Lin Yutang: �The Little Critic�
----Book Review of With Love & Irony

Lin Yutang, a famous but forgotten name in Chinese society, has been a well-known writer among English readers from the Western world ever since his publications of My Country and My Men and The Importance of Living. His fame topped when he was nominated for the Nobel Prize for his work A Moment in Peking, which vividly describes the living of a middle class home in Peking throughout the unstable times from the collapse of the Qing Dynasty to the Anti-Japanese War. Lin Yutang, as he self-describes, is a �mix of contradictions�. So is reflected in his works. In A Moment in Peking he is a Confucius, who cares for the miseries of his countrymen, while in My Country and My Men and The Importance of Living he is a Taoist, who prefers to step back into the stage curtains and take a sarcastic but all-encompassing view of life. He once wrote essays for a column called �The Little Critic� in Nanjing during the rule of the Nationalists to criticize those in power but with witty styles so as not to cause anger in certain persons and to disclose life in ordinary people with a persuasive but calm heart so as not to disturb people�s lives. The book With Love & Irony is such a collection of critical but humorous essays written during that period.

He has a good opinion of what Englishmen and Chinese are like. He writes that the English and the Chinese are both nations which would not loose common sense to pure logical reasoning. He compares the two nations with the German and the Japanese, which were then at war with other nations. Englishmen would always maintain their own way of living even in a most remote place as the African desert or the Amazon jungles. They are so confident in themselves that they believe what they do should not and could not be otherwise wrong. For example, they have such firm confidence in their English banks that it won�t go bankrupt just because they believe so. That is the reason why the Bank of England was left with its name untouched even after it was acquired by HSBC in the last century. While the English stubbornness represents a masculine style the Chinese vagueness deals with life in a feminine way. Chinese are good at holding back their opinions and thus bad at drawing comparisons. A is good but B seems just not bad, maybe from a different viewpoint, better. �Action without thinking may be foolish, but action without common sense is always disastrous�.

Besides his humor, his sarcasm is expressed explicitly when he talks about nudism. He first confesses he sees no harm nudism could bring to people. Then he adds that he is a �reasonable� nudist �at certain hours and in certain circumstances�. He would like the fresh air to touch his naked body in his bathroom well protected from neighbor�s peeping eyes but hates the idea of walking down the street disclosing the skin that is mother-given. So is he discussing being a vegetarian. He stresses being reasonable rather than being principle considering only eating vegetables. No point in refusing blood-sticking beefsteak paying every mercy to the cattle slaughtered while turning a blind eye on the thousands being killed or starved to death every day around the world.

This book With Love & Irony is thus a making of his wisdom, fearlessness and unaffected commentary delivered with sparkling humor. Featured by ranging aspects of daily life to the fascinating insight of the social and political scene at that time, some essays of this book are untimely that we may get amazed that much of his observations recorded in the 1930�s are still valid and relevant today. Lin Yutang, the little critic, is such a genius but who took to ordinary life so much that he is a true life philosopher who merely lived, observed life and went away, leaving behind piles of books in which stored his great but plain spirits for us to experience and through them explore our true inner selves.

"Globalisation' is not simply to shape ourselves into the forms recognized by others or simply import the forms overseas and put them on ourselves. By doing so we would easily loose our self-confidence through constantly criticising on our own customs and our own habits for their not originating from foreign cultures when we are so deeply admiring the ways of life by the American, the English and the French and etc. Globalisation, unlike what most of us hold in their beliefs, is the possibility to maintain and, more importantly, express our cultures to the rest of the world in a way that is GLOBALLY accepted. Anything concerning transforming or abandoning our culture or anything anti 'globalisation' is no real globalisation but a lack of self-confidence and knowledge in itself.

闻问切

受疫症之苦
【 明 报 专 讯 】 一 位 Chan 姓 读 者 来 电 邮 说 ， 他 想 知 道 afflict 和 inflict 之 间 的 不 同 。
Afflict 有 令 人 受 苦 的 意 思 ， 在 句 子 中 常 以 被 动 态 形 式 出 现 ， 例 如 �s
She is afflicted with SARS.
她 受 沙 士 （ 非 典 型 肺 炎 ） 疫 症 之 苦 。
Inflict 与 afflict 意 思 近 似 ， 表 示 将 痛 苦 、 惩 罚 或 麻 烦 等 施 加 于 人 ， 例 如 �s
The father inflicted a punishment on the boy for not doing his homework.
父 亲 因 男 孩 不 做 功 课 而 处 罚 他 。
此 二 字 的 区 别 在 于 ， afflict 所 施 的 动 作 是 无 法 控 制 的 ， 而 inflict 的 动 作 可 控 制 。 在 本 例 中 ， 父 亲 可 以 处 罪 儿 子 ， 也 可 不 处 罚 ， 即 是 可 控 制 的 。

