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下列的句子中，包含了一個錯誤，可能是文法、拼法或是標點符號的錯誤。我們將提供統一超商/星巴克咖啡NTD200元的購物禮券，給予今天前三名挑出正確錯誤、寫出正確答案的粉絲。正確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!
The sentence below contains 1 grammatical, spelling and/or punctuation error. The first three (3) TPS Fans to respond with the corrected sentence will win a NTD200 7-11/Starbucks Gift Certificate. The corrected sentence and the names of the winners will be published tomorrow on this TPS Fans page. Please post your answers below. Good luck!

題目Contest Sentence:

“Tracking the temperature of the sea’s surface is made more difficult by the abstinence of up-to-date monitoring stations that work in tandem with satellite surveys.”

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.

“Developed sometime between the appearance of the Phoenician and Latin alphabets, the Greek system of written language is a shard of a living civilization.”
「希臘文字由腓尼基文字與拉丁字母發展而來，外型有時介於兩者之間，是活文明的碎片。」

A “shard” most often is used as an archaeological expression and refers to any piece of pottery found at an archaeological dig. The method of manufacture, design, and surface decoration of the piece of pottery gives scientists clues about a society, including its ability to construct useful utensils, its advancement as a social order, and its level of artistry. While “shard” also has a more general meaning as a fragment of a breakable object, the word most often is used in the archaeological sense.
“Shard”（碎片）通常是考古用語，意指出土於古代遺址的陶器碎片。陶器製造的方式、設計以及表面裝飾，能讓考古學家一窺當時的社會，明白彼時製造用具的能力，以及社會制度與藝術程度的發展。雖然 “shard” 也可以指一般物體的碎片，但通常用在考古上。

The sentence about languages uses “shard” in a metaphorical and ironic sense. First, languages are not made of clay, so they cannot fracture into pieces. However, individual letters and words can said to be fragments of a language, so it is obliquely relevant. Second, the Greek civilization still exists; therefore, while the language is a link to antiquity, it also has currency in modern Greece. This explains the otherwise curious phrase, “a shard of a living civilization.” Using familiar words in unfamiliar ways gives language a liveliness that captures readers.
本例句討論語言，“shard” 一詞既是隱喻，也是奇言巧思。首先，語言不是陶土製成，不會破碎成一片片，但是個別文字與詞語可說是語言的片段，所以換個角度來看確實說得通。其次，希臘文明如今依然存在，雖然希臘文字讓人聯想到古代，但也在現代希臘社會普遍使用。如此一來，原先有點奇特的片語 “a shard of a living civilization”（活文明的碎片）就解釋得通了。如果能以別出心裁的方式使用熟悉的詞彙，語言就能生動活潑，吸引讀者注意。

TPS的編輯教授在此歡迎關於學術文章的所有詢問，當然，其實他並沒有足夠的時間給你。他擁有終身教職的教授身份，也是著名的學術巨作作者。即便如此，他仍大方地接受你們的詢問。將關於學術方面的詢問寫在下方，你將獲得教授的親自指導，陶冶對學術的探索與啟發。
The professor awaits your query on academic writing, though in all honesty, he doesn’t have a lot of time for you. He is a tenured full professor and working on yet another magnificent academic tome. Even so, he has graciously consented to entertain your question. Submit it and prepare to be edified.

QUESTION: As a student of social science, I try to see how the thread of a society extends from the past into the future. The past and present are not difficult for me to write about, but I am nervous about making conclusions about the future. Are there any guidelines for applying social theories to future conduct of a society?
我讀的是社會科學，我想知道社會的脈絡如何從過去貫穿到未來。對我來說，討論過去與現在不難，但我不太敢推論未來。有沒有什麼方法，可以指引我們將社會理論應用到未來社會的行為模式？

The closest I come to being a social scientist is mixing it up in cocktail gatherings—where there always are some interesting observations to be made, though nothing of academic significance. Anyway, I will answer your question as a fellow scholar rather than as a colleague in the social sciences. The question really is about extrapolation, a big word that describes a process wherein known data or experience is projected into an unknown area. By so doing, you really are crossing over into conjecture. Therefore, only time will tell if what you infer will be true.
我唯一和社會學沾得上邊的，就是在雞尾酒會上興致勃勃地觀察人類行為，不過這些觀察沒有學術意義。總之，我只能以同為學術人士的觀點回答你的問題，而不是從社會科學同行的角度來說明。你問的其實是外推性的問題，也就是根據已知的數據或經驗，推斷未知的領域。這樣其實已經跨入推測的範圍，因此必須經過一段時間，才能知道你的推斷是否正確。

