Su Shi isn’t a strange name to us, as we learn his ci in textbooks. Su is one of the most popular ancient writers. He was good at almost all kinds of writings and art, including poems, ci and prose (散文) as well as calligraphy (书法) and painting. But Su was not only respected for his talents, but also for his positive attitude towards life.
When he was young, he passed the imperial examination (科举考试) and got a degree of Jinshi. After that, he became an official. Unluckily, Su was demoted (贬谪) to serve in far areas because of other officials’ bad words about him. But he was not too discouraged.
First, he went to Huangzhou, in today’s Hubei. There he tried to enjoy life in the countryside. He farmed a piece of land which he called Dongpo. This is why people call him Dongpo. It is also said that he invented Dongpo Pork, a famous Chinese dish, during this period. Many of his poems were written there, too. Including Tune: Calming the Waves. Its line “Impervious to wind, rain or shine, I’ll have my will (归去! 也无风雨也无晴)” showed his open-minded attitude.
Su was also demoted to Danzhou, in today’s Hainan. At the beginning, he couldn’t get used to the hot and wet weather. He couldn’t understand the local language. Instead of getting sad, he set up schools and got along well with the locals. Many people traveled from far places to visit him.
“Su is a great optimist (乐天派), a friend of people, a prose master.” writer Lin Yutang said in his book about Su.
9. _________ is not mentioned about Su Shi’s talent.
A.Ci | B.Painting | C.Singing | D.Poems |
10. The underlined word “discouraged” in Paragraph 3 means _________.
A.disappointed | B.confident | C.surprised | D.embarrassed |
11. _________is the correct order of Su Shi’s experiences.
①He was demoted to Huangzhou.
②He invented Dongpo Pork.
③He got a degree of Jinshi.
④He set up schools in Danzhou.
12. What we can learn from Su Shi’s experiences?
A.We should work hard to avoid ups and downs. |
B.We should try our best to help others. |
C.We should ask friends for help when we are down. |
D.We should stay positive when facing difficulties. |