PART 1 Sentences
1. Any traveler surviving the sudden dip around the Jar of Human Herrings would feel toward the old boatman as toward his second father.
This chapter reminds me of William Zinsser's On Writing Well. Zinsser used a whole chapter to elaborate and give several admonitions and suggestions on writing about places. As I recall, he pointed out that many writers lost their readers as they used syrupy words and groaning platitudes when describing places. He suggested that writers should avoid clichés and strive for fresh words and images. Furthermore, writers should strain to add human elements to the places. If we use those principles as a gauge, Lin Yutang is undoubtedly a master at writing places. Firstly, Lin's expressions are fresh and have a wayward beauty. For example, in the sentence quoted above, the phrase "dip around" is anything but trite. Secondly, Lin is adroit in adding details and human elements. The travelers' gratitude towards the boatmen is way more impressive and convincing than an insipid description of how deep the water is or how rapid the currents are. Although I have never been to the Jar of Human Herrings, I am now fully convinced that it is extremely hazardous and terrifying.
2. The brothers were just over twenty, and youth sometimes acted as a handicap for a genius. Vivacious, irrepressible, ambitious, Su Tungpo felt like a thoroughbred impatiently pawing the ground, ready to break into whirlwind speed to conquer the world.
I wonder why Lin Yuntang made the assertion that youth was a handicap for a genius like Su Tungpo. Young talented people are often subject to the prejudice that they could not make great achievement as they are immature and inexperienced, although quite a lot of them have actually outperformed their predecessors. Did Lin have such prejudice too? On second thoughts, I think what Lin alluded here was that Su, albeit brilliant and talented, was far from greatness in that period. The fact that he had not experienced the ups and downs in his life was a hindrance to his greatness. The poems he made at youth were fantastic, but they were outstripped by the works Su made in his later years which had deeper implications. As Lin said in the first chapter, "we love him today because he suffered so much".
During my first two years in law school, I could hardy understand why some judgment made by young judges who strictly conformed to law, were disparaged by the professors. However, after dealing with some real cases on my own, I come to realize that life is extremely complicated and that a wise judgment is not the mere analysis of what the law says. I think Su was in the same situation as those talented but inexperienced judges. He was not unfledged in creativity or skills, but he had not experienced enough, which prevented him from reaching a height of sublimity.
PART 2 Expressions
1. The Sung neo-Confucianists might look askance at such a regrettable lapse from austere filial piety.
askance (ad.) [əˈskæns] 1.with a side glance 斜视地; 2. with disapproval or distrust 质疑地
They eyed the stranger askance.
Many critics have looked askance at the proposal.
2. All a traveler could do was to confide the care of his soul to God, because there was nothing else he could do about it.
confide: 这里指“委托，托付”，to give sth you value to sb you trust so they look after it for you
confide sth to sb eg. He condifed his money to his brother's safekeeping.
confide 还可以指“向某人吐露秘密/心事” to tell sb you trust about personal things that you do not want other people to know, confide sth to sb/ confide to sb that.../ confide in sb
He confided to his friends that he didn't have much hope for his marriage.
I confided my worries to Michael.
I've never felt able to confide in my sister.
3. The bare huts of the cottagers bore witness to their extreme poverty; their roofs were made of wooden boards, without tiles.
bear witness/ testimony to sth: formal, to show that sth is true or exists
The empty workshops bear witness to the industrial past.
4. Only at high noon could they see the sun for a moment, or at night only get a glimpse of the moon when it was at its zenith.
zenith: [ˈzenɪθ]/[ˈzi:nɪθ] 1. the highest point that is reached by the Sun or the Moon in the sky; 2. the most successful point in the development of sth, SYN peak
The Roman Empire reached its zenith around the year 100.
(o.) nadir [ˈneɪdɪə(r)]
The demand for this product will reach its nadir within two years.
5. In such a rustic atmosphere, he found his life resembled more and more that of the great bucolic poet Tao Chien, whom he greatly admired.
rustic: [ˈrʌstɪk] (a.) simple, old-fashioned, and not spoiled by modern developments, in a way that is typical of the countryside. 乡村的；质朴的；朴素的
The village had a certain rustic charm.
rusticity: [rʌ'stɪsətɪ] (n.) 乡村的风格；乡村的气息；淳朴的气质
Amidst her noble and elegant manners, there is now and then a little touch of bashfulness and conventional rusticity.
6. The ancestors may have had personal blemishes, but that if they were no concern of the state, these should be struck off the records.
blemish: (n.) 本意是“（脸上的）痘痘”，引申为瑕疵，缺点
Every piece is closely scrutinized, and if there is the slightest blemish on it, it is rejected.
blemish (v.) to spoil sth so that it is no longer beautiful or perfect
His record will be blemished by this failure.
blemished: (a.) --- unblemished (a.)
