Michael Chugani 褚简宁 - Overkill｜又中又英

During my time as a student in Hong Kong, schools suspended students only for serious misbehaviour such as fighting or using bad language. A tram passenger once complained to my school when he saw my friends and I misbehaving while on our way to school. The principal warned us not to misbehave, especially while wearing the school’s uniform, but did not suspend us. That’s why I shook my head in disbelief when I read news reports that the vice principal of the St Francis Xavier’s School in Tsuen Wan had suspended 14 students for three days for still eating breakfast when the national anthem was being played. The vice principal had accused the students of disrespecting the anthem.

It was overkill because the students were not even in the area where the anthem and flag-raising were taking place. To shake your head in disbelief means to repeatedly move your head from side to side to show disagreement, disbelief, or disapproval. The word “overkill” means to do much more than needed, resulting in less effectiveness. The vice principal is dead wrong if she thinks she can instill patriotism in students by punishing them. To be dead wrong means to be very wrong. The word “instill” (instil in British English) means to put a feeling, idea, or principle in someone’s mind to influence that person.

Instead of instilling patriotism, punishing students for minor misbehaviour would have the opposite effect. Students who misbehave should be warned first.

Suspending students should only be a last resort. The expression “last resort” means the final choice after trying all other choices.
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从前我在香港念书时，学校只会因为严重的不当行为去勒令学生停课，例如打斗或说粗言秽语。曾经有一名电车乘客向我就读的学校投诉，说他见到我的朋友和我在返学的途中举止失当。校长警告我们别再失礼，尤其是穿着校服的时候，但并没有要我们停课。因此当我读到新闻报道指，荃湾圣芳济中学的副校长罚十四名学生停课三天，因为当国歌奏起时他们还在吃早餐，我不禁难以置信地直摇头（shook my head in disbelief）。该名副校长指控学生不尊重国歌。

这是做得过头（overkill）了，因为学生们甚至也不在奏国歌和升旗的场地。To shake your head in disbelief是指摇头以示不同意、不能置信或不赞成。Overkill是指做多了、过份了，功效反而更少。该名副校长若是认为她可以透过惩罚学生来灌输（instill）爱国情怀，那她就是dead wrong了——to be dead wrong的意思是大错特错。Instill（英式串法是instil）是指去向某人灌输一个感受、想法或原则，以影响那个人。

因为一些轻微的失当行为就去惩罚学生，不但不能灌输（instilling）爱国思想，反倒可能引来反效果。行为失当的学生理应首先警告，罚学生停课只应是个 last resort——习语“last resort”是指试过所有其他方法都不奏效，逼不得已才用到的最后手段。
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中译:七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