TPS News

Suggested answer: “The arborist dug the hole deeper than required and filled the bottom with the organic fertilizer that would stem the dormancy of the sapling.”

Bare-rooted young trees don’t die if kept relatively moist, but neither do they thrive. To stir new life and encourage rooting, gardeners and professional landscapers who transplant trees usually place fertilizers in the soil beneath the tree roots. The stimulant brings new growth and rooting. The writer uses the word “stem” advisedly. It describes a part of a plant, of course. When used as a verb, it means to slow or halt something. In this case, the arborist wants to slow the dormancy and start growth. Another word—stop, perhaps—might have been used, but not as pertinently.
根部裸露的小樹如果保持濕潤並不會枯死，但也無法生長茁壯。園藝家和專業庭園設計師移植樹木時，為促進植物新生、幫助根部生長，通常會在樹根底部放置肥料，以刺激生長與生根。作者用 “stem”（莖）一詞其實別有用意。顯然，stem 是植物的一部分，當動詞用時，則表示減緩或抑制某件事。本句中，植樹的人是要減緩植物的休眠狀態，啟動生長。諸如 stop 等的其他詞彙就沒有這麼貼切。

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:

“The arborist dug the hole deeper than required and filled the bottom with the organic fertilizer that would s________ the dormancy of the sapling.”

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 lead ballet dancer maintained his graceful arabesque as the company of female dancers pirouetted around him like spintops in a toy store window.”
「芭蕾舞男主角保持優雅的阿拉貝斯克舞姿，四周圍繞的女舞者踮起趾尖旋轉，就像玩具店櫥窗裡的陀螺。」

Spintops, or tops, are toys that entrance children with their ability to maintain their equilibrium while turning rapidly in place. The technical wizardry of the simple toy is keyed to gyroscopic principles that were scientifically explained in the 19th century, but as a toy it has been around since ancient times. What is intriguing, especially to young people, is the spintop’s ability to turn so rapidly in place that it almost appears to be standing unmoving. It is mass- produced in a variety of forms today and spinning is induced in a variety of ways.
“Spintop”（陀螺）是兒童喜歡的一種玩具，能在原地快速旋轉又保持平衡。這種簡單玩具令人著迷的原理，與十九世紀時闡述的陀螺儀原理有很大的關係，但早在古時這種玩具就已隨處可見。陀螺最特別的地方，尤其對小孩來說，就是能在原地快速打轉，看來幾乎是直立不動。如今，各種陀螺大量製造，旋轉方式各有不同。

The pirouette is one of the better known ballet movements. In it, a dancer elevates to a vertical position on the toe of one ballet shoe, drawing up the other leg and placing the raised foot next to the supporting leg as the spin begins. In comparing pirouetting dancers to spintops, the writer draws upon the universal familiarity with tops to describe the less familiar action of the dancers. That the tops are said to be spinning in a toy store window helps to convey the impression of public performance. Using the familiar to depict the unfamiliar is a good writing habit.
趾尖旋轉 (pirouette) 則是一種常見的芭蕾舞姿。表演時，舞者抽身直立，踮著一腳的腳趾，提起另一腳靠著支撐腳，開始旋轉。本句將進行趾尖旋轉的舞者比喻為陀螺，用大家普遍熟悉的陀螺，形容較陌生的舞姿。文中提到陀螺在玩具店櫥窗旋轉，也傳達了公開表演的感覺。用熟悉描寫不熟悉是寫作的好習慣。

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

“Jean Piaget’s analysis of the cognitive development of children startled his esteemed colleagues in the same way a precocious child startles his teachers.”