cluster a group of
defunct cease to function
itinerary a planned traveling route
steely determined
spawn cause to happen
wrath anger
mantra a Buddist chant for calming
swamp flood
chronic severe for a long duration
dyke thick flood prevention wall/substitute for 'lesbian'
fare well perform well
ramification unseen consequences
muster gather
wield in possession of power
garner collect
vicious circle bad things that trigger each other
ensue happen immediately after
promulgate constitute something important
suffice be enough
token gesture deed that is done just for showing sincerity
absurd ridiculous and nonsense
subvention assistance and support
knock-on effect effect that follows immediately afterwards
wail painful cry
Band-Aid superficially curing method

Brazil

In Rio, government is family affair


【 明 �� �� �� 】 RIO DE JANEIRO - For Anthony Garotinho, 43, and Rosinha Matheus, 40, governing Rio is a family affair.


When Garotinho quit as Rio de Janeiro state governor to run for president last year, he surprised everyone by choosing his wife as the candidate for his seat. Matheus, in her first election, won in a landslide ( 一 面 倒 的 �� 利 ).


And when Governor Matheus needed a new secretary of public security to deal with a crime wave, the answer was right at home.


"I am naming ( 任 命 ) as secretary the most important thing in my life - my husband," she said on announcing the appointment in April.


Today, the two wield ( �\ 用 ) influence as a couple unparalleled ( �� 一 �o 二 的 ) in Brazilian politics. And how they govern Brazil's second-richest state will probably be a key to the 2006 presidential succession ( �^ 承 ).


Brazilians half-jokingly ( 半 �_ 玩 笑 地 ) compare the two to Juan and Evita Peron, the Argentine leader and charismatic ( 富 魅 力 的 ) first lady in the 1940s and 50s.


Like the Perons, Rio's first couple are unabashed ( 不 加 掩 �� 的 ) populists ( 平 民 主 �x 者 ), revered ( 崇 敬 ) by some voters, reviled ( 痛 斥 ) by others.


As governor, Garotinho built swimming pools in slum districts, opened 35-cent-a-meal "People's Restaurants" and handed out ( �l ) a monthly "Citizen's Check" to low-income families and the elderly. Campaigning for president, he promised to raise the minimum wage and cut taxes.


Critics scoffed at ( �I 笑 ) his chances, but Garotinho struck a chord with1 poor voters. He finished a surprisingly strong third, while Matheus cruised ( 航 �[ ) to a first-ballot win in the governor's race.


Political commentator and movie director Arnaldo Jabor said that the country's intellectuals, academics ( �W 者 ), artists and opinion shapers should have been able to defeat the man and wife politicians, calling them a "grave ( �� 重 的 ) sociological abnormality ( 不 正 常 的 事 物 )".


Matheus, who once sold cosmetics door-to-door ( 挨 家 逐 �� 地 ), has struggled since taking office ( 上 任 ) in January. Civil servants protested loudly when the state couldn't pay mandatory ( �� 制 的 ) Christmas bonuses - in part a legacy of Garotinho's administration.


Many also questioned her fitness for the job when drug gangs burned city buses and machine-gunned ( 用 �C �� 射 �� ) police posts and a tourist hotel, placing her authority in check2. The violence got so bad ( �� 重 ) that the federal government sent tanks and soldiers into the streets to keep the peace during the city's famous Carnival.


Born in 1960, Anthony William Matheus de Oliveira was a soccer commentator ( �u 述 �T ) who changed his name to Garotinho - Portuguese for "little boy" - after the success of his radio programme, the Garotinho Show.


At 19, he met 16-year-old Rosangela Barros Assed at a play rehearsal ( �� �� 排 演 ) in his home town of Campos, a sugar cane-growing centre 275 kilometres east of Rio. Two years later they were married.


With his silky voice and media savvy ( 熟 �R �� 媒 �\ 作 ), Garotinho was a natural ( 天 生 的 料 子 ) for politics. He was elected state legislator and mayor of Campos, while Matheus took his place behind the microphone with the Rosinha Show.


