What i talk about when i talk about reading

關於閱讀的，我說的其實是...
說到閱讀，我是十分十分喜歡的。可能這是孤獨的興趣，（傍人眼中應該是吧！）有時別人會問為什麼是閱讀呢？ 閱讀有什麼吸引，呆呆的一個人座着，搞自閉嗎？以前會這樣答：讀書是十分化算，區區數小時，就可以獲得別人濾積一生的經驗與智慧，仿如自己經歷一般。換句說，花數小時，就獲得作者數十年同等的時間，以時間投資時間，除了閱讀，還有什麼？但是現在，我只會微笑。閱讀過的朋友，自然心拎神會，沒有閱讀過的，不必堆砌功利的理由使他們明白。喜歡就只是純粹的喜歡，不需要理由。亦只有沒有理由，才能一直喜歡下去。（這算是一種理由嗎？）若喜歡是有理由的話，在萬千紛擾的世界，難保有朝構成理由的條件不再，就沒法喜歡了。
但與其說閱讀是興趣，不如說是習慣比較恰當。如果工作或其他瑣事繁忙沒法閱讀的話，心中總會有荒涼的感覺。（遇上不如意的事時，也有同樣的感受。）在那些不可好好看書的日子，就連一篇短文章，兩篇散文也看得津津有味，深刻明白"精神"是要"進食"。不過興趣和習慣是相輔相成吧！對於有興趣的事，養成習慣應該自然。而把習慣的事成為興趣，也看似理所當然。（是嗎？）
說起來，自己喜歡閱讀已有十八年。高中預科和大學時曾經停頓過，至於為什麼，還是另外再講。雖然媽很早就已經帶我去圖書館，但第一次覺得有趣，就是找到"漢聲小百科"總共十二大本的叢書。（一直都打算再看一次）這套書的篇排是每月一本，每日兩版，分別介紹很多不同的題材，事隔二十年，我還記得在每一日之下，有一小段"當年今日"。自始以後，每一個月都去借一本，一年來便慢慢養成習慣，而因為書本實在有趣很多，所以也漸漸減少看電視的時間，多看幾本書。這算是由興趣到習慣的例子。
小時候十分頑劣，媽又是個淋善的人，在媽（和我）無可奈何之下，唯有把我送往芳姨那裏寄養。芳姨雖是個嚴格和精明的人，但亦是個細心的人。她知道我習慣去圖書，便帶我去附近"童軍之友社"裏的圖書館。在裡面有一個矮櫃，放着一套有關自然生態叢書。有蟲，有蝶, 有植物, 動物. 內容是什麼已記不起了. 留下大自然奇妙,變化萬千的感覺. 是一套很好的叢書. 在那裡, 第一次借小說. 金庸的厚厚倚天屠龍記. 漂亮的名字.

TOEFL result

Test	Test Date	Reading	Listening	Speaking	Writing	Total
TELXML	October 25, 2009	24	27	22	25	98

