Item2: A common grammar mistake——Parallelism

When the two sides of the conjunctions are not in the same or similar forms, it is called non-parallel mistake grammatically. In my essays, some non-parallel elements can be found sometimes which is a common grammar mistake I should cast attention to.



There are three common types of non-parallel grammar mistake. Firstly, wrongly application of combined words leads to contradictions. For example, in the sentence "Both London and Tokyo each has a population of between 10 million and 20 million now" , there is no need to use the conjunction "both" before the pronoun "each" , otherwise, the sentence becomes very strange. To correct this mistake, one can simply delete "Both". Secondly, the conjunction used does not accord with the context. For instance, in this segment "Such a scenario is not far-fetched. Either is it impossible.", the former sentence is negative, while the later one is positive. The two sentences will be parallel if changing “Either" into "Nor". Thirdly, the most common error is that contents combined by "and" are abhorrent. For example, in the following sentence "Amsterdam sits near the North Sea and the mouth of the Rhine, Europe’s most important river economically and it is a cultural hub too." , "economically" is an adverb, however, the part behind "and" is actually a complete sentence. According to the grammar, it should also be an adverb after "and" . So that using "culturally too" is correct, instead of "it is culture hub too".


Hence, to use the grammar of parallelism correctly, one should make sure the forms of the contents connected by conjunctions are the same or similar, and pay attention to the context and tenses.






A Practice:
Improve the texts below by correcting all the non-parallel elements in the following paragraphs:


In future, some Chinese cities will grow to a scale far surpassing the world’s largest cities today. (1)Both London and Tokyo each has a population of between 10 million and 20 million now. In future, there is a high probability that China will have a few cities, each with a population exceeding 100 million. This is more than (2) Singapore and Malaysia combined.

Such a scenario is not far-fetched. (3) Either is it impossible. The growth of China’s mega cities is part of a global trend for more of the world’s population to live in urban areas. Just as in New Zealand where the bigger cities have grown in size, (4) in the Netherlands, Amsterdam and its neighbouring cities like Haarlem and Leiden have merged to form a combined metropolis. Amsterdam sits near the North Sea and the mouth of the Rhine, Europe’s most important river economically and (5) it is a cultural hub too. Such a strategic location has made the Netherlands a major trading hub.

The cities on China’s Yangtze River have a common feature with Dutch cities, in that the canals, rivers and lakes (6) linking the various cities. These waterways facilitate trade and transport among the cities, which will spur (7) its merger. On the Yangtze basin, a mega city will emerge from the merger of Shanghai with other cities like Nanjing, Hangzhou and Suzhou.

Of the two other areas in China where mega cities will emerge, on the Yellow River, Beijing will merge with the neighbouring port city of Tianjin to form a mega city in the north while on the Pearl River in the south, Hong Kong (8) merged with Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Economic ties between Hong Kong and mainland cities on the Pearl River are getting closer, with Hong Kong companies (9) outsource operations to the Pearl River Delta. The rise of China’s mega cities will change the competition equation in Asia. Where five years ago, Hong Kong is as a rival to Singapore, in time to come, such rivalry will fade as Hong Kong finds a new role for itself in the Pearl River Delta.

These three areas in China are not only important shipping hubs facing the ocean but being situated on rivers they also serve as major conduits of trade and transport. The growth of China’s mega cities will be driven by three factors – the geographical factor, (10) neighbouring cities merging and rural migration to cities.

It is not easy for Singapore, which has about four million people, to match such an immense population in 20 years, given its low fertility rate. Also, unlike the Chinese cities, the island state has no hinterland to expand to. But is a city with a much larger population necessarily (11) competitive than one with a smaller population like Singapore?
For the longest time, China’s population (12) dwarfed Singapore, but its quality of life, historically, was so low that many Chinese migrated to Singapore. Some economists say the quality of China’s economic growth is poor, pointing out the hundreds of billions of dollars of bad loans China’s banks need to write off and (13) its lack of financial transparency.

Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou are catching up with Singapore in their quality of life and infrastructure. With China’s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), more multinationals will place their Asian headquarters in Shanghai, Guangzhou or Beijing. Furthermore, China’s growth is faster than Singapore’s or its neighbours’. Short of either a financial crisis (14)and political calamity, Chinese mega cities will pose far stiffer competition to Singapore than her neighbours (15) are.

To cope with the rise of the Chinese mega cities, Singapore should increase links with its neighbours, namely Johor and the Indonesian Riau Islands or in a few decades, Singapore might prosper, but Chinese mega cities (16) must overtake it.



Corrections:
1.London and Tokyo each has
2.that of Singapore and Malaysia combined
3.Nor is it impossible
4.in the Netherlands too
5.culturally
6.link
7.their
8.will merge with
9.outsourcing
10.the merger of neighbouring cities
11.more competitive
12.dwarfed that of Singapore
13.their
14.or
15.will

16.might

Item1: Today's Most Important Challenge for Engineering

In the 21st century, a series of grand challenges are waiting for engineering solutions. People are concerned over problems of sustainability, health, vulnerability and joy of living. However, the most worrying problem human beings are faced with is the scarcity of energy. Some sources of energy like fossil fuels will not last long. Scientists are trying to make use of other resources. Sources of environmentally friendly power are expected since the earth cannot afford to more pollution. To make solar energy economical should be the most important idea.


There are three reasons why making solar energy economical should be the most important idea. First of all, the energy of the sun is plentiful. "Even though only a small fraction of the sun's output strikes the Earth, that provides 10,000times as much as all the commercial energy that humans use on the planet, a report by National Academy of Engineering of The National Academies shows. It will be enough to support humans' development if solar energy is efficiently used. In addition, solar energy technology is potential. According to DOE (U.S.Department of Energy), experiments have reported some new materials which can efficiently absorb energy from the sun. Researchers are trying to make those cells to be more economical. Finally, sunshine is a kind of non-pollution resource. Sunshine is created by nuclear fusion within the sun. There is nothing left after using the energy. The environment will be more comfortable for us to live in. As a result, diseases caused by pollution will reduce. The three reasons mentioned above are not all the sakes for which making solar economical is important, they are the main excuses.


In conclusion, of all the challenges, making solar energy economical should be attached great importance to because the amount of solar energy is huge, the solar energy technology is potential and sunshine is environmentally friendly.





Reference(s):

DOE (U.S. Department of Energy). 2007. Solar America Initiative: A Plan for the integrated Research, Development, and Market Transformation of Solar Energy Technologies. Report Number SETP-2006-0010. Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Solar Energy Technologies Program. Washington, D.C.DoE.