaming licence (n phr) 博彩牌照 2. restrain (v) 限制 3. operator (n) 經營者 4. subsidiary (n) 附屬公司 5. diversify (v) 使多元化 6. interim review (n phr) 中期檢討

Lack of space blamed on illegal parking rise:Over a million tickets were handed to drivers last year

THE police issued more than one million parking tickets last year. Several district councillors say the main reason for the increase inillegal parking is the lack of parking spaces. Car parks had been removed to make way for homes and shops.
Some people fear that the police may make use of the increase in illegal parking as an excuse to double the parking fine from HK$320 to HK$640. Police figures show 1.02 million illegal-parking tickets were issued last year. Only 718,258 tickets were issued 2009. The situation is more serious in Kowloon East (九龍東) and the New Territories South (新界南) with 126,029 and 146,750 tickets issued respectively.
Some netizens complained the crackdown was noticeable during the Lunar New Year (農曆新年) holiday. “I received two tickets on the first and second days of the new year,” one complained.
Another driver said, “I saw police issuing three parking tickets on a car in Tseung Kwan O (將軍澳) on the second day of the new year. I have not seen this before.”

1. issue (v) 發出 2. district councillor (n phr) 區議員 3. illegal parking (n phr) 違法停車 4. netizen (n) 網友 5. crackdown (n) 打擊 6. noticeable (adj) 顯著的