January 2020 - You Write

Helping the Disabled 帮助残疾人

January 30, 2020 FLAI40 Leave a comment

During my recent stay in Singapore, I walked across Orchard Road several times a day at the pedestrian crossing, Paragon. I met up with this well-dressed handicapped tissue-paper seller on a fairly modern wheelchair. He had an almost twisted neck and also a deformed leg. That he was a disabled person was without doubt. 最近,我在新加坡逗留了好几星期。一天几次我在人行横道Paragon穿越乌节路的时候，我遇到一。我在一位穿着考究的残疾人薄纸销售商。他的脖子几乎扭曲了，腿也变形了。毫无疑问，他肯定是一个残疾人。 There were two questions that I need answers, though. One, who transported him to the busiest part of Orchard Road, every day (or several times a day as he must need comfort toilet stops)? Then, two, who was supporting him? 不过，我有两个问题需要答案。第一：谁每天（或每天几次），将他送至乌节路最繁忙的地方？，然后，第二：谁在支持他呢 - 穿的那么整齐？ I […]

How to Write & Publish Your Book 如何撰写和出版您的书

January 28, 2020 FLAI40 Leave a comment

Around 400 of us walked into the SkyCity Conference Centre Hall, Auckland, precisely at 7:00 pm on Friday 24th January 2020 to start a free three-day course on the topic “Publish a Book & Grow Rich” conducted by Gerry Robert. 在2020年1月24日（星期五）下午7:00，我们约有400人走进奥克兰的天际城市会议中心大厅，开始了由格里·罗伯特（Gerry Robert）举办的为期三天的免费课程，主题为“怎样出版一本书就发达”。 This is definitely a worthwhile course as there are many excellent tips for writers and self-publishers. I can totally recommend this course to you with just one proviso. Consider your own situation before committing on appointing Gerry’s Team at Black Card Books as your consultant. 这绝对是一门值得的课程，因为有许多优秀的作家和自出版者技巧。我完全可以通过一项附带条件向您推荐本课程。在决定任命Black Card Books的Gerry团队作为您的顾问之前，请考虑您自己的情况。 I, for instance, have written and published three books through […]

9 Moves - and it’s Over 9步国际象棋 - 损失惨重

January 20, 2020 FLAI40 Leave a comment

What an experience this morning! 今天早上真是太棒了！ Just nine moves and I’m sunk. 仅九步，我沉没了。 Lesson: Beware of the Bishop plus Queen combination on the g2 square. I was caught surprised. This is a good lesson for me. I have always been aware of the same Queen and Bishop combination on the f2 square but not this. Learn this lesson from my latest encounter, won’t you? 课程：当心g2广场上的Bishop plus Queen组合。我很惊讶。对我来说这是一个很好的教训。我一直都知道f2广场上的皇后区和主教区组合相同，但事实并非如此。从我最近的相遇中汲取教训，不是吗？ Analysis: “This game slipped through your fingers,” reported Chess.com That’s so true! 分析：Chess.com报道：“这个游戏漏了你的手指，” 这是真的！ 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qe6+ 4. Be2 b6 5. Nf3 Bb7 6. O-O h6 7. d3 Nd7 8. Nd4 Qg6 9. Bh5 Qxg2# The game started well with e4 d5. Then move # 3, the Qe6+ was one that I had […]

NZ’s Student Loan 新西兰政府的学生贷款

January 18, 2020 FLAI40 Leave a comment

Yesterday’s (Friday 17th January 2020) NZ Herald bears the following top front-page news by political reporter Jason Walls: 昨天（2020年1月17日星期五），《新西兰先驱报》刊登了政治记者杰森·沃尔斯的以下头版新闻： https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12301086 entitled “Former Kiwis students living overseas dodging IRD” as the total amount of loan debt spikes (to over NZ$1.5 billion). This article highlights the fact that a woman now living and working in the United Kingdom considers herself as a student loan exile as her debt plus interest now amounts to over NZ$100,000. She says that she fears arrest at the airport and she is, therefore, unable to return home to NZ to visit her sick mother. 标题为“生活在海外的前新西兰学生躲避税务局”，这是因为贷款债务总额激增（超过15亿新西兰元）。这篇文章强调了一个事实，即现在在英国生活和工作的妇女视自己为学生贷款流亡者。债务和利息现在已超过100,000新西兰元，她说她担心在机场被捕，因此无法返回新西兰回家看望生病的母亲。 Rather than […]

Eddie Who? 埃迪是谁?

