The Gay Genius Chapter5

I. The central question

This chapter showing us the journey of Sus' family went to the capital. Lin Yutang use a great many paragraph to describe the sightseeing along the journey. It seems that the landscape didn't have some clear connections to Su Tungpo's life. However, it was not ture. The beautiful scenery and the difficulty of the trip both are the clues for us to know Su Tungpo's poems better. Also, we should never forget that Su Tungpo left hometown with an ambitious and youth mind, but his political life was not easy and he had never went back home during his whole life.

II. The sentence

1. Their literary ambitions had been vindicated, their success in official careers was almost assured.

vindicate    show to be right by providing justification or proof

2. As Su was reflecting on the toil of human life, his attention was arrested by a gray falcon circling at ease and in freedom in the sky with out a thought for the morrow, and he wondered whether the honors and emoluments of office were worth the fetters of a civilized life.

toil   productive work (especially physical work done for wages) 

at ease    安适、舒适、自在

emolument    compensation received by virtue of holding an office or having employment 

这一句十分传神展现了苏东坡反思生命的辛劳与意义，恍如眼前所见东坡之沉思与神貌。

3. This was tiring for their muscles, but as we know, was always good for their figures.

tiring for their muscles和good for their figures 十分巧妙的修辞平衡，有几分俏皮

4. Vivacious, irrepressible, ambitious, Su Tungpo felt like a thoroughbred impatiently pawing the ground, ready to break into whirlwind speed to conquer the world.

vivacious    vigorous and animated

irrepressible    full of energy, confidence, and happiness so that you never seem unhappy

thoroughbred    a well-bred person