【明報專訊】The Smarties attend a party held in the Chungking Mansions. The dress code for it is traditional costumes of different countries. It seems that someone is shut out because he doesn't meet the dressing requirement.

Chungking Mansions (重慶大廈) is located in the heart of Tsim Sha Tsui. It is the home of around 4,000 people from over 130 countries. Many of its residents come from South Asian countries such as India (印度), Pakistan (巴基斯坦) and Nepal (尼泊爾), or African countries such as Nigeria (尼日利亞), Kenya (肯尼亞) and Ghana (加納). It also houses numerous shops, restaurants and guesthouses. No wonder some call it a mini United Nations.

People have come to Hong Kong from other parts of the world, and they have brought their unique customs here. We may dress differently, speak different languages and embrace different religions, but we all belong to the community. We play our roles, enjoy our rights and do our duties. It is important to respect people of other ethnicities and their customs and beliefs.

Have you heard the song It's a Small World ? It was originally intended to serve as the theme song of Disneyland. Upon the request of UNICEF (聯合國兒童基金會), Disney has not copyrighted the song. It allows the song to be played worldwide for free. Its lyrics have subsequently been translated into many languages, and the song's message of peace and brotherhood has spread worldwide.

Another classic which conveys similar messages is Imagine, which was written and sung by John Lennon, a member of the legendary English band the Beatles. In it Lennon encourages his listeners to imagine a world without borders of nationalities and religions and where people live in unity.

Let's listen to the two songs using the QR codes provided and start creating a harmonious society!

■It's a Small World (excerpt)

There is just one moon and one golden sun

And a smile means friendship to everyone

Though the mountains divide

And the oceans are wide

It's a small world after all

Imagine (excerpt)

Imagine there's no countries

It isn't hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion too

Imagine all the people living life in peace

■ Mission 1

Fill in the following blanks with appropriate prepositions.

The Equal Opportunities Commission (平等機會委員會) is a statutory body in Hong Kong. It was established 1. ____ 1996 to implement anti-discrimination laws. It aims to eliminate discrimination on the grounds of including sex, marital status, pregnancy, disability, family status or race.

The current chairperson 2. ____ the EOC is York Chow (周一嶽), who was once Secretary 3. ____ Food and Health.

◆ Mission 2

Pat has met some new friends, who are trying to introduce their home countries to her. Can you match the national flags with the corresponding countries?

(see the picture)

˙a．Austria (奧地利)

˙b．Indonesia (印尼)

˙c．Poland (波蘭)

˙d．Denmark (丹麥)

◆ Mission 3

The Smarties have learned the importance of equality. Eason has made an unequal equation with matches, and challenges them to make the two sides equal by moving one match. Can you help them? (Hint: There are at least two possible solutions!)

(see the picture)

■ Key words

ethnicity 種族

nationality 國籍

harmonious 和諧的

discrimination 歧視

(answers on next text)

■English highway﹕-words and collocations

Demonyms, adjectival demonyms

There are suffixes used to form nationality adjectives with country names. Beware of their spellings as they are not always straightforward. Here are some examples.

-ese

China - Chinese

Japan - Japanese

Vietnam - Vietnamese

-ish

Denmark - Danish

Poland - Polish

Spain - Spanish

-i

Israel - Israeli

Iraq - Iraqi

Pakistan - Pakistani

-an/-ean/-ian

Germany - German

Korea - Korean

Italy - Italian

Irregular

France - French

Netherlands - Dutch

Thailand - Thai

■Glossary

dress code (n phr) 衣著要求

shut out (phr v) 拒……於門外

unique (adj) 獨特的

custom (n) 習俗

embrace (v) 信奉

legendary (adj) 傳奇的

statutory (adj) 法定的

implement (v) 執行