【明報專訊】Today is MoMo's birthday. How are Smarties going to celebrate with her? Are they going to have a big party?

“ MoMo: Wow! Bill is the first one to send me birthday greetings. It's so sweet of him. ”

“ MoMo: Oh, Pat also remembers my birthday! But the animated cake isn't that lovely. It's not edible either. ”

“ MoMo: Oh, here comes an e-card too. I wish to have fun and laughter with my dear friends... ”

“ Pat、 Dr Panda、 Bill: Surprise! Happy birthday MoMo! ”

“ MoMo: Thank you so much! ”

■English highway﹕It is so sweet of sb to do sth

We use the sentence pattern ''it is so sweet of someone to do something'' when a person does something nice for you. We usually use this to thank someone. You can replace ''sweet'' with ''kind'', ''nice'' or ''thoughtful''.

e.g. It is so kind of you to help me a lot.

It is so nice of him to drive me home.

◆Know more

Nowadays, people use instant messaging and social networking sites to communicate. However, online communication should never replace offline interactions. Interactions in the real world are indeed the most important way of communication. In real life, facial expressions, body language and tones of voice help us to communicate. If everyone is dependent on communication in the digital world, humans will become less able to communicate face-to-face. So why are you still hiding behind a screen? Let's find the right balance between online and offline communication.

■Glossary

edible (adj) 食用的

interaction (n) 交流

indeed (adv) 確實

dependent (adj) 依賴的

[Smarties' Power English 第261期]