The Gay Genius：FATHER AND SONS

Thoughts - 熟读深思：

Chapter 5 讲述东坡居丧期满后，苏洵带着两个儿子和两个儿媳妇举家赴京，途中经过长江三峡。而林语堂先生则花费了相当大的笔墨来描绘这趟沿途长江三峡的雄美峻险，以及身临其境的内心感慨，文笔之精彩，用词之生动着实值得读者慢慢体味细品。

写到瞿塘峡之惊险时，有感如下：外出行者，遇险境，也只能是致死生于天命，别无他法。

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.

这种说法虽有某种 “宿命论” 的意味，却也着实表现出某种豁达。想起很久以前听到的一段话，大意是，生而为人，即是受苦，否则为何婴儿甫一降生便是嚎啕大哭呢？想明白这点后，也便能豁达从容的面对生活了吧。

苏家于二月安全抵达京城后，苏洵被任命为教书郎，之后又被委任新职，负责编写当朝传记。众所周知，写传记并不难，难的是传记写者的态度。是迫于权威，文过饰非，只写好的，还是能够坚持原则如实反应史实呢？好在苏洵的风骨犹在，他所秉持的态度并没有让我们失望。

It is a historian's duty to record all that they did, regardless of good and bad, to the end that posterity may learn of the truth.

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Words and Expressions：字词表达

Naturally, these regions were uninhabited and uninhabitable.

uninhabited（not lived in by people，无人居住的）与 uninhabitable（not suitable to be lived in，不适合居住的），这两个形容词，看起来相似，意思却完全不同。但是用在此处，却是恰到好处而又言简意赅的表达了其中的深意，不得不说作者的用词功力很赞。

例句：Much of the country is uninhabitable because it is uninhabited.

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On the wind-swept terrace stands a handsome knight.
His sad song melts into the autumn forest's moan.
Some maidens attentively listen unobserved;
They learn the tune but cannot imitate his tone.

这四句是林语堂先生转译苏轼《上堵吟》一诗开头四句：
台上有客吟秋风，悲声萧散飘入宫。
台边有女来窃听，欲学声同意不同。

melt into (something)，表示 “溶解，消散在…”，to become difficult or impossible to see by changing into or becoming combined with (something else)；

例句：Her irritation melted into pity.

melt into 用在这里表示那悲壮的声音凄凉地飘散于林中。有歌女想偷学，即便能学得声像，也难意会深意。

后文又分别用两个只一个字母之差的 tune（a series of musical notes that produce a pleasing sound when played or sung，曲调）和 tone（the way your voice sounds, which shows how you are feeling or what you mean，音调，语气），来表达 “声同意不同”，同样的言简意赅又深意十足。

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Su Shun took the view that this was strictly a historian's job and a historian should not gloss over the faults even of one's ancestors.

gloss over (something)，表示 “掩饰(错误), 粉饰”，to treat or describe (something, such as a serious problem or error) as if it were not important.

例句：She glossed over the details of her divorce.
仿句：Naturally, people tend to gloss over some problems that could make them embarrassed.

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PS：

Chapter 2 讲苏东坡的故里眉山，笔记见微信公众号：

http://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/XUCpvbELlsqKB5A-98_4Xw

Chapter 3 介绍苏东坡的少年时光，笔记见微信公众号：http://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/wDrC9ecPOyPiDk0nqr4mzw