Comic：Declared monuments of Hong Kong
【明報專訊】The Smarties are hiking and they bump into Eason unexpectedly.
“ Eason: Wow! This rock is so special. There is a pattern on it. ”
“ Pat: Right! But who did this? ”
“ Dr Panda: It's from 3,000 years ago when there were no written words. ”
“ Bill: Yes, this rock carving is a declared monument. ”
“ Eason: Hi, Smarties! Wow, there's a drawing on this rock! Let me draw something on it too. ”
“ Dr Panda: Stop or you'll be fined $100,000 for defacing a declared monument. ”
“ Eason: You'll kick yourself when you're sent to jail. ”
■English highway﹕To kick oneself
''To kick oneself'' is an idiom which means to blame oneself for something one has done or failed to do.
e.g. It was not your fault so please stop kicking yourself.
He is kicking himself for forgetting the key.
■Know more
Declared monuments (法定古蹟) are public or private places, buildings or structures legally declared to have the highest degree of protection. The Antiquities Advisory Board (古物諮詢委員會) evaluates places, old buildings and structures and then gets approval from the Chief Executive to make them declared monuments. There are currently 123 declared monuments in Hong Kong, including both old Chinese structures and colonial Western architecture. They need proper preservation because they represent our city and our roots.
■Glossary
unexpectedly (adv) 出乎意料地
deface (v) 損傷外觀
legally (adv) 合法地
approval (n) 批准
[Smarties' Power English 第281期]