January 13, 2020 FLAI40 Leave a comment

We are now living in an information overload age. We can find an answer to any question from the internet. 我们现在生活在信息超负荷的时代。我们可以从互联网上找到任何问题的答案。 Let us take an example. If we are to google “Free Tuition” we can find heaps of websites purporting to provide such ‘free’ tuition but on closer look, such ‘free’ is mostly conditional. To plow off these ‘not truly free’ websites, we find a very limited list. 让我们举个例子。如果我们要使用Google的“免费复习学校课目”，我们会发现许多网站声称提供这种“免费”复习，但仔细观察，这种“免费”主要是有条件的。为了推出这些“并非真正免费的”网站，我们找到了非常有限的列表. When it comes to free online tuition, the name Eddie Woo stands out as a practicing teacher in Mathematics who is genuinely interested in the welfare of his students by providing […]

A Day at Marina Bay 在新加坡滨海湾的一天

January 9, 2020 FLAI40 Leave a comment

Not quite a full day, I must admit. But, some six hours and a bit, including traveling time. 我必须承认，这不是一整天。但是，大约需要六个小时，包括旅行时间。 We started at Orchard MRT (Mass Rapid Transport Train Station) and our experience with the MRT’s yellow circle line was confusing, to say the least. 至少从Orchard MRT（大众快速运输火车站）开始，我们对MRT黄色圆圈线的经验令人困惑。 Take a closer look at the yellow circle line and the red North/South line. Can you see Orchard Station along the red line? Yes, that was my starting point. To go to Marina Bay, therefore, we have to travel to Dhoby Ghaut and to change to the circle yellow line in order to reach […]

Qiao Family Compound 乔家大院中文版

January 8, 2020 FLAI40 Leave a comment

Some readers have asked when will the earlier English version of the Jstars Courtyard article be translated into the Chinese Language. This webpage now is the result of their request. Thanks. 一些读者问，Jstars Courtyard 文章的早期英语版本何时会翻译成中文。该网页现在是他们请求的结果。谢谢。 This story starts a generation of legendary Shanxi (山西) merchants, in the late Qing Dynasty (清朝) of China (1880 to 1911), headed by Qiao Zhiyong (乔致庸). His life story is still preserved to this day at the Qiaojiayuan (乔家院） Cultural Park, located in the central area of Shanxi (山西) known as the Merchants’ Cultural Tourism Spot. This is now a scenic area mainly composed of ecological, […]

Vertical Townships 垂直建造的乡镇

January 7, 2020 FLAI40 Leave a comment

Some forty-odd years ago, in the early 1970s, when the urban renewal program was in the initial stages in Singapore, there was a four-member team thinking about having a Singapore with several layers of roadworks at various sky levels, so that the city’s as-built-areas could be expended upwards. The team members could imagine another 278 square miles (721 square meters) created some twenty or thirty levels above ground level, making Singapore twice its size. 大约40年前，即1970年代初期，新加坡的城市更新计划尚处于初期阶段，当时有一个四人小组，正在考虑让新加坡在不同的天空层进行几层道路工程，以便城市的建成区可以向上扩展。团队成员可以想象另外278平方英里（721平方米）在地面上高出约20或30层，使新加坡的面积扩大了两倍。 “To support another city space so high above the ground, we need to construct a series of large reinforced concrete footings,” said the Structural Engineer […]

Johor and Singapore - 柔佛州和新加坡

January 4, 2020 FLAI40 Leave a comment

It is hard to imagine just how different two countries, Malaysia and Singapore, can be when physically, they are separated by only 1.05 km of causeway bridge at the Woodlands entry point. The second causeway bridge at the Tuas entry point to the west side of Johor is longer at 1.92 km. 很难想象马来西亚和新加坡这两个国家在物理上有什么不同，它们在伍德兰兹的入口处仅相距1.05公里。位于柔佛州西侧的大士入口处的第二条铜锣桥长1.92公里。 I had an opportunity to find out more during a one-day visit to Johor State, West Malaysia, on Friday 27th December 2019. 在2019年12月27日星期五对西马来西亚柔佛州的一日游期间，我有机会了解更多信息。 A week earlier we have been to the Tuas Yachting Club and saw the massive residential Forrest City Development, at a distance, on the […]

Chess Game - Lesson to Learn 国际象棋-学习的经验教训

January 2, 2020 FLAI40 Leave a comment

The most interesting chess games for me are those played for a 10 minutes period in the free App chess.com I am encouraging you to play these games with unknown competitors around your level of competence from around the world. 对我来说，最有趣的棋类游戏是在免费的App chess.com中每局10分钟的棋类。我鼓励您与来自世界各地的能力水平同洋的竞争对手一起玩这些游戏。 Let me go through the last game that I lost and that I am now learning and revising my chess tactics. 让我回顾一下我输掉的最后几局比赛，现在我正在学习和修改我的国际象棋战术。 Vocabulary: English - (1) Chess Game. (2) Encourage. (3) Competitor. (4) Level of competence. (5) Win and Loss. (6) Learning. (7) Chess Tactics. Chinese - (1) 象棋游戏 Xiàngqí yóuxì. (2) 鼓励 Gǔlì. (3) 竞争者 Jìngzhēng zhě. […]