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

“Standing at the museum’s front door, the curator vacillated between grandfatherly delight and juvenile dread as he watched the couple approach with 8 jumping, laughing, shoving children.”

Museums are not playgrounds, unless they are hands-on science centers for children. It follows that childish behavior is not perfectly conducive to the contemplative enjoyment of a museum. In the sentence, the museum official was both pleased and dismayed that the careful environment of the institution was about to be invaded. The writer employed terms of age in describing the opposite emotions coursing through the official. The official’s “delight” at the sight of young visitors was described as “grandfatherly,” whereas his “dread” was described as “juvenile.” The latter adjective has double meaning: Juvenile can refer both to the young age of the children and to the official’s psychological immaturity in believing the happy, youthful crowd spells disaster.
除非是鼓勵兒童自己動手做的科學教育館，否則一般博物館並不是遊樂的地方，因此，要在博物館靜心觀賞展覽，不適合出現稚氣的行為。本句中，博物館長看到一群兒童即將入侵精心維護的場館，心裡感到既高興、又害怕。句子用與年齡有關的辭彙描述館長心頭湧上的兩種相對情緒，以「grandfatherly」（祖父地；慈祥地）形容看到來訪兒童的欣喜，又以「juvenile」（青少年的；幼稚的）形容心中的恐懼。形容詞「juvenile」有雙重含義，既可以指兒童年紀輕，也可以指館長不成熟的心理，因為館長害怕這群青春洋溢的快樂兒童會給博物館帶來一場災難。

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 five 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 Eslite Bookstore and Shopping Mall Gift Certificate. Another Eslite 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，將獲得兩百元誠品圖書商場購物禮卷；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:

“Standing at the museum’s front door, the curator vacillated between __ __ __ __ __ as he watched the couple approach with 8 jumping, laughing, shoving children.”

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.

“The alarm sounded when the first clouds appeared on the horizon, but the mushrooming frenzy didn’t begin until the leading winds began to ripple treetops.”
「第一簇雲朵出現在地平線上時警報響起，但直到風開始沙沙吹動樹梢，狂亂景象才如蘑菇生發般快速滋長。 」

Mushrooms are a fungus. They crop up outdoors, sometimes in vibrant colors of red and green and purple but more often in white and gray. Sometimes they grow in the traditional shape of the “toadstool,” a short stem with a canopy-like top. Some are edible and are considered delicacies. Others are quite toxic, and still others have hallucinatory powers. In addition, some medical applications have been developed as well as several other commercial applications. All in all, the lowly mushroom has an enduring reputation as a spore of delight and danger.
蘑菇這種真菌生長在室外，有些呈紅、綠、紫等鮮豔的顏色，但多半是白色與灰色；有些外型呈典型的傘狀，有短柄與頂蓋；有些是盤中珍饈，有些是有害毒菌，有些甚至能造成幻覺。此外，有些菇經研發具有醫療價值，另外有些則具商業用途。總而言之，蘑菇看似平凡，但不僅歡樂從中萌發，危險也從中滋生。

In writing about “mushrooming frenzy,” the writer is not alluding to toxicity nor to vibrancy of color, but to speed. That is because many types of mushrooms pop up seemingly overnight to astonish a viewer. In fact, they develop rather slowly but expand quickly once their basic structure has been established. Writers often use the speed with which mushrooms grow visible to describe the speed of something else. Hence, the panic of the crowd “mushroomed” when the wind came ashore, even though a lower level of concern had been felt for quite some time.
本句「mushrooming frenzy」（狂亂景象才如蘑菇生發般快速滋長）指的不是毒性、鮮豔的色彩，而是生長速度。許多種類的蘑菇似乎會在一夜間快速生長，看了令人吃驚。事實上，蘑菇發育緩慢，但只要基本結構成熟，就會快速長大。寫作時常以蘑菇肉眼可觀察的生長速度，來比喻其他事情的速度。所以本句形容，群眾即便長期來一直隱隱不安，風吹上岸時，恐慌才「mushroomed」（如蘑菇生發般快速滋長）。

Suggested answer: “As the ship’s crew scurried in panic, the iceberg swiftly closed on the research vessel till the glacial fragment plastered the vessel with a glistening roar.”

