258 To Choose

Adam Foss is a former prosecutor and president of “Prosecutor Impact”, as well as being the co-founder of the “Roxbury CHOICE Program.” Roxbury is an area of Boston where crime rates are quite high, so the challenge was taken up by the “Roxbury CHOICE Program” was to lower rates of reoffending and lead people away from crime. This happens by seeking to give criminals a choice in terms of how to work out their punishment, which in practice means that they have space to choose what to do in terms of community service or work while on probation. The idea is that this can go some way to paying for the crime that has been committed, while also leading the offender in a positive life direction away from crime. ShaoLan teaches Adam the word for choice, as well as for “good choice”, the aim of the “Roxbury CHOICE Program”!

The Chinese word for “choice” (or for the verb “to choose”) is 選擇/选择. The first word 選/选 means “to pick”, “to select” or “to choose”. The second word 擇/择 also means “to choose” or “to pick,” therefore together the meaning is emphasized 選擇/选择 ”to choose.”