高一英语课外阅读及试题

Reading Father and Son

1Most films these days are easy to describe because they fit into types such as martial arts films or love stories. But Father and Son is different. It is a film about the love and conflict between a father and his son. It is a film about real Hong Kong people.

2The film is set in Hong Kong in the recent past. It shows us the life of the Law family during the 1960s, when they were living in a squatter area(木屋区), and then in the 1970s, when they were living in a resettlement estate(住宅区).

3The two main characters are the father, Mr. Law, and his son, Law Ka Hing. Mr. Law is a low-paid clerk in an office.

He cannot get promotion because of his lack of qualifications. Therefore, he is determined that his only son, Ka Hing, should get good exam results. Ka Hing, however, is not very interested in school work. His only ambition is to make films.

4The film starts with the tragic ending to the story. Old Mr. Law opens a letter from his son and his face lights up. ‘At last,’ he says. He rushes up the stairs of his resettlement block, but he is so excited that he suffers a heart attack and falls down the stairs. A piece of paper drops from his hand and floats down to where he is lying. It is his son’s graduation certificate. Just as he has achieved his life’s ambition, he dies.

5After this sad opening, the film goes back about 15 years, to show us the early relationship between father and son.

6The Law family is very poor, and the father works hard to support them. Ka Hing’s sisters do well in school but their father is mainly interested in Ka Hing since he is the only son.

7Ka Hing is fascinated by the cinema. He always wants to watch films or to make his own. He has such strong love of films that it distracts him from his studies.

8As a result, he finally fails his ‘A’ Levels. Because of his failure, Mr. Law decides that Ka Hing must go to America to study. To pay for this, he forces one daughter to marry a wealthy husband, and the other to give up college and get

a job. Their loyalty is so strong that they accept his wishes. Ka Hing is reluctant to go to America. But finally he sees

that his father will be heartbroken if he disobeys, and thus he agrees to go.

9The film is sad because it is partly based on the life of its brilliant director, Fong Yuk Ping. Fong also had a difficult relationship with his father, and studied film in America. Tragically, Fong’s own father and his mother were killed in

a plane crash as they flew to America for his graduation ceremony.

10The film is always interesting to watch as it is very realistic. The director’s use of little details of everyday life is very good. For example, we see Ka Hing (as a young boy) making a simple toy cinema with a candle and a box, to show his interest in films.