pector@ihuxw.UUCP (Scott W. Pector) (04/11/84)
The paragraph was presented as a quiz last November in net.books:
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You are to tell me what is wrong with the next paragraph (if anything).
1 "It was a crisp and spicy morning in early October. The
2 lilacs and laburnums, lit with the glory-fires of autumn,
3 hung burning and flashing in the upper air, a fairy bridge
4 provided by kind Nature for the wingless wild things that
5 have their homes in the tree-tops and would visit together;
6 the larch and the pomegranate flung their purple and yellow
7 flames in brilliant broad splashes along the slanting sweep
8 of the woodland; the sensuous fragrance of innumerable
9 deciduous flowers rose upon the swooning atmosphere; far
10 in the empty sky a solitary esophagus slept upon
11 motionless wing; everywhere brooded stillness, serenity,
12 and the peace of God."
Be specific in your responses: use quotes AND line numbers prefacing
each of your explanations if anything is wrong with the paragraph.
Mail me your responses; do NOT send them to net.books. The winners
and the answers will be announced in a month's time (or earlier if
the responses peter out). At that time, I will also give credit to
the source I obtained this from. This is being done so none of you
unscrupulous types can cheat. (If you do, I will put your name in
lights and do all sorts of other nasty things, many of which can be
found in the Old Testament and Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in
King Arthur's Court," among other places.) Awards will also be made.
BONUS QUESTION: Which of Twain's books or stories, and where in it
(chapter, page, paragraph number, whatever, etc.),
did it come from?
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Anyone who wants to know the answers can write to me and I'll respond.
If there are enough requests, I'll post the official answers, but the
file is long since it contains Twain's official response on the matter
as well as all the answers I could find. Sorry to repeat this for
those who participated last November or at least read the quiz and
solutions then.
Scott Pector