用 #英文 講 #下台階: #an #out
#a #climbdown
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可有聽過這句話？「人生在世不外處理三面：人面、場面及情面」。一句過，也就是面子問題。
於是，見到有人困於尷尬處境，要幫他挽回面子，可以給他一個下台階，讓他脫困。

下台階，英文怎麼說呢？有人會直譯 bottom bench、或 down the steps，當然都不對。也有意譯：
•Try to make the situation less embarrassing. 嘗試令情况沒那麼尷尬。
但這樣形容不夠完善，因為可以純粹是打個哈哈打圓場，缺乏下台階包含的實質意思。

另有一句：
•With diplomatic skill, the man sitting opposite had offered him a way out. 坐在他對面的男子，以外交手腕給他一個下台階。
A way out 出路，亦即我們常說的 exit strategy 離場策略。

To offer A WAY OUT，有更簡單的講法，是 to give AN OUT，就直接等於「給人一個下台階」。

不要以為 an out 只不過是 a way out 的縮短版，事實是 an out 本身就有清晰的字典解釋：
An excuse or reason for avoiding an unpleasant situation. 避免不快場面的藉口，或理由。

•We must arrange the negotiations so we have an out if we need it. 我們必須搞好談判安排，以備有需要時體面地離場。也就是下台階。
•I honestly don't want to go to that gathering, I wish I have an out. 我真的不想去那個聚會。我希望我有個好的藉口。
•Our suggestion gave her an out, if she was willing to take it. 我們的建議給了她下台階，還看她是否願意接受。

也有對話作例：
•甲：Thanks much for your help just now. 謝謝你剛才幫忙。
乙：Glad to give an out. 樂意提供一個下台階。
也即是說，既可向人提供 give an out；亦可以自給 have an out，自找出路。

要留意的是，英文的 an out 多純粹指避開尷尬不快的場面，回看中文下台階牽涉的「面子」成分，就重許多了。

或問，可否亦用 offer a climb-down？也可以。Climb-down 指往下爬，意境更見清晰。最大的分別，是一般指已見敗局，自行鳴金收兵：a retreat，as from an indefensible opinion or position 一己之見站不住腳而退場。

看這句英國新聞標題：
Coronavirus laws may not go ahead — as PM mulls a climbdown. 防疫法例或未能通過——首相（Prime Minister）考慮自找下台階。//

【Joshua Wong speaking to the Italian Senate】#意大利國會研討會演說 —— 呼籲世界在大學保衛戰一週年後與香港人站在同一陣線

中文、意大利文演說全文：https://www.patreon.com/posts/44167118

感謝開創未來基金會（Fondazione Farefuturo）邀請，讓我透過視像方式在意大利國會裡舉辦的研討會發言，呼籲世界繼續關注香港，與香港人站在同一陣線。

意大利作為絕無僅有參與一帶一路發展的國家，理應對中共打壓有更全面的理解，如今正值大學保衛戰一週年，以致大搜捕的時刻，當打壓更為嚴峻，香港更需要世界與我們同行。

為了讓各地朋友也能更了解香港狀況，我已在Patreon發佈當天演說的中文、英文和意大利文發言稿，盼望在如此困難的時勢裡，繼續讓世界知道我們未曾心息的反抗意志。

【The Value of Freedom: Burning Questions for Hong Kongers】

Good morning. I have the privilege today to share some of my thoughts and reflections about freedom, after taking part in social activism for eight years in Hong Kong. A movement calling for the withdrawal of the extradition law starting from last year had escalated into a demand for democracy and freedom. This city used to be prestigious for being the world’s most liberal economy, but now the infamous authoritarian government took away our freedom to election, freedom of assembly, freedom of expression and ideas.

Sometimes, we cannot avoid questioning the cause we are fighting for, the value of freedom. Despite a rather bleak prospect, why do we have to continue in this struggle? Why do we have to cherish freedom? What can we do to safeguard freedom at home and stay alert to attacks on freedom? In answering these questions, I hope to walk through three episodes in the previous year.

