The Gay Genius-C7

1. The central question 

At first chapter 7 briefly introduce Wang Anshih's strange characters. He was an impractical idealist who was negligent of his food and appearance. For example, he never changed his gown and he never paid any attention to his food. And then tell us in ddetails how he experimented in state capitalism.

2. 好词好句

1.From that year on, China was to be plunged into a wave of new social experiments amid political storms whose concussions were felt to the very end of the Sung dynasty.

But if these words come true, the country will be plunged into a dire calamity, and I shall be honored as a wise prophet a sad consolation indeed!

He predicted that with this trend o£ affairs, the country would soon be plunged into chaos.

plunged into:to experience sth unpleasant(calamity, chaos...)

2. Is he really ill, or is he fishing for better post?

If you say that someone is fishing for information or praise, you disapprove of the fact that they are trying to get it from someone in an indirect way.

3. No sooner had Wang assumed office than he began to sweep the whole governmental household with a wide new broom.

no sooner: used to say that sth happens immediately after sth else 表示：一…就；刚…就 no sooner后面跟着是倒装，than后面是正常语序 e.g. No sooner had she said it than she burst into tears. 这个句型在前几章也出现过。No sooner was the name conferred than it had to be changed.

4. Here is a man who discourses on Confucius and Laotse and lives the life o£ the famous recluses, who associates himself with disgruntled persons.

associate... with:to spend time with sb, especially a person or people that sb else does not approve of. 我们常说的“鬼混”

Writing task

I'd like to introduce my brother to you. I had knowledge from himand he cared for me as an elder and guided me as a teacher are the reasons why I'm choosing my brother. He has very prominent cheekbones and a well-proportioned jaw. He is handsome and has a more muscular build. Although my brother and I aren't siblings, our relationship is better than siblings' . We have been living next to each other for 20 years and he was married three years ago. When we were young, we used to play together all the time. When I was a little boy, I enjoyed watching him playing basketball in front of his house and he teached me how to play basketball with great patience. Other than that, he also teached me Pingpong, snooker, badminton. At this period, he acted not only as a brother but also a teacher to me. My brother is kind to At his wedding, I cried like a baby, for I'm happy with his wedding and I'm sad that I couldn't play with him like we used to do.