Reading Skills	Level	Your Performance
Reading	High(22-30)	Test takers who receive a score at the HIGH level, as you did, typically understand academic texts in English that require a wide range of reading abilities regardless of the difficulty of the texts. Test takers who score at the HIGH level, typically have a very good command of academic vocabulary and grammatical structure; can understand and connect information, make appropriate inferences, and synthesize ideas, even when the text is conceptually dense and the language is complex; can recognize the expository organization of a text and the role that specific information serves within the larger text, even when the text is conceptually dense; and can abstract major ideas from a text, even when the text is conceptually dense and contains complex language.
Listening Skills	Level	Your Performance
Listening	High(22-30)	Test takers who receive a score at the HIGH level, as you did, typically understand conversations and lectures in English that present a wide range of listening demands. These demands can include difficult vocabulary (uncommon terms, or colloquial or figurative language), complex grammatical structures, abstract or complex ideas, and/or making sense of unexpected or seemingly contradictory information. When listening to lectures and conversations like these, test takers at the HIGH level typically can understand main ideas and important details, whether they are stated or implied; distinguish more important ideas from less important ones; understand how information is being used (for example, to provide evidence for a claim or describe a step in a complex process); recognize how pieces of information are connected (for example, in a cause-and-effect relationship); understand many different ways that speakers use language for purposes other than to give information (for example, to emphasize a point, express agreement or disagreement, or convey intentions indirectly); and synthesize information, even when it is not presented in sequence, and make correct inferences on the basis of that information.
Speaking Skills	Level	Your Performance
Speaking about familiar topics	Fair(2.5 - 3.0)	Your responses indicate you are able to speak in English about your personal experiences and opinions in a mostly clear and coherent manner. Your speech is mostly clear with only occasional errors. Grammar and vocabulary are somewhat limited and include some errors. At times, the limitations prevent you from elaborating fully on your ideas, but they do not seriously interfere with overall communication.
Speaking about campus situations	Fair(2.5 - 3.0)	Your responses demonstrate an ability to speak in English about reading material and experiences typically encountered by university students. You are able to convey relevant information about conversations, newspaper articles, and campus bulletins; however, some details are missing or inaccurate. Limitations of grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation at times cause difficulty for the listener. However, they do not seriously interfere with overall communication.
Speaking about academic course content	Fair(2.5 - 3.0)	Your responses demonstrate that you are able to speak in English about academic reading and lecture material, with only minor communication problems. For the most part, your speech is clear and easy to understand. However, some problems with pronunciation and intonation may occasionally cause difficulty for the listener. Your use of grammar and vocabulary is adequate to talk about the topics, but some ideas are not fully developed or are inaccurate.
Writing Skills	Level	Your Performance
Writing based on reading and listening	Good(4.0 - 5.0)	You responded well to the task, relating the lecture to the reading. Weaknesses, if you have any, might have to do with slight imprecision in your summary of some of the main points and/or use of English that is occasionally ungrammatical or unclear.
Writing based on knowledge and experience	Good(4.0 - 5.0)	You responded with a well-organized and developed essay. Weaknesses, if you have any, might have to do with use of English that is occasionally ungrammatical, unclear, or unidiomatic and/or elaboration of ideas or connection of ideas that could have been stronger.

沒名字的女孩

，只有知道名字，才可記著一個人. 真的嗎?

束馬尾的她坐在地鐵車廂的一角. 橢圓形的臉蛋, 擁有厚而深啡色的嘴唇, 明亮的眼睛, 沒有眼袋, 沒有化妝. 耳邊兩條黑色的耳機線, 不知她在聽誰的流行歌? 不, 或許她也喜歡古典音樂, 也喜歡熱情的森巴音樂.

黝黑膚色的身上穿上黑色棉質貼身露肩背心, 那件背心看似很有彈性. 因為貼身的關係, 同樣貼身的胸罩隱約印出來. 大方的性感, 乾脆的打扮. 黑色的肩袋放在左肩上, 左肩順手嗎? 或許她是左撇子. 如果是的, 她的空間想像很好嗎? 空間感好的話, 想當然運動也很好吧! 疲累的她低頭小睡, 微微彎著腰, 沒有倚著傍邊的玻璃. 可以看出強壯的身形中散發出女性獨有的魅力. 不, 是她獨有的魅力.

黑色指甲油配上中指上黑色的介子. 長長的手指放鬆放著. 她抱著粗幼適中的手臂, 肩膀至手指的線條充滿柔潤與時尚, 她經常做運動嗎? 牛仔褲不知是白底黑色花紋, 或是黑底白色花紋, 是黑色也是白色的煙花嗎? 她座著的時候, 腳踝向外的放著, 就像一般宅女. 但是她的衣著, 她的膚色, 反而像運動型. 奇妙的組合. 黑色長靴的鞋頭, 內則已經磨白了. 她一定明白"破舊的鞋子最好穿".

一定是太累了, 突然失去重心驚醒了. 稍為失操之後, 她決定把身輕輕靠邊.

到達南昌站後, 她不慌不忙地站起來. 行路時很疲累. 寬厚的肩膀陲下. 從後面發現她廷直的腰背, 屁股混圓結實, 好配搭她同樣充滿質感的大腿. 黑色長靴破損的還有鞋爭. 可以明顯見到鞋爭已和鞋分離. 相信已經不是朝夕. 黑色長靴是代表一個什麼樣的故事呢?

...................

在繁忙的皇后大道, 陽光和汽車混合的炎熱中午. 在摺起衣袖和過馬路的混亂中, 和她擦身而過. 打扮依然是同一種風格, 不會忘記, 不會看溜的風格.

