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No formula exists for the writing of a superior sentence, but this much is known: The best sentence has no weak part. The following sentence is incomplete. In 5 or fewer words, complete the sentence in a way that strengthens the whole of it. The first TPS Fan to complete the sentence as we believe it is best completed will win a NTD200 7-11 / Starbucks Gift Certificate. Another Starbucks certificate will be awarded to the first Fan to complete it in an alternate way that, in our estimation, also is effective. The explanation and the names of the winners will be published tomorrow on this TPS Fans page.
怎麼寫出好句子沒有標準答案，不過起碼我們知道，優秀的句子每個環節都很完美。下面有一句未完成的句子，請用五個字以內完成句子接龍，寫出完整的句子。最先完成句子，並寫出最佳解答的一位TPS 粉絲，將獲得兩百元統一超商／星巴克禮券；另增設特別獎一名，頒給符合文意又別具創意的粉絲。接龍解答與獲獎粉絲姓名將在明天公布於本 TPS 專頁，敬請密切鎖定、先睹為快！

題目Contest Sentence:

“The transference of feelings toward his psychologist was strong because of her physical likeness to his mother, and he listened raptly each session like ___ ___ ___ ___ ___.”

並非所有與學術議題相關的文章，就能稱之為「學術文章」。本篇專欄將節錄不同學術議題的內容，分析常見的寫作錯誤，並分享潤修與寫作的技巧。
Not all articles written on academic topics are written in proper academic English. In this "This is not academic writing" column we examine short excerpts from academic texts to illustrate common writing errors and explain how to correct them.

Unacceptable 不被認可的文章

“In driving around the outback, the geological expedition skirted past vast sheep and cattle grazing regions and concentrated instead on major iron and manganese mining companies and opal mines. No petroleum oil-producing areas were encountered in their travel. The group’s mineral exploration was confined to visual surveys. Occasionally they pulled out their technical gear to confirm the identity of a rock or soil. Perhaps the expedition’s most dramatic single moment occurred when a band of brumbies, or wild horses, galloped at night through the group’s encampment, caused by a dingo attack on the other side of a nearby hill. The group was nonplussed but unhurt.”

This piece on a geological foray into the challenging center of Australia suffers from redundancies, wordiness, and a grammatical error. It opens with a colloquial statement—“In driving around the outback…” which suggests the region was passed by, rather than entered. Similar fumbling about place occurs later in the sentence in use of the redundant “skirted past.” Skirting, after all, implies avoidance. Also redundant is “petroleum oil…” The “pulled out” terminology a little further along is a too-casual description. And in the next to last sentence, the phrase beginning “caused by a dingo attack…” seems to refer to encampment, when it actually alludes to the galloping horses. What other awkward or wordy writing do you see?
本段文章描述在澳洲險惡的內陸作地質探訪，文字多餘、冗贅，還有文法錯誤。開頭第一句 “In driving around the outback…”（在內陸地區繞）表達偏口語，且暗指探險隊沒有深入該地，只是繞過而已。句子稍後的 “skirted past” 不僅冗贅也有類似的錯誤，追究起來，skirt（繞過）有「避開」的意思。另外 “petroleum oil…” 也是冗贅的說法，兩字擇一即可。“Pulled out” 一句敘述也不夠正式。從下一句到最後一句，“caused by a dingo attack…”（因野狗攻擊造成…）開頭的子句，看起來好像野狗攻擊的是營地，但實際上野狗攻擊的應該是野馬，而使野馬狂奔。你還發現了其他不理想或冗贅的用法嗎？

Acceptable 認可的文章

“In traversing the outback, the geological expedition skirted vast sheep and cattle grazing regions and concentrated instead on major iron and manganese mining operations and opal mines. No petroleum-producing areas were encountered in their travel. The group’s mineral exploration was confined to visual surveys, with occasional resorts to technical gear to confirm the identity of a rock or soil. Perhaps the expedition’s most dramatic moment occurred when a band of brumbies, or wild horses, galloped at night through the group’s encampment, the animals apparently fleeing from a dingo attack beyond a nearby hill. The group was nonplussed but unhurt.”

