Comic：Meeting online friends offline
【明報專訊】Pat is dressing up in her room excitedly. Where is she going?
“ Pat: Oh, finally it's the big day to meet Prince Harry. ”
“ Eason: Hey, are you Pat? Nice to meet you. ”
“ Pat: Um, yes, I'm Pat. Are you Prince Harry? You look so different to your profile picture. ”
“ Eason: Of course I'm Prince Harry, your online friend. Shall we go inside to have some facial treatments? ”
“ Pat: Um, I don't know. ”
“ MoMo: See! He's Eason! ”
■Know more
Meeting online friends in person can be dangerous. Unlike people in offline relationships, netizens can pretend to be others online. Therefore, ill-intentioned strangers can befriend us easily. When meeting someone in real life, it is not uncommon that the person does not match the online profile picture or what has been said. Some terrible people may ask for money or bully us. There have been numerous news reports about even more serious crimes. We must protect ourselves and think twice before we have any meetups with our online friends.
■English highway﹕not uncommon
A double negative means two negative words being used in the same sentence. It results in a positive statement and sounds more subtle.
e.g. The price is not unreasonable.
I am not uncaring.
■Glossary
dress up (phr v) 裝扮
ill-intentioned (adj) 有不軌企圖的
befriend (v) 和……交朋友
bully (v) 欺負
[Smarties' Power English 第264期]
Horizon：National animals
【明報專訊】We often associate the giant panda with China and the red kangar... 詳情
