TPS News

Correct best answer: Replace “excepted” with “accepted.”

“The publication of a book by a new author is a noteworthy event, because the odds of having a manuscript accepted are tantamount to winning a lottery… twice.”

Simple slip-ups can be simply excruciating to read. The writer of this passage unwittingly substituted “excepted” for “accepted” and turned the sentence upside down. Instead of a new book being welcomed by a publisher, it was excluded. Errant substitution of one word for another also injures the writing when the words are similar but different; in that case, the reader takes away a similar but different meaning than was intended. The solution always is to re-read a paper critically and, when possible, to have someone else read the paper, too. Better that a peer find an incorrect word than that a professor discover it. Friends don’t use red pencils.
一個小小的筆誤可能讓文章變得不忍卒睹。作者無意間把 “accepted” 寫成 “excepted”，結果意思完全相反，原本想說新書受到出版社賞識，卻變成被出版社拒絕。有時，如果用了一個相似但不完全相同的詞彙，讀者理解的語意也會與原本的意思有點不同。解決之道就是仔細重讀自己的文章，也可以請另一個人再讀一次。錯字被朋友找出來，總比被教授挑出來好得多，起碼朋友不會用紅筆改你的錯字。