Future-looking is dangerous—that is, academically disputable—only if the base facts of a proposition are disputed. Consider the equation, 1+1=2. If we assume the decimal system still will be recognized in 2090, it is safe to infer that 1+1 equals 2 will retain its fundamental value. If on the other hand, it is suspected that 1+1 might equal 3 in future computations, inferring otherwise will invite disputes. Social questions are more complex, but the need for inferences to be firmly grounded in incontrovertible fact is the same in any scholarly study.
如果命題所根據的事實有所爭議，那麼對未來的預估就不可靠，也就是在學術上有爭議。以等式 1+1=2 來說，如果我們認為十進位法到 2090 年都還適用，就可以安全推斷屆時 1+1 還是會等於 2。然而，如果未來的計算法則裡 1+1 可能等於 3，做出其他的推論就會引來質疑。社會學的問題比較複雜，但所有學術研究都必須基於確鑿無疑的事實來推論，這點是不變的。

The safest approach to making deductions about the future in social science or any other malleable discipline is to get your facts straight. That includes thoroughly and completely researching the future into which you are going to project your conclusion. Fact and future cannot be accurately joined if future adaptations are not credited. Example: The architecture of future college campuses cannot be safely predicted, because all learning by then might be long distance. So: Know the given facts. Research the future. Extrapolate with confidence.
在社會科學或其他可詮釋的學科領域，要推論未來，最安全的做法就是確實了解事實，同時必須從徹底研究你想推論的未來。如果描述未來的變化時不能讓人信服，就無法從事實正確的推論未來。例如，由於未來大部分的學習可能都是遠距離學習，因此很難正確預測未來大學校園的建築風貌。所以記得，了解已知事實，徹底研究未來，才能有信心的作出推論。

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

“The snobbish playwright is almost Malthusian in his belief that higher ticket prices will limit the size of the audience in the small theater at the same time it winnows the riffraff.”

Those three words enhance the sentence in several ways. First, snobs believe people beneath their perceived position in society are “riffraff.” By keeping prices high, the poorer members of society are kept from entering a theater simply because they cannot afford the ticket. Second, one of the core ideas of the 19th century English economist the Rev. Thomas Malthus was that the population is naturally kept down by the earth’s limit to feed it. So the use of “winnows” not only conveys the idea of getting rid of undesirables, it does so in agrarian language: Winnowing can refer to the process of separating wheat and chaff.
填上這三個字，在各方面都讓句子的意思更加完整。首先，勢利的人認為社會地位比他們低的人都是「死老百姓」。提高劇院的票價，貧窮的人負擔不起，就不能進戲院看戲。其次，十九世紀英國經濟學家馬爾薩斯 (Thomas Malthus) 主張，人口數量自然會因為地球供給糧食有限而受到限制；“Winnows”（篩選）是指分離小麥的穗實與穀糠，除了表示排拒不受歡迎的人，也呼應了隱含的農業意義。

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，將獲得兩百元統一超商／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:

“The snobbish playwright is almost Malthusian in his belief that higher ticket prices will limit the size of the audience in the small theater at the same time it ____ ____ ____ ____ ____.”

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

“Siddhartha Gautama’s influence grew for 2,500 years until today it claims millions and millions of adherents, mostly but not exclusively in Asia. According to tradition, what began as a personal religious quest became an obsessive search to discover true enlightenment and then to teach it to mankind. The meditations of Guatama govern modern Buddhism’s approach to understanding life. The monastic existence of many followers of Buddha epitomizes the yearning of Buddhists: to rid themselves of the earthly desires dwelling in their hearts and minds and to liberate themselves from suffering and the pressures of ordinary life. Consequently, many Buddhist practitioners inside and outside of monasteries are marked by ethical character and moderate behavior.”

