Pop Quiz which makes me want to hang myself
I was having breakfast today with a guest. I was eating my raisin bread and some strange prawn balls off the hotel's breakfast buffet and thinking to myself that this wasn't too bad for a morning's start, when the guest asked me this English question. Apparently, his daughters were given this question in some primary school tests in Singapore:
Question
Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word.
The man died in a ______ accident.
(a) dangerous
(b) fatal
(c) tragic
My immediate answer was tragic. I didn't even have to think about it and begin thinking about whether I should have a glass of milk to wash the bread down.
Dangerous accident sounded so . . . weak and wrong although I can still make a case for it if I want to. Nay.
Fatal accident is practically a redundant phrase because the man died. I mean, of course the accident is fatal, the man died. Duh. What else could the accident be? Tiny-weeny fatal? Double Nay.
Answer :
The guest looked at me and said that her daughters were told by her teachers and school that the correct answer was Fatal. The man died in a fatal accident.
A lot of emotions came into my head. Confusion, regret, shamefulness at answering a primary school-level question wrongly but most of all . . . . .
HOLY SHIT. WTF IS THAT ANSWER AGAIN?
A man died in a fatal accident is the most stupid and redundant statement of all time. Its inherent duplicity of meaning hit me like a cheap Japanese car hitting a brickwall. In this case, the wall of stupidity erected by MOE won as I staggered away from this car-wreck of an English statement like a driver drunk on absolut. I can't believe MOE said this is the correct answer. Like DUH. Of course - it is a fatal accident, you freaking moron. What else could it be? Died from a near fatal accident? Died from an almost fatal accident? Died from just a bit fatal accident? Died from an accident which is 70% fatal and 30% ok and non-fatal? Wah lau eh. It is early morning and I felt like killing myself already. Pass me the rope please.
If I have a kid and she comes to me saying that her teacher taught her that "a man died in a fatal accident", I am really going to open a can of whoop-ass on her teacher using a dictionary as a weapon of mass destruction. Our primary school education blows.
Question
Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word.
The man died in a ______ accident.
(a) dangerous
(b) fatal
(c) tragic
My immediate answer was tragic. I didn't even have to think about it and begin thinking about whether I should have a glass of milk to wash the bread down.
Dangerous accident sounded so . . . weak and wrong although I can still make a case for it if I want to. Nay.
Fatal accident is practically a redundant phrase because the man died. I mean, of course the accident is fatal, the man died. Duh. What else could the accident be? Tiny-weeny fatal? Double Nay.
Answer :
The guest looked at me and said that her daughters were told by her teachers and school that the correct answer was Fatal. The man died in a fatal accident.
A lot of emotions came into my head. Confusion, regret, shamefulness at answering a primary school-level question wrongly but most of all . . . . .
HOLY SHIT. WTF IS THAT ANSWER AGAIN?
A man died in a fatal accident is the most stupid and redundant statement of all time. Its inherent duplicity of meaning hit me like a cheap Japanese car hitting a brickwall. In this case, the wall of stupidity erected by MOE won as I staggered away from this car-wreck of an English statement like a driver drunk on absolut. I can't believe MOE said this is the correct answer. Like DUH. Of course - it is a fatal accident, you freaking moron. What else could it be? Died from a near fatal accident? Died from an almost fatal accident? Died from just a bit fatal accident? Died from an accident which is 70% fatal and 30% ok and non-fatal? Wah lau eh. It is early morning and I felt like killing myself already. Pass me the rope please.
If I have a kid and she comes to me saying that her teacher taught her that "a man died in a fatal accident", I am really going to open a can of whoop-ass on her teacher using a dictionary as a weapon of mass destruction. Our primary school education blows.
posted by Captain Obvious at 4:13 AM
2 Comments:
Aiyo, the kid is suppose to infer from the word "died" that the answer is "fatal"-- very common though I understand what you meant by redundant.
"The skinny girl is very thin."
Ha ha ha.....
"The skinny girl is very thin."
BAM! Yet another car wreck of an English statement.
I heard many parents actually went to their primary schools to complain about "the man died in a fatal accident" statement but the schools basically ignored them.
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