Four Great Classic Novels are usually thought to be the     1     (good) novels in Chinese literature. What the four have in common is that they     2     (write) in a spoken language of their times unlike most ancient literature created in classical Chinese. Also, the four all have debatable authorship. They had a far-reaching impact     3     the development of Chinese societies in past eras. The four works were     4     (wide) read by scholars and administrative rulers and they contained philosophical ideas, history, and ideas about human society, family life, and politics     5    defined part of the world view of the literate (文人) and politically     6     (influence) people. Two of    7    , Water Margin and The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, are semi-historical, long     8     (novel) , sort of like War and Peace by Tolstoy in terms of impact. The Dream of the Red Chamber was very highly regarded when it was published both in China     9     Japan and is reminiscent (怀旧的) of a psychologically complex work by Dostoyevsky. Journey to the West is a fairy tale     10       (fill) with romantic account reminiscent of Odyssey.

3 . With the winter holiday on the way and time on your hands, you might be looking for something to read. The following are four great books for you.

The Bright Side

Chad Otis is an author and illustrator. His new book, The Bright Side, is about finding hope in desperate situations. Its hero is a boy who lives with his family in an old school bus because they can’t afford to live anywhere else. This is something Otis experienced when he was a kid. He wants kids who are going through similar struggles to know, “You are not alone. Stay strong. Stay optimistic.”

Bunheads

In Bunheads, Misty Copeland tells the story of how she fell in love with dance. As a girl. Copeland was shy and afraid of talking in front of people. Dance helped her get past her fears. “Ballet gave me a language to communicate in a way that worked for me,” she told TFK. “Ballet allowed me to speak... through my body.”

Little Daymond Learns to Earn

Linle Daymond Learns to Earn teaches kids about money. It’s by Daymond John, who is one of the stars of Shark Tank. With a little creativity and the help of his friends, little Daymond starts a small business. “Every single business that you create does one thing — it finds solutions to problems in life,” he says.

Facts vs. Opinions vs. Robots

What’s the difference between a fact and an opinion? Sometimes, it can be hard to tell them apart. Facts vs. Opinions vs. Robots is a new picture book. It teaches kids about facts and opinions. The book uses robots to show the difference between the two. Michael Rex wrote and illustrated the book, in which he asks questions of the reader.

4 . Elizabeth Sherrill is a long-time writer. For 70 years, her stories about faith, her experiences of traveling the world and dealing with depression (抑郁,沮丧) have been a beacon (灯塔) of light for many people. Check out some of her articles and let her words affect your heart.

A Letter on Depression

My struggle with depression hasn’t totally disappeared. It still surrounds me from time to time, blocking light and making it hard to smile. But the suffering no longer makes me frightened, because I keep telling myself to be positive.

An Angel Named Maria

“A baby was born here and no one knows what to do,” the doctor said into the telephone. He went on to explain that the mother had disappeared from the hospital after seeing the disabled baby. “She will not live long,” the doctor continued. “Bring us the baby,” answered Sister Marie Patrice at the other end of the line, who ran a day nursery.

Lessons from Abraham Lincoln

When I turned to leave, the picture over the door stopped me. It was a black-and-white photo: a tall, thin man with his hand on a table and with the saddest, most pain-filled face I’d ever seen.

The letters on the frame said “Abraham Lincoln”. He won every wrestling match and told funny stories that crowds would gather to enjoy. Over time, that picture made him more important to me than ever.

A Lesson while Moving

I stood looking out the kitchen window wondering how John and I could ever leave this house. We’d lived here for 50 years. Under the maple tree was the garden where we grew tomatoes that never ripened. There was the stump (树桩) of the cedar (雪松) we cut down to make room for our daughter’s wedding reception.

5 . If you want to understand China but can’t afford an expensive international flight, these four books can give you a complete overview of the country.

River Town

River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze by Peter Hessler-This book is a journal of the author’s two years spent teaching English in a small town called Fuling, situated on the banks of the Yangtze River. Hessler writes about his experiences living in a foreign culture and observing the lives of the town’s residents. The book was published in 2001 and has won several awards, including the Kiriyama Prize.

Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China

It is a book that tells the story of China’s modernization. It was written by Ezra Vogel and published in 2011. The author describes how Deng Xiaoping’s policies led to significant changes in China’s economy and society. The book has received critical honors and won the Lionel Gelber Prize In 2012.

The Search for Modern China by Jonathan Spence

This book is a comprehensive history of China from the Ming dynasty to the present day. The author, a prominent scholar of Chinese history, provides a detailed analysis of the social, cultural, and political changes that have taken place in China over the past 500 years. The book was first put out in 1990 and has since been revised and updated several times. This book was the top bestseller for years.

Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China

Written by Leslie T. Chang, this book, published in 2008, is reportage on the lives of young women who leave their rural homes to work in factories in China’s cities. Chang, a former New York Times correspondent (someone who is employed by a newspaper or a television station etc. to report news from a particular area or on a particular subject), interviewed hundreds of factory girls to provide insight into the social and economic changes in China.

6 . How to Read a Poem

You’ve selected the poem you want to read — congratulations! Now it’s time for the business of reading it.

Examine the title and the shape

    1     — how does it make you feel? How does the title fit the shape of the poem? If the title is sad, let the shape of the poem inform the small difference of the emotion — if it’s short and sparse (稀疏的), maybe it’s coming from a place of desolation or desperation.     2    .

Read the poem as you normally read anything

Reading poetry doesn’t require a clever approach; you can read as you’d read anything else. On the first pass through, absorb whatever it is that arises upon first impression.     3    , maybe your stomach churns (恶心) at a particular phrase, or you hold your breath at a certain line. Explore the feelings that come up as you read.

    4    

Next, try reading the poem out loud or search for readings of the poem online. This is where the music of a poem emerges, and you can feel the shape of each word and line as you move through it.

Add context to paint a full picture

Finally, return to the poem context.     5    ; look at the publication date and consider the world around the poem when it was first released. Consider where the poem lives: Was it released as part of the author’s poetry book, or was it published in a literary magazine? From these details and materials you will get a deeper understanding of the poem.

7 . An Excerpt from The Mexican

—by Jack London

A mysterious youth came to the America—based Mexican Revolutionary Committee, requesting for its admission.

Nobody knew his history. The first day he drifted into their busy rooms, they all suspected him of being a spy of the Diaz regime(迪亚兹政权), which had been carrying out the dictatorial rule since 1876.

Boy as he was, he announced that he was Felipe Rivera, and he wished to work for the revolution. The revolutionists looked at each other with doubt in their eyes. And what made revolutionists the most confused was Rivera’s whereabouts—he always came back with his arms or legs seriously injured, dressed in ragged clothes. So what had he been doing recently? Everyone in the Revolutionary Committee started to take precautions against him.

The situation changed totally when the Committee was in bad need of funds. Much to their surprise, such a slender boy should have successively brought them batches of gold and silver coins. Then came the most urgent situation where 5, 000 dollars were needed to buy guns for those revolutionists on standby on the border between the US and the Mexico. Rivera stood out and made a promise that he would give them 5,000 dollars within three weeks.

So, how could he get so much money within such a short period of time?

Rivera was determined to help his people at the cost of his life. He fought against stronger and tougher boxers in the ring to make money for his people. One day he was engaged in a very tough fight against a champion boxer, Danny. Rivera didn’t match Danny in height, weight, or skills. And he was not half as popular. However, “The winner takes all!” And Rivera stubbornly asked for all—all he had on his mind was making the money for his people.

The fight was going on and on. The whole stadium was cheering for Danny; there were few on Rivera’s side. However, Rivera survived one blow after another; his excellent defence was frightening.

Danny rushed, forcing Rivera to give him a clinch. Was it a trick? Rivera thought to himself.

Yes, it was. But Rivera was smart enough to avoid it. He backed and circled away.

He pretended to clinch with Danny’s next rush. Instead, at the last instant, just as their bodies should have come together, Rivera went quickly back. He had fooled him!

While Rivera was dancing away, Danny kept challenging him openly. Having run after him for two rounds, Danny found the boy not even daring to come near him. He started to throw all caution to the winds. Rivera was struck again and again. He took blows by the dozen—just to avoid the deadly clinch.

In the seventeenth round, Rivera, hit heavily, bent down. His hands dropped helplessly. Danny thought it was his chance—the boy was at his mercy. He decided to strike the deadly blow. But before he could do that, Rivera caught him off his guard and hit him in the mouth. Danny went down. When he rose, Rivera gave him another blow on the neck and jaw. He repeated this three times.

Danny did not rise again. The audience shouted for him to stand up. But the miracle did not happen.

“Count!” Rivera cried to the referee. When the count was finished, Danny, gathered up by his assistants, was carried to his corner.

“Who wins?” Rivera demanded.

Unwillingly, the referee caught his gloved hand and held it high up.

Rivera, unattended, walked to his corner, where his assistants had not yet placed his stool. He didn’t care. All he could remember was that he had got the $5,000 he needed. “The winner takes all! ” What mattered to him was that________.