unsolved mysteries

Holding his breath, Morrie sticks his ear to thedoor of the principal's room. The fact that Uncle Tai,Mr Tang and Samuel are all there intrigues him. Whyare they there? Are they conspiring to steal the goldshield?

Morrie hears only murmurs through the door.Samuel suddenly sobs and Uncle Tai tries tocomfort him. However, their conversation is so faintMorrie can hardly hear anything. Could it be that theyare relatives and one of them needs money? Could itbe that one of them is the chief and the others arehis accomplices? Could Uncle Tai, who is so niceto students, be the bad guy?

Seeing Morrie leaning against the door, UncleRichard grabs him by the collar.

Richard: Hey, boy, what're you doing here?Morrie: I was just... em... I've found the gold shield.Richard: Ah-ha! Very good! I bet you've handed itover to Mrs Chiu. So it's time you left.Morrie: But... Uncle Richard...Richard: Be sensible!

Life is full of unsolved mysteries. You are mostlikely to encounter them when you are a teenwhenyou begin to face the world without yourparents' guidance, when you don't quite understandhow it works. Then, you are like a baby who peepsthrough the window at a beautiful garden, having noidea there are bees (which have stings) and thornyplants in it.

Rumours are flying about in the school becauseUncle Tai, Mr Tang and Samuel all have to go.However, none quite knows what has happened.Some say some influential people of the school havepressured Mrs Chiu into expelling them. Others saythey have stolen the gold shield.

Years later, Morrie will only remembers whatUncle Richard has told him today.

"Humans often harm themselves by thinking toomuch or talking too much. So, be simple, boy."The Gold Shield, 4 of 4 (End)

Vocabulary

sob (v) 嗚咽、啜泣l

ean (v)倚、靠accomplice (n) 共犯、同謀

thorny (adj) 多刺的

Gobble Grammar: Gerund and infinitive (3)

Some verbs take both gerunds and infinitives. However,there are indeed subtle differences in meaning between thetwo forms. The following are some examples.

1. Forget and remember

+ gerund: the gerund refers to an action that happenedearlier

‧ I will never forget playing at Disneyland.

(I played there some time ago.)

‧ She remembers doing the dishes before she left.

(She did the dishes and remembers it now.)+ infinitive: the infinitive refers to an action that happensnow or in the future

‧ Remember to buy her a present.(Make sure you will buy her a present later.)‧ Don't forget to prepare the cake.

2. Stop

+ gerund: to finish an action‧ I stop doing homework.

+ infinitive: to interrupt an action to dosomething else

‧ I stopped to do homework.(I might have been playing avideo game or a ball game but Istopped it so that I could do myhomework.)

3. Mean

+ gerund: to express theconsequence of anaction

‧ If you choose not to revise forthe test, that means failing it.

+ infinitive: to express a plan or anintention

‧ I didn't mean to make you cry.