Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in each blank with
a proper word given in the box. Each-word can be used only once. Note that
there is one more word than you need.
|
A. leave B. signal C. brief
D. interruption E. marking F. indicated
G. practice H. resting I.
unified J. struggling K. temporary
|
What Is a Paragraph Break?
It
is one of the most important punctuation marks. A paragraph break is an
indentation (缩造) or a single line space{#blank#}1{#/blank#}the
division between one paragraph and the next in a body of text.
Generally,
paragraph breaks serve to{#blank#}2{#/blank#}the
transition from one idea to another in a stretch of text, and from one speaker
to another in an exchange of dialogue.
Few
readers would think of the paragraph break as a punctuation mark, but it
certainly is. In ancient times there were no paragraphs. Sentences simply
flowed into one another without{#blank#}3{#/blank#}.During medieval (中世纪) times,
the mark evolved into the paragraph symbol and eventually became the modern-day
paragraph break, which is{#blank#}4{#/blank#}now only by a line break or indentation.
Today,
the paragraph break is used to give readers a break. The art of creating
paragraphs is called paragraphing, the{#blank#}5{#/blank#}of dividing a text into
paragraphs. Paragraphing is a kindness to your reader because it divides your
thinking into manageable bites. Paragraphs that are too long{#blank#}6{#/blank#}readers
with dense blocks of text to read through, while more frequent paragraphing
provides readers with convenient{#blank#}7{#/blank#}points at which to take a
break and relaunch themselves into thinking.
To
fully understand when to insert a paragraph break, it's helpful to know that a
paragraph is a group of closely related sentences that develop a central idea.
Therefore, each paragraph discusses one{#blank#}8{#/blank#}topic. Also, a paragraph
break is cmploycd before each new topic is introduced. In this way, the writing
will flow, and readers will be able to proceed through the writing in a logical
fashion instead of{#blank#}9{#/blank#}all the
way to get to the last line.
Paragraphs
used to be longer, but with the development of the Internet, which gives
readers access to literally millions of sources of information, paragraphs have
become increasingly{#blank#}10{#/blank#}. The
style for many websites, for example, uses paragraphs no more than two to three
sentences.