Correct best answer: Replace “burley” with “burly.”

“The old farmer parked his tractor next to the field of flax and climbed nimbly from the machine, his burly frame alighting with practiced grace.”

“Burley” and “burly” sound exactly alike and almost are spelled the same. Yet there is a world of difference between them. “Burley” is a kind of air-cured tobacco that contains less nicotine than some darker varieties of tobacco. Because burley is a farm product, the writer might have had a mental lapse in the course of writing a piece about an agricultural activity, accidentally typing burley instead of “burly,” which describes a person of strong and heavy build. Or perhaps it was just a spelling error. Any word that a writer uses infrequently always should be double-checked to avoid embarrassing episodes of word confusion.
“Burley”（白肋菸草）與 “burly”（魁梧的）發音相同，拼法也非常相似，但還是有一個字母不同。“Burley” 是一種煙燻處理過的菸草，尼古丁比一般深色菸草少。因為白肋菸草是農產品，作者可能在描述農業活動時，一時失誤，不慎將 burly 打成 burley，而 “burly” 是形容一個人體格強壯厚實。也可能作者就只是拼錯字了。若使用自己不常用的字，切記多檢查幾次，以免寫錯出糗。

撰寫學術文章時，每字每句都需要謹慎著墨。改變幾個字就會使完整的一句話變得令人摸不著頭緒。下列的句子中，為使這句話能完整且有意義的表達，請選出你認為會令人感到困惑的字，我們將提供統一超商/星巴克咖啡NTD200元禮券，給予挑出混淆字，並寫出最佳替代字的第1位粉絲，最適的解答與獲獎的粉絲姓名，將於明天公佈於本TPS的專頁。請將你的答案寫在下方，獲得免費購物禮券的幸運兒可能就是你哦!
Every word is important in a well-written academic paper. Changing just a word or two can turn a clear sentence into a confusing one. Tell us what word you would change in the following puzzling sentence to render it more meaningful. The first best answer will receive a NTD200 7-11/Starbucks Gift Certificate.

題目Contest Sentence:
“The old farmer parked his tractor next to the field of flax and climbed nimbly from the machine, his burley frame alighting with practiced grace.”

很多字詞並非表面所見的意思，字詞的組合會產生不同的解釋。這樣的慣用法，我們稱之為「比喻」。一個成功的比喻，作者本身必須相當瞭解字詞的源起。以下的句子為讀者介紹一個比喻及其來源。
Imagery buries itself in language and takes on new meaning. The transplanted and transformed sets of words are called “figures of speech.” For a figure of speech to be effective, however, a writer must first understand the original meaning of the phrase. The following sentence contains a common figure of speech. Its original meaning is explained.

“Unable to wait, the docent jumped the gun and began his museum tour before the last of the tourists got off the bus.”
「導覽員迫不及待，最後一位觀光客還沒下遊覽車，就先偷跑而開始介紹博物館。」

“Jumped the gun” is a phrase originating in the sports world, specifically, in track and field competition. Some foot races are started by a race official pointing skyward a gun loaded with blanks and pulling the trigger. The runners can leave their blocks or the starting line upon hearing the blast. Should a runner try to anticipate the shot and inadvertently start running too soon, the gun is fired again to cancel the first firing. The errant runner than is disqualified from the race, which is restarted. Thus, jumping the gun connotes doing something too quickly.
“Jumped the gun”（偷跑）源自運動用語，特別用於田徑比賽。有些賽跑須由裁判拿了裝空包彈的槍，對空鳴槍，表示比賽開始，選手聽到槍響，才可以從起跑台或起跑線出發。如果選手估計槍響時間，不小心太早起跑，裁判就會再度對空鳴槍，取消第一次起跑；先跑的選手會被取消資格，比賽重新開始。因此，“jump the gun” 有倉促採取行動的涵義。

