T he word cue has many meanings. The long stick that players use in billiards, snooker, or pool is called a cue. The signal that directors give actors or TV hosts to start talking is also called a cue. The expression "take a cue from" means to follow the example or behavior of another person. It is pronounced in the same way as "queue", which means to line up. Tien Puk-sun, a fluent English-speaker, likes to encourage the use of English in Hong Kong but never uses English himself in the Legislative Council. He told me his voters would not understand him if he used English. But it is impossible to encourage others to use English if you don't use it yourself. All legislative councillors should take a cue from Shek Lai-him and speak in English sometimes even if they are not fluent English-speakers.
Many readers are still sending me e-mails about my recent columns on the declining standard of English in Hong Kong. They have different opinions on why Hong Kong people have lousy English but one reader hit the nail on the head. The expression "hit the nail on the head" means to give the right answer or the exact cause of a problem. The reader said the standard of English has dropped because most people only speak it in classrooms or at work but not at home or with friends. I think this explanation hit the nail on the head. As I have said many times before, use it or lose it. If you don't use English all the time, your standard will drop.
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上星期，立法會發生了一件很不尋常的事。政府帳目委員會的主席石禮謙，以英語匯報前廉政專員湯顯明開支奢華（extravagant）的報告。我喜出望外（pleasantly surprised），因為今天的議員在立法會發言時，已鮮有（hardly ever）用英語了。習語pleasantly surprised解作喜出望外。立法會議員田北辰好應學習（take a cue from）石禮謙的做法。
Cue這個字有多重意思，玩美式或英式桌球時用的球桿就叫cue，導演給演員或電視主持可以開始說話的提示亦叫cue。習語take a cue from即是學習他人，這個字的發音跟排隊的queue是一樣的。說流利英語的田北辰，喜歡鼓勵香港人多說英語，但他自己卻從不在立法會說英語。他跟我說，要是他說英語，他的選民就聽不明白。但要是你自己不用英語，你又怎可能鼓勵別人用英語？所有立法會議員都該效法（take a cue from）石禮謙，即使自己的英語不算流利，也當不時說說英語。
就着近日我在專欄中寫道，香港英語水平日漸下降，仍然有許多讀者傳電郵給我。他們對於香港人為何說糟透的英語，有許多不同的看法，但一位讀者正中要害（hit the nail on the head）。Hit the nail on the head即是給了正確答案，或說明了問題的癥結。那位讀者說，英語水平下降，是因為大部份人都只在課室或工作時才會說英語，但在家和跟朋友一起時就不會說了。我認為這個解釋一矢中的（hit the nail on the head）。正如我以往說過多遍，不用白不用（use it or lose it），要是你不常常說英語，你的水準自然就會下降。
mickchug@gmail.com
中譯:七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧
Source: http://news.stheadline.com/dailynews/headline_news_detail_columnist.asp?id=265119§ion_name=wtt&kw=126