There is no shortage of verbs beginning with “p”. In respect to a waterborne vessel being struck by an iceberg, some verbs spring to mind: pierced, punctured, penetrated, pricked, and so on. In writing that the ship was “plastered” by the iceberg, the writer was being faithful to the description of the initial collision, which was described as “a glistening roar.” In other words, the iceberg’s impact was loud and threw up a sheet of water and shards of ice that “glistened.” Thus, the side of the ship was “plastered” with shiny water as well as “plastered” in the sense of being grievously struck. The lesson is to look at a whole sentence in choosing a verb.
以「p」開頭的動詞不少，提到水上遭冰山撞擊的船舶，腦海自然浮現「pierced」（刺穿）、「punctured」（戳穿）、「penetrated」（穿透）、「pricked」（貫穿）等動詞。不過作者卻用「plastered」（覆蓋、猛烈撞擊）一詞，忠實呈現一開始的撞擊，描述為「a glistening roar」（閃耀的巨響），也就是說，冰山撞上船隻發出巨響，激起大片閃耀的水花與碎冰，船隻不僅遭到「猛烈撞擊」（plastered），一側也「覆蓋」（plastered）了閃閃發亮的水花。從這個例子可以知道，選擇動詞必須考量整個句子。

The sentence below is missing a verb. However, the first letter of the verb is provided. Insert a word that starts with the given first letter and best fits the tenor of the sentence, and then defend your word choice in five or fewer words. The first TPS Fan to respond with the judge’s choice of verb—or the most effective alternate verb— will win a ¬¬¬NTD 200 Starbucks Gift Certificate. The name of the winner will be published tomorrow on this TPS Fans page. Good luck!
以下句子缺少動詞，請加入一個最符合句子意思且符合空格開頭字母的動詞，以及五個字以內的理由，我們將提供7-11／星巴克咖啡禮券兩百元，頒給第一位想出最佳解答或是最佳替代字的第1位粉絲。解答與獲獎粉絲姓名將在明天公布於本 TPS 專頁。請將答案寫在下方，幸運兒可能就是你！

題目Contest Sentence:

“As the ship’s crew scurried in panic, the iceberg swiftly closed on the research vessel until the glacial fragment p________ the vessel with a glistening roar.”

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 a happy ending, the chamber orchestra musicians leapt into a movement that took away the breathe of listeners. A piano arpeggio started the movement. The pianist then handed over the piece to the chief violinist for an extended cadenza, who in turn gave it up to the brass section for a crescendoing ending. The affect of these eerily singular, though orchestrated, outbursts from diverse sections of the orchestra was an abandonment of musical tradition and then a welding together of it again in the dramatic ending. It is awesome what talented musicians can do when led by a truly marvelous maestro.

This review or analysis of a orchestral performance does not sing. Indeed, were it graded on its musicality, the writing would be criticized for sometimes being flat, other times slightly off key. It is most dissonant in its misspellings (“breathe” and “affect”). Its imagery of musicians handing over the piece from section to section doesn’t quite work either. In saying that musical “tradition” was abandoned and then welded together again, the writer rather awkwardly mixes metaphors. Finally, the concluding sentence seemed to slog. What else do you see?
這段文章評論分析交響樂團的表演，但本身就五音不全。說真的，若要評斷這段文章的音樂程度，有時太無精打采，有時則有點走音。最刺耳是拚錯字（「breathe」 應為「breath」，「affect」 應為「effect」）。描述吹奏不同樂器的音樂家接力演出時，用的比喻也有點失當，說音樂的「tradition」先是被拋棄，後來又接合在一起，兩個隱喻併用得不怎麼高明。最後，結尾的句子也有點拖沓吃力。你是否還看到其他問題？

Acceptable 認可的文章

“In a surprise ending, the chamber orchestra leapt into a movement that took away the breath of listeners. A piano arpeggio introduced the movement. It seamlessly yielded to an extended cadenza by the chief violinist, which segued into a crescendoing climax by the entire brass section. The effect of these isolated, yet orchestrated, outbursts from diverse stations across the orchestra was a shattering of musical expectations and then a re-fusing of them in the beautiful fireworks of the ending. It is wondrous what talented musicians can do at the drop of a baton.

Corrected sentence:
“Then comes a no-nonsense chairman of the board-making company, hiring and firing of lathe operators a near certainty in the not-too-distant future.”

