真不明白南宋名將文天祥為何寧死也不降，如果有機會見到他就好了。 那就容易啦！我們可借助穿越時空的量子槍吧！ —— 作者介紹 1.「人生自古誰無死？留取丹心照 汗青」：諺語，出自文天祥的〈過 零丁洋〉，後廣為傳誦；意思 是︰人難免一死，但要對得起 歷史。 2. 身陷囹圄：指失去人身自由， 正在監獄裏受苦。 3 . 宋末三傑：南宋末年，文天 祥、陸秀夫和張世傑因拚死抵 抗蒙古軍、保留民族尊嚴而被 稱為「宋末三傑」。最終，宋軍 在崖山之戰失敗，陸秀夫背着 少帝跳海殉國，南宋滅亡。 星島教室 中華基督教會 基真小學 副校長 趙曼娜 是呀！我怎會那麼愚蠢？我們現在就起程吧，出發！ 本欄，由教育評議會邀請資深中小學老師及校長撰稿，以趣味手法，透過中國朝代的重要事件、史地、器物及人物，甚至朝代人物之超越時空故事，引發讀者對歷史的認識及興趣。 讀社論學 英文 The Financial Budget public consultation has just started. The top concern is how the government plans to deal with a projected fiscal deficit of $100 billion for three consecutive years. To restore fiscal balance, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po earlier stated that "expanding revenue" would be cautious to minimize the impact on the general public and middle class. This suggests that eliminating deficit focuses on cutting expenditures, with increasing revenue as a supplementary measure. As of October, fiscal reserves dropped to about $570 billion, only enough to cover 10 months of government expenses. Public concerns are thus not unfounded, and the government has the obligation to propose feasible plans, uphold fiscal discipline and make moderate efforts on both revenue expansion & cost-cutting. Hong Kong's fiscal reserves stood at $1.2 trillion at the beginning of 2019, but have since plummeted. The key reason is the countercyclical measures taken during the pandemic, which is understandable. However, the continued post-pandemic fiscal deficit is undeniably tied to poor land sales, unfavourable economic conditions impacting corporate profits, sluggish real estate transactions, etc. The previous or current government should not be to blame. After all, they do not have a crystal ball to foresee the future. Rapid reserve decline since pandemic According to government blueprint, restoring fiscal balance will take three to five years. While this timeline is clear, the market and public inevitably question the basis for setting this goal. Actually, the greater concern is that not only may the deficit persist beyond three to five years, but worse scenarios could emerge. As a small economy vulnerable to external factors, Hong Kong was initially expected to benefit from the Fed interest rate cuts starting in September. However, with Donald Trump's return and his likely expansionary policies, US rate cuts may be delayed, while a renewed trade war could severely impact Hong Kong. Meanwhile, although the mainland has indicated that more stimulus measures will be introduced in 2025, their actual effectiveness remains to be seen. These uncertainties pose significant risks to Hong Kong's recovery and deficit elimination plans. Of course, we cannot just sit with folded hands but a proactive attitude is essential. It is difficult for the government to indiscriminately cut expenditures in education, healthcare, welfare, etc. - sectors crucial to public wellbeing. Policies have to be "people-oriented". Meanwhile, the investment in the Northern Metropolis is justified, as it is a future growth engine. Nonetheless, the government should consider ways to expand revenue and cut costs without compromising livelihood or long-term development. Strict expenditure control is imperative. For example, the recent naming competition for pandas An An and Ke Ke cost $700,000 only to retain their original names. While this is a small fraction of the budget, such wasteful spending should be avoided. Harsh financial oversight is needed. Furthermore, government departments have already reduced recurrent expenditures by one per cent. Could there be room for utilizing AI technology to raise efficiency and cut costs? During past downturns, the CE political team took voluntary pay cuts. Could this be repeated to demonstrate solidarity with citizens in overcoming challenges? Raising taxes could worsen the public burden, leaving limited room for manoeuvre. However, the government has other