PART 1 Expression

1. Any ruler who could stand heartrending oppression o£ the people to build a pleasure garden for himself deserved to lose his throne.

heartrending: making you feel great pity SYN heartbreaking

heartrending stories of children being taken from their parents

rend: (v.) 撕裂；撕扯

I ran to the room and locked the door, fearing that Grandpa would rend me to pieces.

2. In retrospect it would seem that Su Tungpo would gladly have changed his lot with that of his friend.

lot: (n.) sb's situation, your lot is your work, duties, social position etc, especially when they could be better 只能用单数形式

She seems happy enough with her lot.

The unions have always tried to improve the lot of their members.

3. The place was so oppressive with the tepid atmosphere of the river bank and he ordered his boat moved to a cooler place.

tepid: SYN lukewarm

1. slightly warm, especially in a way that seems unpleasant  eg. tepid coffee

2. a feeling, reaction etc that is tepid shows a lack of excitement or interest

a tepid response from the audience

4. Besides his own immediate family, his good friend Chien Shihshiung saw him almost every other day.

immediate family: people who are very closely related to you, such as your parents, children, brothers and sisters

远亲: distant relative;  A and B is distantly related

有一篇报道说，英国哈利王子的未婚妻Megan Markle是丘吉尔和莎士比亚的远亲:

Prince Harry's American bride-to-be Megan Markle is distantly related to both Churchill and Shakespeare.

直系亲属 lineal relatives

旁系亲属 collateral relatives

PART 2 Thoughts

In reading the life of Su Tungpo, we have been following and observing the life of a great human mind and spirit, as they took temporary shape on this earth. Su Tungpo died and his name is only a memory, but he has left behind for all o£ us the joys of his spirit and the pleasures of his mind, and these are imperishable.

读这一章的时候感觉特别不舍。读了一个多月的书，从苏东坡的出生，他一路的起起伏伏，最后到了这一章他人生的终了，还没读过瘾故事就完结了。我个人觉得林语堂这一章写得很好，没有人为加很多离奇的东西和传说故事，也没有过多倾注个人主观的悲恸和惋惜的情感，而是以一种平实的、淡淡的口吻去描述苏东坡的生病到离世的过程。泰戈尔有一句诗，"生如夏花般绚丽，死如秋叶般寂静。"林语堂对苏东坡的传写是非常符合这种意境的，生而璀璨，死而不哀。在这一章里林语堂又一次提到了苏东坡的那个游历四方的朋友吴复古，林语堂这样写到：”In retrospect it would seem that Su Tungpo would gladly have changed his lot with that of his friend. He would have been a happier man, and certainly would have been a freer man.“ 我同意林语堂的观点，如果苏东坡真的能一生闲云野鹤，他一定会开心很多，不过这样的话中国文化里就会失去一个伟大的词人。命运给了他很多坎坷和不幸，但却成就了后人的幸运。

合上书再回想这一本书里的故事，脑子里最先浮起的是苏东坡年轻时候写的一首诗：”人生到处知何似？应似飞鸿踏雪泥。泥上偶然留指爪，鸿飞那复计东西。“ 他的一生正是印证他的这首诗，他一生潇洒，不计功名，不畏强权，虽然不能像鸿雁一样自主选择飞行和停留的地方，但无论在哪里都能葆有内心的乐观和不羁。斯人已逝，但是后人却仍在他留下的指爪上感叹着、敬仰着、怀念着，汲取着自己的知识和精神的力量。

The End