Summary & Reflection

This chapter is about Su Tongpo's experience of the  imperial examination.

From what the author narrates, we can actually feel how the brothers were faced with the fatal turning piont. And that is very familiar to us with imaginable occasions and frames. Therefore the reading is accompanied with much cultural and personal understanding. All in all, the great genius shows extraordinary courage and talent in the exam. Besides that,  I am also moved by the father's love to his wife who inspired him when she was alive but missed the last meeting with him.

Word and Expression

be spoken for

a) if someone is spoken for, they are married or already have a serious relationship with someone

b) if something is spoken for, you cannot buy it because it is being kept for someone else

依我之见，按照第一种意思，译成“被……提亲”好像不太匹配。虽然中文应该是提亲的意思，但第一种“结婚或已经有对象”的意思与之有些出入。

con‧ster‧na‧tion

n. [U] / ‚kɒnstə'neɪʃ ə n ; ͵kɑnstɚˋneʃən /

a feeling of worry, shock, or fear 惊愕；震惊；惊惶失措

SYN  alarm

The government’s plans have caused considerable consternation among many Americans.

政府的计划在许多美国人中间引起了相当大的恐慌。

re‧cluse

n. [C] / rɪ'kluːs ; ˋrɛklus /

someone who chooses to live alone, and does not like seeing or talking to other people 隐居者，隐士，遁世者

She became a recluse after her two sons were murdered.

两个儿子被杀后，她就一直离群索居。

An air of mystery and romance and legends hung over the region.

The city was the metropolis of China, kept in imperial grandeur, where the wealth and talent and beauty of the nation gathered about court.

The genial-mannered Ouyang Shiu had usually white long ears and a short lip which revealed his gums when he laughed.