In the sentence above, a museum tour guide is said to have jumped the gun. Obviously, this is not literally true, no weapon having been fired, shattering the museum’s tranquility. Rather, the anxious docent, perhaps worrying about completing his tour on schedule, begins it before the last of the tour participants to be on the tour has arrived. This use of the “gun” figure of speech is apt because it accurately conveys the idea of a premature start that undoubtedly will not end well for the docent, nor for the disappointed tourists.
以上句子形容博物館導覽員 “jumped the gun”，顯然並非字面上的意思，因為並沒有裁判對空鳴槍，劃破博物館寧靜的氣氛。應該是解說員心裡焦急，可能擔心不能及時完成導覽，所以在參加導覽的觀光客還沒到齊前就先開始解說了。用 “gun” 形容解說很貼切，確實傳達出一場倉促開始的講解，無論對解說員或失望的觀光客來說，想必效果都不理想。

Answer: We believe the sentence is best completed this way:

“The statue of the giant seated Buddha in Sichuan Province exudes a peacefulness quite unlike the nearby river waters, which insidiously tumble and boil.”

Those four words complete the sentence on several levels. First, the sentence is intended to showcase contrasts, and the four words succeed in contrasting the calming presence of the Buddha with the constant roil of the river water. The Buddha is comfortably seated and silently peering down on water that, by contrast, is tumbling and boiling. Not only is the moving water agitatedly alive, readers are told it is moving “insidiously.” “Insidious” denotes threat, seduction and corrosion, all qualities that are foreign to the unworldly realm of Buddhism. Lesson: By choosing words carefully, tension in a sentence can be created or resolved.
填上這四個字，讓句子在各層次上都更加完整。首先，本句意欲呈現對比，這四個字讓平靜的臥佛與不停翻攪的河水間產生對比，臥佛安祥端坐，靜靜俯視腳下洶湧翻騰的河水，兩者互相對照。此外，河水不僅翻攪奔騰，而且暗潮洶湧。“Insidious” （暗自）帶有威脅、誘惑與侵入的含意，與臥佛超凡脫俗的境界大異其趣。由此可知，注意遣詞用字，便能適時創造或消除句子的張力。

No formula exists for the writing of a superior sentence, but this much is known: The best sentence has no weak part. The following sentence is incomplete. In 5 or fewer words, complete the sentence in a way that strengthens the whole of it. The first TPS Fan to complete the sentence as we believe it is best completed will win a NTD200 7-11 / Starbucks Gift Certificate. Another Starbucks certificate will be awarded to the first Fan to complete it in an alternate way that, in our estimation, also is effective. The explanation and the names of the winners will be published tomorrow on this TPS Fans page.
怎麼寫出好句子沒有標準答案，不過起碼我們知道，優秀的句子每個環節都很完美。下面有一句未完成的句子，請用五個字以內完成句子接龍，寫出完整的句子。最先完成句子，並寫出最佳解答的一位TPS 粉絲，將獲得兩百元統一超商／星巴克禮券；另增設特別獎一名，頒給符合文意又別具創意的粉絲。接龍解答與獲獎粉絲姓名將在明天公布於本 TPS 專頁，敬請密切鎖定、先睹為快！

題目Contest Sentence:

“The statue of the giant seated Buddha in Sichuan Province exudes a peacefulness quite unlike the nearby river waters, which ____ ____ ____ ____ ____.”

並非所有與學術議題相關的文章，就能稱之為「學術文章」。本篇專欄將節錄不同學術議題的內容，分析常見的寫作錯誤，並分享潤修與寫作的技巧。
Not all articles written on academic topics are written in proper academic English. In this "This is not academic writing" column we examine short excerpts from academic texts to illustrate common writing errors and explain how to correct them.

Unacceptable 不被認可的文章

“Figuring out the value of objects required that some system of value first be set by someone. This occurred when “value” began to be represented by objects besides the items being valued. In other words, a representation of value—coins and paper money—began to be subbed for actual valued property—a cow, a house, a cloak. In this way did “monetary systems” come into being, replacing the bartering of trade goods like tea and the swapping of prized possessions. Jurisdictions began to give monetary values to things and to make metal and paper money that could be exchanged the same everywhere. This fixed value let people accumulate wealth in money alone.”