boosting revenue means. For example, given its heavy reliance on land sale proceeds, could the government consider subdividing land plots to draw small and medium-sized developers in land auctions? So the property market could be stimulated. Prevent treasury depletion The government's revised economic growth forecast for 2024 stands at 2.5 per cent, the lower end of its initial prediction. This is far from ideal. During the Budget consultation, citizens will offer many constructive suggestions. The government should carefully analyze and summarize these opinions to devise appropriate fiscal strategies that meet current and long-term needs. To ensure the sustainable development, it is imperative to prevent the treasury from being depleted. Even if Hong Kong faces significant challenges in the coming years, exacerbated by a potential "Trump 2.0" scenario, moderately expanding revenue and cutting costs are achievable. 翻譯自2024年12月17日《星島日報》社論 （http://std.stheadline.com/） 1. The word _____ in the first paragraph is the opposite of "main". 2. Hong Kong's fiscal reserves have _____ since early 2019. 3. In the passage, the word _____ means "manipulation". 4. The CE _____ team should show solidarity with citizens in overcoming challenges. 5. According to the last paragraph, the government should prevent the treasury from being _____. Answers 1. supplementary 2. plummeted 3. manoeuvre 4. political 5. depleted & Q A supplementary (adj) —— 輔助的 vulnerable (adj) —— 脆弱的 compromise (v) —— 妥協 oversight (n) —— 監督 solidarity (n) —— 團結一致 manoeuvre (n) —— 操作 deplete (v) —— 耗盡 exacerbate (v) —— 使惡化 Vocabulary corporate profit —— 企業盈利 expansionary policy —— 擴張性政策 recurrent expenditure —— 經常性開支 land auction —— 土地拍賣 Useful Terms Lawmaker Tik Chi-yuen, who represents the social-welfare sector, said the government is being "too passive" in alleviating the deficit. "The administration has been waiting for luck to come but we don't know when the economy can fully recover," he said. He added that the administration should set goals for solving the deficit problem annually and state clearly financial measures for the next five years in the budget, including tax reform and expenditure control. Did you know? Fiscal deficit worrying, moderately increase revenue and cut costs 翻譯︰George D6 侷芎 05.14.2025 星期三 ﹁天地有正氣，雜然賦流形⋯⋯時窮節乃 見，一一垂丹青。﹂ 小倩問評仔：﹁這首不就 是南宋末年大臣文天祥所作的︿正氣歌﹀ ？我 知道當時適逢戰亂，他率兵保家衛國，作這 首詩以表達他對國家的忠誠，難道我們已經 回到南宋末年，他被蒙古人俘虜的時期？﹂ 留取丹心照汗青 文天祥看見這兩名孩子竟然認識他的︿正 氣歌﹀，驚歎不已，便對小倩說： ﹁寶祐四 年，我中進士第一，高中狀元，一度掌理軍器監兼權 直學士院，立誓必當為國盡忠，不辜負皇上的期望。怎料開慶元年， 蒙古軍竟南侵，我軍只好出兵抵禦蒙古軍的侵襲。但奸臣董宋臣卻聲 稱為了國家安全，力主皇上遷都。此舉實在影響民心和軍心，萬萬不 可，你們認為我說得對嗎？與其看着奸臣繼續侍在皇上身邊，我還不 如辭官歸故里吧！﹂ 評仔和小倩深表同情，追問皇上有否挽留他。文天祥失望地搖搖 頭說：﹁皇上貶謫我任地方官，尚幸當官以來總算不負所望，深受百姓 愛戴，我也沒有他想，只願服務百姓。﹂ 評仔覺得文天祥能盡忠職守， 克盡己任，誠屬難得，本應可平穩度過餘生，何以有︿正氣歌﹀ 的出 現？ 文天祥歎了口氣說：﹁後來我得知先帝去世，新君又年幼。蒙古 軍趁這個時候大舉入侵，大家都束手無策。太后下詔書招募義士救 國，我一定要幫忙。於是我賣了家鄉的土地以作軍費，許多英雄豪傑 和老百姓都到來支持加入抗敵。景炎二年，元世祖忽必烈大舉南侵， 視我和張世傑為眼中釘，誓要斬草除根，最終我軍寡不敵眾，張世傑 和陸秀夫保護年幼的皇帝離開，但蒙古軍窮追不捨，一直追到崖山， 他們終敵不過強大的蒙古軍隊戰敗而亡，我就遭敵人俘虜被押送到這 裏 元大都。﹂ 評仔和小倩此時的心沉了一下，心想：﹁肯定凶多吉少！﹂ 文天祥 點頭回答：﹁我也打定輸數，抵抗蒙古軍隊失敗後被俘，我在廣東零丁 洋蒙古軍艦上作了︿過零丁洋﹀ ，用以表明忠於宋朝不願投降的心思。 ﹃辛苦遭逢起一經，干戈寥落四周星。山河破碎風飄絮，身世浮沉雨打 萍。惶恐灘頭說惶恐，零丁洋裏嘆零丁。人生自古誰無死？留取丹心 照汗青。﹄ ﹂ 捨生取義浩氣存 不但評仔和小倩對文天祥肅然起敬， 之前搜集資料，得悉元 世祖忽必烈也極欣賞文天祥的才能、膽識和忠直，曾以宰相之職利 誘，他卻毫不動搖。就算拿他家人來威脅他也無動於衷。只要是 坐着 都堅持面向南方，因為那是宋朝國土的方向，真是非常固執。 文天祥抬頭，眼神堅定地說：﹁我心中有國，忠於大宋是我無法 放棄的信念。即使面對強敵，身陷囹圄，也要守護我心中的信念和尊 嚴！﹂ 評仔對文天祥認識不深，便暗地裏追問小倩，小倩一派嚴肅地 說：﹁經過多番游說，文天祥始終不肯投降，據 ︽宋史︾記載，南宋降臣 釋放們文請炎天示在祥留元士時夢朝人表示 反對，他指文天祥會再度起 事反元，最終元朝處死文天祥，留夢 炎亦因此遭後世唾罵，明朝時甚至要求留姓 人必須手書非留夢炎子孫才可以參加科舉考試，可見 文天祥受後人推崇備至。最後，忽必烈下令將文天祥殺掉。 南宋滅亡後，文天祥雖然被處決但他保家衛國的精神卻流傳下來， 受人景仰，文天祥也永垂青史。﹂ 不過，評仔也不示弱，搶着說：﹁我知道現在香港古蹟宋王臺舊 址，曾經是南宋大臣張世傑和陸秀夫等人保護皇帝，躲避蒙古軍的地 方。他們曾逃至現今九龍馬頭涌一帶，後人據此而刻石建園以作紀 念，就是宋王臺公園。﹂ 透過這次時空之旅，評仔和小倩不僅目睹了文天祥的忠義和堅 持，深受感動亦深刻理解擇善固執的重要。他們將來也要像文天祥 一樣即使前路如何艱辛凶險也要勇敢地面對生活中的挑戰，不輕 言放棄。 此刻蒙古軍進來將文天祥帶走定是準備行刑，評仔和小倩不忍 目睹文天祥就義一幕，雖然心有萬般不捨，但仍然按下量子槍⋯⋯ 欲知評仔後事如何，請看下回分解。 視死如歸 文天祥
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