Turning to 2020, protests are not seen as frequently as they used to be on the media lens, partly because of the pandemic, but more importantly for the authoritarian rule. While the world is busy fighting the pandemic, our government took advantage of the virus to exert a tighter grip over our freedom. Putting the emergency laws in place, public assemblies in Hong Kong were banned. Most recently, a rally to support press freedom organized by journalists was also forbidden. While many people may ask if it is the end of street activism, ahead of us in the fight for freedom is another battleground: the court and the prison.

Freedom Fighters in Courtrooms and in Jail

Part of the huge cost incurred in the fight for freedom and democracy in Hong Kong is the increasing judicial casualties. As of today, more than 10 thousand people have been arrested since the movement broke out, more than a hundred of them are already locked up in prison. Among the 2,300 protestors who are prosecuted, 700 of them may be sentenced up to ten years for rioting charges.

Putting these figures into context, I wish to tell you what life is like, as a youngster in today’s Hong Kong. I was humbled by a lot of younger protestors and students whose exceptional maturity are demonstrated in courtrooms and in prison. What is thought to be normal university life is completely out of the question because very likely the neighbour next door or the roommate who cooked you lunch today will be thrown to jail on the next.

I do prison visits a few times a month to talk to activists who are facing criminal charges or serving sentences for their involvement in the movement. It is not just a routine of my political work, but it becomes my life as an activist. Since the movement, prison visits has also become the daily lives of many families.

But it is always an unpleasant experience passing through the iron gates one after one to enter the visitors’ room, speaking to someone who is deprived of liberty, for a selflessly noble cause. As an activist serving three brief jail terms, I understand that the banality of the four walls is not the most difficult to endure in jail. What is more unbearable is the control of thought and ideas in every single part of our daily routine enforced by the prison system. It will diminish your ability to think critically and the worst of it will persuade you to give up on what you are fighting for, if you have not prepared it well. Three years ago when I wrote on the first page of prison letters, which later turned into a publication called the ‘Unfree Speech’, I was alarmed at the environment of the prison cell. Those letters were written in a state in which freedom was deprived of and in which censorship was obvious. It brings us to question ourselves: other than physical constraints like prison bars, what makes us continue in the fight for freedom and democracy?

Mutual Support to activists behind-the-scene

The support for this movement is undiminished over these 17 months. There are many beautiful parts in the movement that continue to revitalise the ways we contribute to this city, instead of making money on our own in the so-called global financial centre. In particular, it is the fraternity, the mutual assistance among protestors that I cherished the most.

As more protestors are arrested, people offer help and assistance wholeheartedly -- we sit in court hearings even if we don’t know each other, and do frequent prison visits and write letters to protesters in detention. In major festivals and holidays, people gathered outside the prison to chant slogans so that they won’t feel alone and disconnected. This is the most touching part to me for I also experienced life in jail.

The cohesion, the connection and bonding among protestors are the cornerstone to the movement. At the same time, these virtues gave so much empowerment to the mass public who might not be able to fight bravely in the escalating protests. These scenes are not able to be captured by cameras, but I’m sure it is some of the most important parts of Hong Kong’s movement that I hope the world will remember.

I believe this mutual support transcends nationality or territory because the value of freedom does not alter in different places. More recently, Twelve Hongkong activists, all involved in the movement last year, were kidnapped by China’s coastal guard when fleeing to Taiwan for political refugee in late-August. All of them are now detained secretly in China, with the youngest aged only 16. We suspect they are under torture during detention and we call for help on the international level, putting up #SAVE12 campaign on twitter. In fact, how surprising it is to see people all over the world standing with the dozen detained protestors for the same cause. I’m moved by activists in Italy, who barely knew these Hong Kong activists, even took part in a hunger strike last month calling for immediate release of them. This form of interconnectivity keeps us in spirit and to continue our struggle to freedom and democracy.

