About the Two Cartoons
Golden Bay
the Picture Reading part in the final exampaper. Against my
expectation, there were still some misreadings and misunderstandings
I'd love to correct.
1) In the first cartoon, the parents frown at the term report while the
depressed boy is saying, "That grade is so unfair! She skipped right
over E!" The reader can easily see that the boy, at the moment, is very
unhappy with his teacher ("she") as well as his exam result, which he
thought should be at least an E but turned out to be an F. His
ignorance of the grading system (A-B-C-D-F) brings the humor. In this
system, there is no E, instead, there is an F standing for the failing
grade. Therefore, the boy actually failed in the exam.
2) The second cartoon is even more readable. Dumbfounded, a teacher
looks at a boy who has just dictated a word on the blackboard. He
misspelt the word "dog" twice -- first as "dag" and second as "doog"
and is now looking at the teacher for help. The teacher might be
thinking, "You are impossible!" and says, "It's a blackboard. There is
no spellcheck." Automatic spellcheck, one of the functions of
computerized word-processors (e.g., MS WORD), is over-used by those who
rely merely on machine proofreading. This is a satiric comment on
spellcheck addicts.
Eric Chen
cais...@sina.com
Right now I 'm lingering around Beijing and reciting Gre words,
exhausted.
However, words still seems fun to me, since I learn a lot and my mind
updates everyday. OK they exist my reading vocabulary, but not writing
and speaking one, so forget it, I don't think there's even a single
chance for me to express myself with those disgusting little words.
Plus, I sit in the last row of the class, with my number as 388.
There's tooooo many people, everytime I have to elbow my way out to
grab something for lunch!!!