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Ior
-and some student sociologist might care to base his thesis upon the phenomenon-
Hello,everyone
Here I am feeling confused about a sentence in the following paragraph : (
That the equipment of modern camping becomes yearly more sophisticated is an
entertaining paradox for the cynic, a brighter promise for the hopeful traveler who has
sworn to get away from it all. It also provides-and some student sociologist might care to
base his thesis upon the phenomenon -- an escape of another kind.
I wonder know what the differences are between the use of" em rule" and""comma" ,and the meaning of "--and" in this paragraph, Personally,the structure of this sentence is a little strange for me to get understand, Could I say like : It also provides, some student sociologist might care to base his thesis upon the phenomenon. an escape of another kind.
(PS: Could I say: "another kind of escape" as well ? )
Thanks a lot for your time to read my message : D
Aug 22, 2014 2:40 AM
Answers · 4
2
The author used dashes here to show a shift in thought or an interruption. He is temporarily changing his focus and giving what is sometimes called a side note. A side note is a point that is related to what's being talked about, but is not the main idea.
Using commas doesn't work well here because it doesn't give a strong enough division. Commas are usually used when the sentence should flow together, but dashes show a break.
Parentheses could also be used, but they also don't show as strong of a break. Parentheses ( ) are often used to explain something further, rather than to interrupt the flow of the sentence.
So, the sentence could be said like this without dashes:
"It also provides an escape of another kind, a phenomenon upon which some student sociologist might care to base his thesis."
August 22, 2014
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Ior
Language Skills
Chinese (Mandarin), English, French, German, Japanese, Russian
Learning Language
English
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