PART 1 Expressions

1. Courting death for themselves, the good scholars time and again impeached the ruling clique.

clique: [kli:k] a small group pf people who think they are special and do not want other people to join them, used to show disapproval 派系；小集团

a ruling clique of officials

the cliques formed by high school students

2. This was considered a good omen for his rise in belles-lettres.

omen: [ˈəʊmən] a sign of what will happen in the future 预兆 (a good/ bad/ ill omen)

He will regard your presence as an omen of good fortune.

The mist seemed like a bad omen and Sara's heart sank a little.

前文还出现了一个auspicious, 好预兆的

eg. Saccani's excellent recording is an auspicious start to what promises to be a distinguished musical career.

3. In this way the father was able to correct any errors in pronunciation, which was full of traps for the uninitiated.

the uninitiated: people who do not have special knowledge or experience of sth

To the uninitiated, this will make little sense.

initiate 做v.有“传授初步知识”的意思, to tell sb about sth or show them how to do sth

initiate sb into sth

Those kids were initiated into heroin use at a young age.

4. The probability is that the adolescent brothers had already outstripped their father, from exact memory of history to excellence of penmanship.

outstrip: 1. to do sth better than sb else or be more successful

We outstripped all our competitors in sales last year.

2. to run or move faster than sb or sth else

Speeding at 90 mph, Denny outstripped police cars for an hour.

5. This is not said in any disparagement of the father, for we know that he guided his two sons in the direction o£ purity of style and of a serious concern with history and government.

disparage: [dɪ'spærɪdʒ] (v.) to criticize sb or sth in a way that shows you do not think they are very good or important 贬低；批评

Matcham's theatres were widely disparaged by architects.

The tax cut is widely disparaged by senators from both parties as a budget gimmick.

disparagement: (n.)

disparaging: (a.)  eg. disparaging remarks/ comments

PART 2 Sentences

1. "There would then be a hullabaloo in the family and the maidservants would run about barefooted to pick vegetables from the garden and kill chickens to prepare a dinner."

Remark: Such a vivid description!

2. "Too much intelligence or originality might be a hindrance, rather than an aid, to success at the examinations. "

Remark: It's pathetic that formal education and standard tests which are supposed to spot and cultivate talented people, in fact strangle many great brains.

3. "The legends grew up very much later and are usually connected with stories which made good after-dinner conversation."

Remark: Most lores are not reliable. People usually add their imagination and good wishes into the lores in the process of spreading.

PART 3 Thoughts

今天突然很想写一个后记来mark一下。今天下午考完了一门专业课期末考，而这周日上午还有一门考试，我这几天竟然读完了前三章的内容，被自己小小的感动了一下。上周和一个同学聊天，她问我，你最近干嘛呢。我说我在读书、学英文。她的第一反应是，你是在准备雅思还是托福。我说我没有在准备任何英文考试，她一脸诧异地看着我。我也问过自己为什么要参加这样的英语读书会，我的留学申请早就提交了，即使重考托福也没法去刷分了。我现在属于班级里特别不务正业、“不求上进”的那类人。有好多考完司法考试还在准备会计师考试的人，也有好多同时有知名律所、知名金融机构和国家机关实习背景的人。而我的简历上还非常苍白，我没有什么拿得出手的证书，去年我还屡败屡战地向大律所投简历，今年反而找实习不找好的只选轻松的。之前面试的时候有律所问我，你周六能上班吗，我说不能，然后就毫无悬念地被刷掉了。我周末干嘛呢，在家学学韩语和西班牙语，然后跳跳舞逛逛街。我说不出我到底要达成什么目标，如果真的要说出一个目的，那就是学一些外语，提升自己，也顺便学一些人生的道理。而且不管像韩语、西班牙语或者跳舞这些东西对我未来有多大的实用性，但至少我现在很享受很快乐。我很讨厌生活被割裂成一个个任务或目标，我更享受做一些“无用”的事。我之前有很长的一阵时间几乎每天都在匆忙中度过，每天都在赶着做紧急的事，但回过头想，那些事真的重要吗，其实一点都不重要，或者只在当时的那一刻重要而已。我现在逐渐习惯了中午或晚上安安静静地看一会自己喜欢看的书。我不需要在读完一本书以后用几部韩剧或者美食来犒劳自己，因为读书的过程本身就是快乐的。这几天忙着复习考试，但我还是忍不住去翻翻这本《苏东坡传》，我不是在push myself too hard, 而是这种读书于我是一种放松和自我调节的方式，一边读点故事学点英文一边给自己的大脑refresh一下。

Su's calligraphy