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■在廣州舉辦的第16屆亞洲運動會將新增龍舟比賽項目，加強亞運會的吸引力。 資料圖片
Nine more days, and China will be hosting(= organising) its second Asian Games. Here, we have to use the plural form 'Games', rather than the singular 'Game', because the plural refers to a large organised sports event. Now we have another tricky(= difficult) question: should we use a singular or plural verb after 'Asian Games'? The good news is that both are popular, so we can use either. For example: "The Asian Games is / are the second largest multi-sport event all over the world." What is the largest one then? Bingo!(= You're right!) - it's the Olympic Games, also called the Olympics.
Canton?
Do you know in which city and province are the Asian Games held? It's in Guangzhou, Guangdong province. Let me ask you an interesting question: What place is Canton then? From its pronunciation, many people believe that it's the same as Guangdong - which is wrong! Actually, Canton is an old name for Guangzhou.
Can you tell when was the last time China held the Asian Games, and in which city? It's in 1990, in the capital city of Beijing. With its experience, no wonder it hosted the Olympic Games / Olympics in 2008.
There're many things that we call by the name 'game'. But can you point out one thing that they all have in common?
Wittgenstein!
When《Time》magazine selected the 100 most influential people of the twentieth century, it seems that only one philosopher was on the list. Do you know who the person is? He's Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951), an Austrian genius who was professor of philosophy in Cambridge University from 1939 to 1947. In his posthumous(= published after death) work Philosophical Investigations, he considers the above intriguing(= very interesting and mysterious) question:
Consider for example the proceedings that we call "games". I mean board-games, card-games, ball-games, Olympic games, and so on. What is common to them all? — Don't say: "There must be something common, or they would not be called 'games'" — but look and see whether there is anything common to all. If you look at them you will not see something that is common to all, but similarities, relationships, and a whole series of them at that. To repeat: don't think, but look!
If you're really interested in this problem, you can study his works and thoughts in detail. But mind you - they're not easy at all!
Big Game?
See if you understand what the following sentence means? "In Canada, deer are the most commonly hunted big game." No? No problem, since 'game' here has a very different and special meaning - it refers to wild animals or birds that are hunted for sport or food; 'big game' is a special term, meaning 'big wild animals for hunting'. Therefore, the above sentence actually means: "In Canada, deer are the most commonly hunted big wild animals." Note that 'game' is uncountable in this sense. By the way, remember that the plural form of 'deer' is also 'deer' - no 's'.
Questions
1. If people say that you 'play the game', what do they praise you for?
2. In the UK, which sport is regarded as 'the beautiful game'?
3. Explain this sentence: If you want to get high marks, diligence is the name of the game.
Answers
1. You behave fairly and honestly.
2. Football, soccer.
3. If you want to get high marks, hard work is the most important thing. ■MT Ness
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