September 26, 2007
今天老二回到家,分享嘞一篇學校老師教的文章,挺有趣的.
Let’s face it – English is a crazy language!
There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren’t invented in England and French fries in France. Sweetmeats (甜點, 糖果) are candies while sweetbreads(胰臟, 胸腺), which aren’t sweet, are meat.
And why is it that writers write, but fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t groce and hammers don’t ham?
If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn’t the plural of booth, beeth?
One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese?
Doesn’t it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend?
If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?
If teachers taught, why didn’t preachers praught?
If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
In what language do people recite at a play, and play at a recital?
Ship by truck and send cargo by ship?
Have noses that run and feet that smell? (Running nose 流鼻涕, smelling feet 臭腳丫)
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man (有智慧的人) and a wise guy (silly person) are opposites?
You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.
English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all.
That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.
Let’s face it – English is a crazy language!
There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren’t invented in England and French fries in France. Sweetmeats (甜點, 糖果) are candies while sweetbreads(胰臟, 胸腺), which aren’t sweet, are meat.
And why is it that writers write, but fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t groce and hammers don’t ham?
If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn’t the plural of booth, beeth?
One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese?
Doesn’t it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend?
If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?
If teachers taught, why didn’t preachers praught?
If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
In what language do people recite at a play, and play at a recital?
Ship by truck and send cargo by ship?
Have noses that run and feet that smell? (Running nose 流鼻涕, smelling feet 臭腳丫)
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man (有智慧的人) and a wise guy (silly person) are opposites?
You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.
English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all.
That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.