This passage from a paper on Buddha’s founding teacher is unrefined. That is, while it is an acceptable second draft, the paper would have benefited from another round of polishing. Writing that the founder’s “influence grew for 2,500 years until today” implies a steady progression that may or may not be true, whereas it is safe to write that it “has grown across 25 centuries.” In the same sentence, the writer uses the phrase “mostly but not exclusively,” which is a redundancy. Terming the search “obsessive” suggests connotations that “determined” does not. Farther on, a colon in a sentence is punctuation, and “life” is subjectively modified as “ordinary life.” What other unpolished examples do you see?
這段文章討論佛教始祖，但文字有點粗糙，品質接近第二版草稿，如果能再加潤飾會更好。文章說佛祖 “influence grew for 2,500 years until today”（持續影響了兩千五百年，直到如今），暗示佛祖的影響力與日俱增。由於此點無法確定，寫成 “has grown across 25 centuries”（影響力橫跨二十五個世紀）會比較保險。同一句中，“mostly but not exclusively”（多數，但不完全是）顯得多餘。以 “obsessive”（執著）形容佛祖尋求開悟一事似乎別有暗示，改用 “determined” 就沒有這種問題。下一句有個不必要的冒號，另外以 “ordinary” 形容生命則帶有主觀判斷。你還找得到其他未經修飾的句子嗎？

Acceptable 認可的文章

“Siddhartha Gautama’s influence has grown across 25 centuries and claims hundreds of millions of adherents, mostly in Asia. According to tradition, what began as a personal religious quest became a determined search to discover true enlightenment and then to teach it. The meditations of Guatama govern modern Buddhism’s approach to understanding life and rebirth. The monastic existence of many followers of Buddha exemplifies the yearning of Buddhists to expunge earthly desires from their natures, thereby liberating themselves from suffering and the pressures of life. Consequently, many Buddhist practitioners in and out of monasteries are characterized by ethical character and moderation.”

在學術寫作中，「完美」是相對的，但也是我們追求的理想。想寫出完美的研究報告，首先選擇題目必須明智。本次學術專欄特別推出「完美撰題八大原則」，為大家介紹選擇題目的原則，每項原則將定期刊登於TPS專頁。
“Perfect” is a relative term in academic writing, but it always is the ideal. The first rule in the pursuit of perfection in a paper is to choose a topic wisely. This essay introduces and explains one guide in selecting a topic. Each guide is contained in “8 Guides in Choosing a Perfect Research Paper Topic” and will be posted on the TPS Fan page as introduced.

#5 –Determine the depth and breadth of a possible topic
原則五 判斷主題的深度和廣度

This suggestion might seem to put an extra burden on a writer, but the opposite is the case. Nothing is more difficult than to write in depth on a topic that is shallow. Nothing is more challenging than to write substantively about a subject that is transparently simplistic. In such cases, writers resort to setting up straw arguments, belaboring the obvious, and larding the paper with adjectives, adverbs, general wordiness, and sometimes the kitchen sink and cabinetry.
這個建議聽起來似乎讓作者又多了一份負擔，然而實際上剛好相反。寫作研究報告時，最困難的莫過於深入分析一個膚淺的主題，最痛苦的莫過於嚴肅討論一個簡單不過的題目。如果執意這麼做，只能言不及義、滿紙空話，東加一個形容詞、西添一個副詞，文章多半冗長空洞，甚至瑣碎平庸。

Know thy topic—but not too quickly. If a writer can instantly see how to proceed with writing about a possible topic, the topic probably is too facile to seriously consider. Genuinely complex topics for a paper are not that transparent. They are too deep to have their bottoms seen. They hide undercurrents of information that only can be discovered by diving into them. On the other hand, sometimes they are too deep for a paper. Discerning a topic’s depth is important.
寫作要了解主題，但不要急於一時。如果能立刻看出主題的寫作方向，表示此主題可能太為淺顯，不值得深入探究。真正複雜、適合寫研究報告的題目通常無法輕易看透，其內涵深不可測，只有深入探究才能發現其中蘊含的訊息。然而，有時候主題卻太過深奧，不適合寫研究報告。因此判斷主題的深度是非常重要的。

