TPS News

Correct best answer: Replace “meakly” with “meekly.”

“Whatever happened,” the monk meekly asked, “to virtue, to integrity, to the reckless idea that selflessness cuts a wider swath through life than does self-centeredness?”

Monks generally are meek. They are not meak, which is a hook attached to a long handle. It is possible the writer was suggesting that the inquiring religious leader meant his statement to be a hook with which he might drag his listener into a more virtuous lifestyle. But that is too obscure to be effective language. To be meek is to be slow to react to a personal affront, to patiently endure, to be quietly wise. These markers generally characterize monks and many other religious leaders. While a poor speller might not have noticed the word difference, that is no excuse.
僧侶通常很 meek（溫順）；他們並不是 meak（長柄鉤）。作者可能想暗示，這位提問僧侶的話，就像一把鉤子，可以鉤住聽者，將他們帶往更有美德的生活方式。但這種用法太隱晦，難以理解。溫順表示對加諸個人的羞辱不會迅速反應，耐心容忍，並有沉靜的智慧。僧侶與許多其他宗教領袖多半都有這些特質。拼字技巧拙劣的人大概沒有注意到這兩個字的差別，不能找藉口。