Understanding Value of freedom in the university battle
A year ago on this day, Hong Kong was embroiled in burning clashes as the police besieged the Polytechnic University. It was a day we will not forget and this wound is still bleeding in the hearts of many Hong Kongers. A journalist stationed in the university at that time once told me that being at the scene could only remind him of the Tiananmen Square Massacre 31 years ago in Beijing. There was basically no exit except going for the dangerous sewage drains.

That day, thousands of people, old or young, flocked to districts close to the university before dawn, trying to rescue protestors trapped inside the campus. The reinforcements faced grave danger too, for police raided every corner of the small streets and alleys, arresting a lot of them. Among the 800+ arrested on a single day, 213 people were charged with rioting. For sure these people know there will be repercussions. It is the conscience driving them to take to the streets regardless of the danger, the conscience that we should stand up to brutality and authoritarianism, and ultimately to fight for freedoms that are guaranteed in our constitution. As my dear friend, Brian Leung once said, ‘’Hong Kong Belongs to Everyone Who Shares Its Pain’’. I believe the value of freedom is exemplified through our compassion to whom we love, so much that we are willing to sacrifice the freedom of our own.

Defending freedom behind the bars

No doubt there is a terrible price to pay in standing up to the Beijing and Hong Kong government. But after serving a few brief jail sentences and facing the continuing threat of harassment, I learnt to cherish the freedom I have for now, and I shall devote every bit what I have to strive for the freedom of those who have been ruthlessly denied.

The three episodes I shared with you today -- the courtroom, visiting prisoners and the battle of university continue to remind me of the fact that the fight for freedom has not ended yet. In the coming months, I will be facing a maximum of 5 years in jail for unauthorized assembly and up to one ridiculous year for wearing a mask in protest. But prison bars would never stop me from activism and thinking critically.

I only wish that during my absence, you can continue to stand with the people of Hong Kong, by following closely to the development, no matter the ill-fated election, the large-scale arrest under National Security Law or the twelve activists in China. To defy the greatest human rights abusers is the essential way to restore democracy of our generation, and the generation following us.

．．．．．．．．．．．．．．．．．
💪小額支持我的獨家分析及文章：https://bit.ly/joshuawonghk
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📚 Mighty Robot Collection 📝 by Dav Pilkey & Dan Santat 📎#Eugene讀完的套書紀錄
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男孩最愛的機器人主題『Mighty Robot』，也讓SJE女孩們很喜歡，Eugene讀第一集時就邊讀邊玩得很開心，書籍巧妙設計的互動遊戲，讓小讀者迅速操作與想像動畫般的畫面，在圖文中緊張又有趣的故事情節中，文字與字數簡潔有力，讓Eugene讀得很輕鬆又愉快，一本接一本的享讀。
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書目：
1. Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot
2. Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. the Mutant Mosquitoes from Mercury
3. Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. The Voodoo Vultures from Venus
4. Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. the Mecha-Monkeys from Mars
5. Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. the Jurassic Jackrabbits from Jupiter
6. Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. The Stupid Stinkbugs From Saturn
7. Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. The Uranium Unicorns from Uranus
8. Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. The Naughty Nightcrawlers from Neptune
9. Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot Vs. The Unpleasant Penguins From Pluto

Mighty Robot Collection橋梁書9本，Eugene閱讀字數累積17,852字，原先都是以LitPro測驗，但獨缺『Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. The Naughty Nightcrawlers from Neptune』在LitPro測驗沒有，所以用了SJ姊姊的教師帳號來開測試書籍給Eugene測驗，果然有書且測的很順利，也就展開了Eugene對AR的使用練習了。
之後Eugene測AR是因為閱讀書籍進入較難的階段，所以讓她進行雙系統測驗，反而讓Eugene吵著也要澆小花了。
p.s:尚有Eugene的閱讀紀錄分批待發文
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#Eugene4Y11M學習紀錄
#英文橋樑書
#LitPro #AR #英文閱讀測驗