Understanding this sentence is totally dependent upon punctuation. Without it, the sentence seems to refer to a “chairman of the board.” Such is the power of clichés and familiar phrases to lead readers astray. In fact, placing a hyphen between “board” and “making” changes the character of the sentence, with it suddenly containing a specific reference to a lumber company. Placing a comma after “company” creates a dependent sentence fragment with an assumed verb (being). The other missing punctuation marks are hyphenated compound modifiers “no-nonsense” and “not-too-distant.” This sentence shows how powerfully punctuation can influence reading.
要了解這個句子一定要仰賴標點符號。沒有標點，句子主語似乎是「chairman of the board」（董事長）－ 套語和熟悉的詞彙就是有這種讓人誤解的力量。但在「board」和「making」中間加上連字號後，句子的主語就突然變成某家木材公司。在「company」後面加上逗點，就形成帶有假定動詞 (being) 的附屬子句；「no-nonsense」和「not-too-distant」這兩個複合修飾詞也應該加上連字號。這個句子顯示標點符號對閱讀理解的影響有多大。

Words, like motor vehicles, need signposts and signals to keep them from running together. Punctuation frees words to move readers, to instruct and inspire them. The following example of writing either contains inappropriate punctuation or lacks marks that are needed. Note: The example may contain more than one punctuation error. The first TPS Fan to correct the writing sample as we believe it should be corrected will win a NTD200 eslite bookstore and shopping mall Gift Certificate.
文字就像汽車，需要交通標誌與燈號才不會打結，標點符號可以釋放文字，讓字句能打動、指引、啟發讀者。以下範例可能標點符號不正確，或少了必需的標點符號。注意，句中可能不只有一個標點符號錯誤。最先改正錯誤，並寫出最佳解答的一位 TPS 粉絲，將能贏得兩百元誠品圖書商場購物禮卷。

題目Contest Sentence:

“Then comes a no nonsense chairman of the board making company hiring and firing of lathe operators a near certainty in the not too distant future.”

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.

“The committee was chronically slow in responding to public concerns until protestors began showing up at monthly meetings to badger the committee chairman.”
「該委員會回應大眾疑慮向來反應遲緩，直到抗議人士出現在每月例會上糾纏主席，情況方才改觀。」

Badgers are members of the weasel family that live in burrows and eat grubs and rodents and such. They are not dangerous to larger mammals, or people, unless cornered and then can become quite vicious in their defense. The hair of the badger is commercially popular for use in various brushes. They have short legs perfect for digging but also handy for galloping at a quick pace, which badgers can do for short distances. It is a night hunter. All in all, the badger is a tough little omnivore that has adapted well to various climates and thrives in many of them.
獾是鼬鼠科動物，住在洞穴裡，以蛆蟲和嚙齒類為食。獾對大型哺乳動物和人類不具威脅性，不過若逼急了，在防衛時也相當兇惡。獾的毛很有用處，常用來做各種刷子。獾四肢短小，適合挖洞，也能快跑一小段距離。獾也是夜行性掠食動物。總而言之，獾是強悍的小型雜食類動物，能適應各種氣候，在其中幾種氣候生長良好。

When a person is said to “badger” another person, he is being accused of harassing the other person. The usage came about from the experience of pioneer peoples who found badgers to be noisome creatures. The human response was to trap the animals and set dogs upon them. They thus harassed the badgers, usually unto death. The term now is generally used to describe people who persistently harass someone. Such people seem not to know when enough is enough and insist on making a point ad nauseam. Note: Persisting is a good thing, badgering is not.
若說某人「badger」（糾纏）別人，意思是說他騷擾對方。該用法來自墾殖先民的經驗，他們發現獾是種惹人厭的動物。於是設陷阱捕捉，放狗去咬。被狗糾纏的獾通常會被咬死。「Badger」這個詞現在多用來形容某人騷擾他人，不知適可而止，鬧個不休，令人生厭。注意，持續不懈是好事，但持續不懈的騷擾可就不受歡迎了。

Correct best answer: Replace “Medea” with “media.”

“The document was shredded as directed by the Chief Executive Officer, yet the explosive contents somehow survived to be blown up by print and broadcast media.”

The murderess from Greek mythology, Medea, would have felt right at home blowing up something, but the allusion to her in this sentence otherwise makes no sense. On the other hand, “media” are known for their zeal in publicizing sensitive, private documents. Such misuse of a word can happen quite accidentally, perhaps when a recently-read word floating in the recesses of your mind is inadvertently inserted. Or it can happen from not knowing how to spell. Either way, a reader is stopped in his tracks. A second pair of eyes usually would catch this slip-up.
「Medea」是希臘神話中的女殺手，要她炸毀東西可說是輕鬆自如，不過在這個句子裡用她的典故卻有點說不通。而「media」（媒體）樂於散佈敏感、私人的內容，又是眾所周知的。這類詞彙的誤用，可能是無意間發生的，或許是不久前讀過的詞彙從心靈深處冒出腦海，不小心用到句子裡，也可能是因為不曉得詞彙怎麼拚寫，無論哪一種都會打斷閱讀。找另一個人檢查，就能避免這種錯誤。