While this excerpt about the beginning of monetary systems is interesting, it also illustrates failure to polish a first or second draft. By settling for this version, the writer fell short of producing a finished paper. The flaws begin with the first two words—“figuring out”—which are a colloquial expression of the more erudite “determining.” The entire first sentence is awkwardly constructed, inexact, and wordy. The writer also puts quotation marks around words for no apparent reason; no one is being quoted and the words do not need setting apart. Toward the end of the excerpt, the writer writes about monetary value being given to “things.” Beware: “Thing” is a catch-all word, which is by definition imprecise. Use it carefully, if at all.
本段文章討論貨幣制度的源起，內容有趣，但品質介於初稿或第二版草稿，必須多加修改才能定稿。一開始的兩個字 “figuring out”（搞清楚）就有問題，這種說法較為口語，不如較為正式的 “determining”（確定）。第一個句子整體結構不理想、敘述不精確，而且用字冗贅。在 “value” 兩字加上引號也不明所以，此處並未引述他人說法，也沒有必要特別區隔。本段最後一句描述 “things”（東西）有了價格，請注意，“thing” 是個泛稱，本身含意就不精確，如果使用就必須多加留心。

Acceptable 認可的文章

“Determining the value of objects first required invention of a value system. This occurred when value itself began to be represented by objects other than the items being valued. In other words, a representation of value—coins and paper money—began to be substituted for actual valued property—a cow, a house, a cloak. Thus, monetary systems came into being, supplanting bartering of trade goods and swapping of individual pieces of property. Cities and states began to establish uniform monetary values and to produce metal and paper money for exchange at a fixed rate. These assigned values permitted the accumulation of wealth in money alone.”

Answer: “abstinence” should be “absence”

“Tracking the temperature of the sea’s surface is made more difficult by the absence of up-to-date monitoring stations that work in tandem with satellite surveys.”

Error: The writer absentmindedly wrote one word when he meant to use another word of similar spelling. Tracking the sea temperature is hindered by the “absence,” not “abstinence,” of modern monitoring stations. Absence refers to something that is missing or nonexistent. Abstinence is the voluntary decision to abstain from doing something, from satisfying a craving. Monitoring stations don’t abstain, whereas they might be nonexistent. Using wrong words is easily done and a cursory reading will not reveal the errors. This is why a critical final reading of an academic paper—preferably by someone other than the writer—before its submission can save the writer from embarrassment.
作者寫作時一不留神，誤把一個詞寫成拼法相近的另一個詞。紀錄海水溫度之所以困難重重，是因為 “absence”（缺乏）現代的監測站，而非 “abstinence”（戒絕）監測站。“Absence” 意指缺乏或不存在某種東西，“abstinence” 則指自願放棄做一件事，不去滿足強烈的渴望。監測站不會「戒絕」什麼事，它可能根本不存在。寫作時錯字難免，只大略讀過也很難發現，所以送出學術文章前，要最後再仔細讀過一遍，最好是由作者以外的人來讀，以免犯錯出糗。

下列的句子中，包含了一個錯誤，可能是文法、拼法或是標點符號的錯誤。我們將提供統一超商/星巴克咖啡NTD200元的購物禮券，給予今天前三名挑出正確錯誤、寫出正確答案的粉絲。正確的解答與獲獎的粉絲姓名，將於明天公佈於本TPS的專頁。請將你的答案寫在下方，獲得免費購物禮券的幸運兒可能就是你哦!
The sentence below contains 1 grammatical, spelling and/or punctuation error. The first three (3) TPS Fans to respond with the corrected sentence will win a NTD200 7-11/Starbucks Gift Certificate. The corrected sentence and the names of the winners will be published tomorrow on this TPS Fans page. Please post your answers below. Good luck!

題目Contest Sentence:

“Tracking the temperature of the sea’s surface is made more difficult by the abstinence of up-to-date monitoring stations that work in tandem with satellite surveys.”