Reading Notes of Chapter 9&10

Central Question

Was Wang Anshih to blame for the failed experiment?

This chapter reveals some undesirable manners of Wang Anshih as usual, but the people around him are also depicted with quite a few words. The author tends to explain the reasons for the failure by presenting more evils. He reminds us that Wang is not the only one to blame.

In contrast with it, another chapter focuses on the sincere brotherhood between Su Tongpo and his brother

Word and Expression

au‧dac‧i‧ty

n. [U] / ɔːˈdæsɪti, ɔːˈdæsəti ; ɔˋdæsətɪ /

the quality of having enough courage to take risks or say impolite things 大胆；冒昧，放肆

I can’t believe he had the audacity to ask me for more money!

我真不敢相信，他竟胆敢还向我要钱！

have the audacity to do sth

cons‧cript

v. [T] / kən'skrɪpt ; kənˋskrɪpt /

to make someone join the army, navy etc AmE 征召〔入伍〕 【美】

SYN  draft AmE 【美】

conscript sb into sth

Young Frenchmen were conscripted into the army and forced to fight in Algeria.

法国的年轻人应召入伍，被迫前往阿尔及利亚作战。

美式英语用draft，所以后文说，evade the draft。

gag

v. / ɡæɡ ; gæg /

[T] to stop people saying what they want to say and expressing their opinions 压制〔某人〕的言论自由，限制〔某人〕发言

an attempt to gag political activists

压制政治活动家言论的企图