Story：Work hard, play hard
【明報專訊】MR PLAYER indulged himself in all kinds of sensuous pleasures. Hardly a day went by without him gluing himself onto the sofa and playing video games. His mind was occupied with thinking how to defeat the boss, even while working.
In contrast to Mr Player, Mr Workman is a workaholic who worked day and night. Hardly a day passed without him burning the midnight oil. But he was faced with a daunting project.
An angel noticed all this and wanted to save both from misery. One night, while the two were enjoying their nice dream, the angel switched their souls!
The following day both were appalled by their new look. What's worse, they received phone calls from each other's friends and colleagues.
The angel created a magic mirror to let them see each other. ''Listen, you two have to play each other's role for a day. If any of you fail to do so, I promise you'll be stuck in each other's body forever!'' The angel then disappeared into thin air.
''Hey time to work Mr Workman!'' Now as Mr Workman, Mr Player murmured and agreed, ''Okay...'' Then he looked around Mr Workman's room. Everything was in apple-pie order! He took a look at the files on the table. To his surprise, Mr Workman had been working on the sequel to his favourite video game! All of a sudden he felt energised and started ploughing through the game settings. Though a big fan of the game, Mr Player was not satisfied with it since it was sometimes too difficult. He asked the game engineers to make the sequel easier.
Mr workman, now in Mr Player's body, found nothing but just a gaming console at Mr Player's home. He turned it on and found that Mr Player was playing a game he had developed. He wasn't interested in playing it, but selling it. Feeling bored, he tried help Mr Player finish the game. However hard he tried, he was beaten up by the boss. ''It's a really good game. But some improvements are needed!'' He videotaped his gaming and sent them to the developer with a report.
''I think they both learned something!'' The angel smiled and switched Mr Workman's and Mr Player's souls back that night.
''Oh I'm back to normal!'' Mr Workman was surrounded by his team. They applauded him for his fabulous work. ''What did I do?'' Curious, he read the report written by Mr Player, who did his work after their souls were switched. ''Oh we shared the same thought! Hey bring me all the games I've made so far! I need to review them all!''
◆Food for thought
We learn to play, and we play to learn. Learning is just like gaming and doesn't need to be dull. However, to finish a game or complete a task, we need to work hard and be focused.
■Gear up
Refer to the story and circle the correct answer.
(1) Mr Player is jobless. ( True / False / Not given )
(2) Mr Workman is a game developer. ( True / False / Not given )
(3) The game developed by Mr Workman is too ( easy / difficult / dangerous ).
(Answers on next text)
■Glossary
workaholic (n) 工作狂
into thin air (idiom) 無影無蹤
apple-pie order (idiom) 非常整齊
gaming console (n) 遊戲主機
[Smarties' Power English 第282期]