Children are the theme of the sentence, the study of them by a researcher who began by studying his own children. His conclusions were ground-breaking in their perspective, though when seen in hindsight were quickly accepted as genuine insights into intellectual development. To give the sentence cohesion, a natural choice is to finish it in references to childhood intellect. Thus, we pull the sentence together by comparing the relationship of the researcher and his professional colleagues to that of a child with mature brainpower and his teacher. Compatible imagery can help unify a sentence for a reader.
本句的主題是兒童，討論皮亞傑對兒童的研究，他的研究先從自已的小孩開始，研究結論在觀點上極具突破性，雖然以後見之明來看，這些觀點確實是對智力發展了不起的見解，現在很容易就能接受。要讓句子保持凝聚力，結尾自然要提到兒童的智力。因此，這裡用智力早熟的兒童和老師的關係，比擬皮亞傑與學術同儕的關係，結合整個句子。適切的比喻有助讀者統合句子。

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7-11／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:

“Jean Piaget’s analysis of the cognitive development of children startled his esteemed colleagues in the same way a __ __ __ __ __.”

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

“The group of gorillas was made up of an old silverback, two blackback males, five women gorillas, and four little gorillas. The harmony of the little group was dependent upon the strength and dominion of the silverback. How he got along with the females was a big key to the troop’s unity. So long as the blackbacks paid their dues to the silverback, the troop functioned pretty well as an integrated family, community, and economy. It probably would continue to do so until the silverback died; that’s when the females would look for a new group and a new leader.”

This writer slips in and out of compliance with academic writing standards in the paragraph on gorillas. He writes lazily to some degree—redundantly calling a silverback “old,” calling female gorillas “women,” and referring to young gorillas as “little,” for instance. He incorrectly uses dominion, instead of dominance. It is a stretch to call a family an “economy,” though it is an economic unit. The writer goes colloquial with “paid their dues,” and drops in a contraction, “that’s.” What other evidence do you see that this draft shouldn’t be the final one?
本文談論大猩猩，寫作方面與學術標準時有出入，有點漫不經心，例如多此一舉地用 old 來形容 silverback（12 歲以上的大猩猩），稱雌猩猩 (female gorillas) 為 “women gorillas”，稱年幼的猩猩為 “little gorillas”，並把dominance 誤寫成 dominion。此外，儘管大猩猩家族確實會一起覓食謀生，稱之為 “economy”（經濟體）卻有點誇大了。部分用法也較口語，例如 “paid their dues”（苦熬），用縮寫 “that’s”。這篇文章只有草稿的水準，還稱不上定稿，你舉得出其他例子嗎？

Acceptable 認可的文章

“The troop of gorillas was comprised of an aging silverback, two blackbacks (or younger males), five females, and four offspring. The harmony of the group depended upon the strength and dominance of the silverback; his relationship with the females was the key to the troop’s unity. So long as the blackbacks remained subservient to the silverback, the troop functioned well as an integrated family, community, and subsistence unit. It would continue to do so, in all likelihood, till the silverback died, at which point the females would look for a new leader.”

Correct best answer: Replace “revolve” with “resolve.”

“X-ray in one hand and coffee cup in the other, the neurological researcher paced round and round the light table with new determination to resolve the mystery.”

The original sentence is doubly confusing because the errant word, “revolve,” seems to agree with the described action, the neurologist pacing “round and round” the table. That is coincidence and sometimes such happenstance can help to unhinge a sentence. Sometimes, in fact, a phrase written earlier in a sentence can distract a tired writer enough to cause him to write in agreement with his distraction. Obviously, this doctor is in search of a resolution, not a revolution. To avoid such thoroughly confusing mistakes is the task of a paper’s proofreader.
原句令人相當不解，是因為用了別字 “revolve”（打轉），句子前半描述神經學家繞著桌子 “round and round”（一圈圈地打轉），此字似乎和這個動作配合一致。這是個巧合，這種巧合有時卻會打亂句子。有時候作者寫累了，會受到句子前半部份影響，分神寫岔了後半的句子。很顯然，句中神經學家要找的是解答 (resolution)，而不是改革 (revolution)。要徹底避免這類令人困擾的錯誤，就有勞審校的功夫了。

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7-11/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:
“X-ray in one hand and coffee cup in the other, the neurological researcher paced round and round the light table with new determination to revolve the mystery.”

