TPS News

Correct best answer: Replace “flouts” with “flutes.”

“From the flutes of Ling Lun to the mental compositions of Ludwig Van Beethoven, the arc of classical music has played across the ages in perfect harmony.”

Ling Lun is traditionally credited with creating the standard pitch to which all instruments in China were tuned. Beethoven was the 18th century European composer who was said to compose orchestrations in his head. Neither man was in the habit of jeering less fortunate peers, yet the confusing uncorrected sentence speaks of Ling Lun’s “flouts,” or jeers. A quick reading of legend clarifies that Lun set the standard pitch using hollowed bamboo “flutes.” A spell check wouldn’t catch this error; logic and a little research would. Always re-read with brain engaged.
傳說伶倫制定音階，成為所有中國樂器依循的標準；貝多芬則是十八世紀歐洲作曲家，據說他能在腦海中譜寫交響曲。這兩人都不會嘲弄沒那麼幸運的同輩，但這個句子卻用錯了詞，誤把伶倫說成會 “flouts”（蔑視）、嘲笑他人。稍微讀過傳說就會曉得，伶倫是用空心的 “flutes”（竹笛）建立音階。雖然拼字檢查不會發現這個錯誤，但運用邏輯並稍微研究一下就能發現。寫完文章一定要花心思重新讀過。