TPS News

Suggested answer: “His son, tall and bulky, reminded him of a walrus, swaying through the crowd like a ponderous and graceful pendulum.”

Something “tall and bulky” doesn’t always bring to mind the adjective “graceful.” Yet the biggest animals on the planet, such as elephants and whales, move through their respective realms with amazing grace. The father watching his larger son move was taken by the slippery way his son made his way through oncoming walkers. In fact, “slipping” would not be a bad choice of verb. Yet “swaying” captures both the idea of unimpeded movement and the sideways motion of a blubbery animal undulating along, lifting and dropping its massive shoulders and dragging itself forward. Other possible “s” words in this situation are shifting and swerving.
談到「高大笨重」，一般可無法和「優雅」這個形容詞作出聯想。不過像是大象和鯨魚等地球上最大的生物，牠們在各自領域中的動作可謂優雅自得。句中父親觀看體型結實的兒子移動，非常驚訝他的兒子竟能在迎面而來的人潮中滑不溜丟地通過。事實上，「slipping」這個動詞頗為合適，不過卻不若「swaying」一般，能精確描寫流暢的動作，彷彿一隻肥碩的動物正左搖右晃，拖著龐大身軀前進。其他「s」開頭的適用字還有「shifting」和「swerving」。