The other important dimension to consider is breadth. A topic worth writing about should have wide enough application to have value beyond whatever grade is earned by its writer. For example, the pin oak tree might be too narrow a biological topic unless one incorporates the tree’s migration to Australia. On the other hand, as with depth, a topic can be too broad to be addressed in a paper. A thorough survey of depth and breadth is key in any topic selection.
此外也應考量題目的廣度，值得探討的題目應該能廣泛運用，除了可以讓作者拿到分數，應該還有其他價值。例如，單純以針櫟樹為主題範圍可能太狹窄，但可以將討論結合針櫟樹如何遷徙到澳洲。此外，就像題目可能太深奧，同樣也可能太廣泛而不適合寫研究報告。選擇主題前，切記徹底瞭解題目的深度與廣度。

Correct best answer: Replace “rousted” with “roused.”

“When the colonies roused themselves and began to agitate for independence, the colonial authorities misread the depth of their agitation and dismissed it as insignificant.”

What a difference a single letter can make in a word. In this case, a “t” inserted in “roused” subtly alters the meaning of the word. Both “rousted” and “roused” imply an awakening, a stirring, yet the two words are commonly used for opposite purposes. Rousting always is done by one person to another; rousing can be, and often is, done to oneself. People in the colonies, in this example, were “aroused” by frustration with their political condition and began to incite revolt. The words sometimes are used interchangeably, but only in an ironic sense. Examining words carefully as they are spilled onto a paper leads to cleaner and more vigorous exposition.
只差一個字母，詞彙的意思就大不相同。例句中，將 “t” 插入 “roused” 一詞，詞意就有了微妙的轉變。“Rousted” 和 “roused” 都有喚起、鼓動的意思，但兩者多半用於不同的情況，一個人會 “rousting”（鼓吹、激勵）另一個人，但通常只會 “rousing” （激發、喚醒）自己。本句中，殖民地人民對自身的政治狀況不滿，受到 “aroused”（引發），因而鼓動革命。這兩個詞有時可以互換使用，但會產生諷刺的效果。寫論文時應該仔細檢視用字措辭，論述方能更清晰有力。

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，我們將提供統一超商/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:
“When the colonies rousted themselves and began to agitate for independence, the colonial authorities misread the depth of their agitation and dismissed it as insignificant.”

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 works attributed to Homer are ancient, influential, and in all likelihood a compilation of oral traditions woven together by desire for the immortal.”
「歸於荷馬名下的作品古意盎然、具感染力，很可能集結了許多口述傳統，此乃對永世流傳的渴求所編織而成。」

Weaving is the process by which individual threads become a piece of fabric. The process involves interlacing strands at right angles to one another in such a way that they become interlocked. With loose ends affixed, the woven threads become one piece and remain such unless tediously disassembled strand by strand. The tighter the weave, the greater the strength of the woven fabric. The pieces of cloth have been fabricated for many, many years from various organic materials and can be preserved for centuries under suitable conditions.
編織讓個別的絲線變成一塊布料，過程中，絲線以正確的交織角度彼此交錯，從而緊密相繫。將懸而未結的尾端固定後，編在一起的絲線就成了一整塊布料，除非不厭其煩地將絲線一縷一縷拆解，否則就會保持完整。編織得愈緊，織就的布料愈強韌。許多許多年以來，各種有機材料被用來織布，若條件適當，可以保存數百年。

The author of the sentence wrote of “oral traditions” being woven together. Obviously, the weaving of uttered words is an impossible task given the insubstantiality of breath and sound. Nevertheless, the reader can see an image of spoken words being gathered and preserved orally from generation to generation until such time as the stories were written down by, apparently, Homer. A “desire for the immortal”—the hope that the thread of the stories would not be lost—kept them intact until they could be “woven” into a more-or-less permanent written record.
本句描述「口述傳統」被織就在一起。顯然，說出口的話並無實體，只是氣息與聲音，本來就不可能編織在一起。然而，讀者可以從句中看出一個意象，明白口述的故事被收集並保存下來，代代相傳，最後可能由荷馬將故事記錄下來。由於「對永世流傳的渴求」，也就是希望故事的線索不會失傳，故事因而被完整保存下來，直到織就成近乎永恆不朽的書面紀錄。