Following a near-fatal ( �U 死 的 ) car crash in 1994, Garotinho converted to evangelical Protestantism, and his speeches took on the fervour ( �� 情 ) of the pulpit ( �� 道 �� ). With support from the politically influential evangelical community, Garotinho was elected governor in 1998 - with 58% of the vote.


Matheus at first was known mostly as the governor's wife and mother of their nine children, five of them adopted ( �I �B ), but slowly she moved out of the shadows. Garotinho named her to head the government's Social Action and Citizenship secretariat, implementing the Popular Restaurants and the Citizen's Check programme.


AP


(1)To strike a chord with someone 指 「 引 起 某 人 的 共 �Q 」 。


(2)To place something in check 指 「 抑 制 某 事 物 」 。


Peter Muello

Talk English

The vegetarian viewpoint


【 明 �� �� �� 】 1. Drama Focus:


Alan This steak is delicious...


Rita: That steak was once part of a living animal.


Alan: Really tender and juicy.


Rita: Do you know how they kill the animals that end up as steak on your table?


Alan: Can we change the subject Rita?


Rita: The cattle are given electric shocks and then battered to death in the abattoir.


2. Language Focus


a) Vocabulary: Similes


Similes are adjectives that have a similar meaning such as `tender' and `juicy.' Their meanings are not exactly the same but overlap sufficiently for the two words to be similes. Tender meat is soft meat that is easy to chew. For meat to be juicy is should also be tender and soft. These similes are also related to the adjective `delicious' which mean that that the steak tastes good as well as being soft and moist.


b) Grammar: Passive voice


The passive voice omits the `doer'. When Rita says that, `The cattle are given electric shocks and then battered to death...' she does not say who gives them the shocks or who batters them to death.


Dino Mahoney

我学英文的方法
张 五 常
.......
这里提出的是学写英文的方法，不是学讲英文的方法。自己的耳朵有问题，「讲」不足以教也。这里要谈的也不是考英文的方法。后者同学们要拜国内的新东方为师。我认识新东方的老板，欣赏他对学子的贡献。然而，写、讲、考是三回不同的事，各有各的学习佳法。这里要说的是中国人学写英文的方法，千万不要搞错。学写，中文与英文有三处重要不同：字汇（vocabulary）、动词（verb）、造句（sentence structure）。让我在这三项上说说吧。记住，我的建议是从中、英的不同之处入手。

读书学字汇

我学英文字汇的方法很简单，但要先假设你有香港英文中五毕业的水平，或TOEFL试可以考得五百八十分左右。方法如下：

（一）准备一本英文字典，一本英中字典。要平装，小的，轻的，但字要大，要有清楚的拼音注释。如果是精装的，翻阅太重，要把硬封面剪掉。这是因为你要翻查很多很多，翻得不够快或不舒畅你就不愿意多翻。

（二）找几本你有兴趣读的项目的书，要英文写得很好的。这选书十分重要，你要多问朋友或英文老师来协助你的选择。以每页大约五百字算（也要选字大的版本），要选两三本，加起来大约六百页。

（三）坐下来读书，一页一页地读下去，每个稍有不明的字要立刻查字典。千万不要以为一个字你惯见，以为是懂就不查。凡是稍有疑问的都要查，一丝不苟，直至你完全明白每一个字在一句之内的解法。不要骗自己。

（四）先查英语字典，清楚明白就不用查英中字典了。英中字典是英语字典不能尽释所疑才用的。

（五）千万不要在书页旁下注释。一个字查一次通常不会记得，再见该字时，稍有不明，要再查。稍有不明，同样的字出现一次查一次。一般来说，查三至五次可以记清楚而又学懂一个字。

（六）清楚明白了一句，你要朗声读出来。不查自明之句不朗读，只朗读查过字典的。这是为什么有好的拼音注释字典重要。


两个简化学动词

中文的动词，字的本身没有时间性。我们要以附加字――曾、将、了等――来表达过去或将来。英文动词，字的本身有时间性――如加-ed或go、went、gone等。但英文又加上「完成式」――perfect tense――变化多了，使一些书本说英文的动词时态（tense）有九个或十二个。太复杂了。

作为中国人，我学英文动词想出两个简化。其一是英文动词有过去，有现在，但没有将来。例如will与would、shall与should、may与might、can与could等，都是现在或过去，没有「将来」的。英语用动词是：现在说将来是现在，过去说将来是过去。