盈鳳里

曾經，以為和你一齊上堂，就會變得更成熟，可以配合你，和你更合襯。

因為更看重自已，才會失去你。或許從未放下自已，所以從沒有空間容納別人。

如果更懂得表達自已，應該更有勇氣吧！

小事

讀小学時，夏天，爸爸放工回家才會開空調。所以，開空調就和晚上是某種同義詞。另一組同義詞是"夏天"、"潮濕"、"悶熱"和"痴立立"，但只要空調一開，就很乾爽、涼快。

因為晚上會開空調的關係，所以棉被仍留在床上。如果下午想小睡，一是在硬和冷的地上鋪上竹"隻"，二是勉強和棉被一齊睡在一起。可以想像，睡午覺不是一種享受，而是身體抵抗不了地心吸力的結果。

但偶爾也會在午後開空調。記得感覺很奇妙，仿似去了另一個国度，另一個星球。在放假嗎？在旅行嗎？總覺得空調和午後的陽光是一對奇妙的結合。為什麼陽光之下，仍然很涼快，很乾爽？還可以感受棉被軟綿綿的感覺？

現在，家境改善，社會亦進步，空調已見慣不怪。對於陽光與乾爽已習以為常。感動亦減少很多。

今日下午，發現第n次也能被感動。

兩句

灑在油泊路上, 隨著陽光而蒸發的雨水氣味.

軟綿綿的瑞士卷, 被剛刀輕輕切下時, 稍微變形的模樣.

褪黑色素之死

在早上起床

真的是早上嗎

不白的白天

不黑的黑夜

沒法分辨

需要分辨嗎

這是天地初開時的混沌嗎

Small story

When i was small, family was very poor. We lived in an apartment share with relatives in Sham shui po. Stories are almost around money.

My mum used to leave i and my sister alone in home and went for buying food, or left home for picking up some outsource workcrafts to earn some money. She likes the crafts, sine she was able to look after me and my 1-year older sister, while making money. At that time, those outsource workcrafts were popular as inductry was growing in Hong Kong.

One day, my mum left home as usual. When she went back, she saw i was sitting close to windows and i was looking outside down seriously. She came to me, found that i was holding her wallet, taking out 10 dollars notes and throwing them outside! She said, i was so enjoy to watch the colorful paper falling like leaves. Salary for 1 day is about 100 dallors!

She was so supprised and took action as quick as possible. She was so glad that there is a passager cover and we are not living so high. She camb through the windows carefully, collect the notes back. She recovered most of the notes.

It is interesting that a friend of mind also have similar story when she was small. She is livng on a house, living room on 2nd floor and a family shop on ground floor.

One day, her mum was looking the store. Suddenly, some papers falling and flying in front of the store. She went out, picking up a paper and found out it is a 10 dollar note. Many notes still flying down 1 by 1. She look up, seeing her kid out of the window! She shoud to my friend, collect all notes on the ground. She ran upstair, reahed her kid and stop that thing. It is nice to hear that neighbours returned back all missed money.

currency exchange

i have 22000 JPN after Japan Trip. the rate is now 1000 JPN to 8.3HKD. 

the clerk tell  me it is around 2000HKD, need to pay 50HKD as a fee. but she also tell me, if i have other currency more than 3000HKD in total, then free of charge.

i ask her.

can i use 3000HKD to RMB, than change those RMB and JPN to HKD?

currently, 

3000HKD -> 2,646.0553 RMB

22000JPN  -> 1,915.78 HKD

2646 RMB  -> 2999.99 HKD

and 2646.05 RMB + 22000JPN  -> 4,915.77 HKD

therefore, i don't need to pay any fee!!!

i am so suprised that i suddenly come up with this trick. :P

in this way, let us calculate how much money exhange will really cost some fee.

Let 

R(HKD, RMB) be  rate from HKD to RMB

RMB = R(HKD,RMB) HKD..........(1)

R(RMB,HKD) be the rate from HKD to RMB

HKD = R(RMB, HKD) RMB.........(2)

this 2 rate should be only different by some among : d 

R(HKD,RMB)* [ R(RMB,HKD) + d ] = 1

d can be positive or negative.

the different is 

 HKD -  R(RMB, HKD) R(HKD,RMB) HKD = R(HKD,RMB) * d * HKD

currently, the d is less than 0.0001 therefore, if i exchange more than 

R(HKD,RMB) * d * HKD >= 50

=> HKD > 60000 at least (apprx.)

, then i have to pay 50HKD fee for the exchange. however, if i exhange more than 3000HKD, i don't have to pay. 

therefore, we never need to pay. 

i suggest, if the bank really like to charge some fee, they need to set each exhange will be free for more than 60000 HKD. if so, no body can play trick. 

may be, just forget it.