I. The central question
Q: How about Su Tungpo's change of mentality in his life of wanderings?
A: Su Tungpo started his farmer life in Huangchow, but he was shifted to Juchow after a few years. However, it was not an easy travel, because the policies were changeable. We should notice that wherever he went, Kiujiang, Tai Lake, or Tengchow, his mentality was quite different from those time he went to Hangchow, Michow or Huangchow. The hardship he carried on his shoulders was no less than before, he lost his young child and suffered terrible hunger. Whereas, he use an open and clear attitude to face all these things. His poetry became more subtle and rational. Maybe he knew that he will spend most of his life on the way, so he regarded everywhere as hometown. The Buddhist and Taoism have great influence on his thought, which made him more frankly accepted every change in his life.
II. The sentences
1. He was now to follow a zigzag course of wanderings and changes of plan before he ended up, much against his wish, in a position very close to the Empress.
follow a zigzag course of wanderings and changes of plan 道路崎岖坎坷、境遇瞬息万变
2. He dodged the appointment, in his own words, "like a schoolboy trying to play hookey."
dodge to move quickly to avoid someone or something
3. The first taste of power is fine, but barring exceptional circumastances, an American president who runs for a second term either does not know what is for his own good, or more probably, is no longer his own master.
no longer one's own master “身不由己”
4. To speak about politics only when in office is the normal rule.
“不在其位，不谋其政”，原句与译文皆十分巧妙
III. 补充
1. Among the people of ancient China, there were no greater travelers than Taoist and Buddhist monks, not only because they had complete leisure and freedom of movement, but also because they had probably the best chain of hotels to put up in wherever they went, namely, the temples.
“在古代中国，僧人有空余的时间和方便的住处，所以可以肆意遨游”。这种观点是不符合实际的，尤其是在宋代，朝廷对僧人的活动控制十分严格，僧侣的丛林制度也逐渐完善，僧人想要去某地，需要向寺院主事申请告假，而且外出时间也并不充裕。相对而言，只有一些名僧在活动上比较自由一些。
2. He did not look in the best of health, for he was too busy to practice yoga at night。
这一句将苏辙因练瑜伽影响健康，简直无力吐槽了→_→苏辙确实身体不好，因此才用禅修调理养息，而且苏辙是唐宋八大家中最长寿的。