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 chiropractor gently prodded upward along the center of the man’s back till she reached a misshapen vertebra that caused a chill to run down her spine.”
「脊柱按摩師循著男子的脊背輕輕向上推，觸及一塊變形的脊椎時，她的脊椎一陣發冷。」

A “chill” in its original meaning refers to a feeling of coldness, an abrupt sensation that seems to surprise the senses. An outside door opened on a blustery winter day causes us to feel a chill that raises goose bumps on our arms and causes us to shiver involuntarily. It is not generally an enduring condition; if we are chilled for any length of time, we are said to be cold. Being chilled also generally is a disagreeable feeling; when a drop in temperature is felt to be pleasurable, we are said to be cooled. Cool, chill, cold, and frozen are somewhat different sensory experiences.
“Chill”（發冷）原指一股突如其來的寒意。狂風大作時若外門敞開，會讓人一陣發冷，手臂起雞皮疙瘩，不由自主地打冷顫。這股感覺通常不會持續很久，否則我們會覺得「寒冷」。發冷通常也是不舒服的感覺，若溫度下降讓人感覺舒適，我們會覺得「涼爽」。涼爽、發冷、寒冷、冰冷這幾種感覺有點不同。

When the chiropractor felt a “chill” run along her spine, her body was not reacting to a drop in temperature. Rather, she had discovered a physical condition in her patient that startled her and brought her a flush of anxiety. A chill in this popular usage originates internally, in the brain, rather than externally. A natural response to such low-key shock is an interrupted breathing pattern and, perhaps, a nervous shudder. That the anxious jolt was described as a “chill” that ran down her spine is, of course, a cliché, but a usefully ironic one, because another spine caused it.
脊柱按摩師感覺脊椎一陣發冷，並非因為溫度降低，而是發現患者的身體有問題，嚇了一跳，引發一陣焦慮。在此發冷不是因為外在因素，而是來自體內，源自大腦，這種形容方式很常見。發冷是種微微吃驚的感覺，通常會造成呼吸不穩，也可能讓人緊張得發抖。以「她的脊椎一陣發冷」形容突來的焦慮，這種形容確實屢見不鮮，但由於這股寒意是由另一條脊椎引起，所以頗有諷刺效果。

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

“Great Chinese pen and oil artists have, from time immemorial, displayed good understanding of nature and natural forms, including all kinds of animals. Sometimes their art told haunting stories; sometimes an art piece was a wondrous and beautiful vignette of nature. Among many examples of this were many of Hsu Hsi’s artful nature reproductions. On the other hand, Chin T’ingpiao’s art seemed to be a narrative, combining nature and human bodies in a retelling of a great moment in history. The sensibility of the artists was awesome, and their brushes and pencils created super art.”

This snippet of analysis of Chinese artistry, as written above, is weakened by sweeping language and lapses into glib, conversational word choices. The very first word, “great,” is questionable because it excludes so many other artists. “Time immemorial” is a cliché. What exactly is “good” understanding? How much art work actually conveys “haunting” stories? Not enough to mention, I suspect. What is a “great” moment in history? And the last sentence employs both “awesome” and “super” and how neat is that! All in all, a poor effort.
以上這段短文分析中國的藝術，缺點在用字太過籠統，而且流於敷衍隨便。首先，第一個字 “great” 就有問題，這讓討論排除了其他很多藝術家。“Time immemorial”（遠古時代）是陳詞濫調了，而 “good understanding”（非常了解）究竟有多了解？多少作品真的傳達了 “haunting”（令人難忘）的故事？恐怕不多吧。史上 “great”（偉大）的時刻是指什麼？最後一句又用了 “awesome”（了不起）與 “super”（出色）兩個字，未免太馬虎了！總而言之，這段文章就是寫作不用心。

Acceptable 認可的文章

“Chinese pen and oil artists have, from the earliest dynastic periods, displayed a delicate understanding of nature and natural forms, including animal life. Sometimes the silken art told stories; more often an art piece was a brilliantly isolated and captured vignette of nature. Among examples of this were many of Hsu Hsi’s colorful nature drawings, whereas Chin T’ingpiao’s art was apt to have a narrative quality, combining natural scenes and human figures in a retelling of history. In all cases, the artists’ sensibility greatly enhanced what brush and pencil rendered.”