用英文动词，首先要决定的是说现在（present）、过去（past），还是「无所谓，二者皆可」。现在就用现在式，过去就用过去式，二者皆可就任择其一，但凡是二者皆可的，选现在式是选了不变，选过去式也是选了不变，不可转来转去。这是说，二者皆可的，选其一之后，要stay in one tense。这是作文章引言或结论时的最佳处理，通常选简单现在式较简单过去式优胜。

除了现在或过去，英文动词有三类时态：简单（simple）、继续（continuous）与完成（perfect）。愚见以为，中国人写英文不要花拳绣腿，卖弄技巧，动词以简单为妙。可用简单现在（simple present，如I go）或简单过去（simple past，如I went），用之可也。事实上，简单动态的文字最有力，虽然有时「继续」与「完成」等动态是非用不可的。

继续时态是指加-ing，浅而明，不需要说了。但完成时态（perfect tense）不容易。我处理完成时态（have、had、has等）是用第二个简化，那就是完成时态有时度（time dimension），而这是中文动词没有的。英文的简单时态是一�x那（one instant of time），过去是过去，现在是现在，没有一段时期的时度；继续时态也是一�x那――过去或现在继续的一�x那，也没有时度。I forget是现在忘记，I forgot是以前忘记，I am forgetting是正在忘记，I have forgotten是从以前到现在之间的时度中忘记了――不知何时忘记而现在还忘记。

「时度」是比较难解释的，而「完成时态」这称呼有点莫名其妙。不明白的读者要从one instant of time与overtime这分别去想――后者有时度，或者记凡有since这个字或有其意的句子都有时度。

教用英文动词的读物甚多，大都教得对。但当年我觉得动词很难学，书本帮不到多少忙。后来我想出的方法就是上述的两点：其一是决定是「过去」还是「现在」；其二是决定要不要表达时度――要不要给时间走一程。

句子从简短造起

中国的文字传统是没有标点的。那是近于没有句子了。我们今天读古文是后人把一个圈一个圈加上去，把文字切断来读。这发展促成今天的中、英二文有不同的句子风格。用标点、分句、分段，中文没有英文那样讲究。很多中国人写英文，见到鬼佬那样「讲究」，就学人家转来转去，总是有点不象样。作本科生时我写的英文也是转来转去的，后来决定不求有功，但求无过，英文才开始象样。

重要的出发点是英文的长句是以短句串连起来的。英文学造句，首先要短句造得好。学造短句，每句的字越少越好，动词用简单时态，几个字，毫无花巧地直写，清楚明白，就来一个句号。这样考英文试作文一定不及格，但我的英文是这样学来的。今天，无论我的英文句子怎样长，其结构是以短句为基础，串连起来再加变化。有短句清楚直写的根底，串连起来也是清楚直写。没有花拳绣腿，有些人认为不到家，但我没有意图做文豪，不敢在钢线上跳舞，但求清楚明白，逻辑井然，读来通顺，只此而已。

以短句串连成长句很多书有教，教得好。标点重要，书本教得好。动词的位置书本也教得好。书本少教的是重要的字要放在句首或句末，尽可能不放在中间。分段的方法书本也教得好，少教的是一段的首句与尾句不应该太长，以短句起笔或收笔读来有力量感。不是明显的短，是要有短的力度感受。

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

我说过了，不管是中文还是英文，文章要讲文气，而文气最容易是从背诵前贤的大作学得。作学生时我喜欢背诵圣经的《创世记》。兹录创世第一天的绝妙好文如下：

读清楚了吗？文气如虹，都是短句，是直写，全用简单时态，and stay in one tense！这是最可取的英文基础了。
-------2003年2月6日《南窗集》
详见“制度主义时代”http://www.stevenxue.com/ 上的“电子文献”
The Elements of Style 请见http://www.bartleby.com/141/

Truth, Good and Beauty
by Bertrand Russell
Throughout the nineteenth century the True, the Good, and the Beautiful preserved their precarious existence in the minds of earnest atheists. But their very earnestness was their undoing, since it made it impossible for them to stop at a halfway house. Pragmatists explained that Truth is what it pays to believe. Historians of morals reduced the Good to a matter of tribal custom. Beauty was abolished by the artists in a revolt against the sugary insipidities of a philistine epoch and in a mood of fury in which satisfaction is to be derived only from what hurts. And so the world was swept clear not only of God as a person but of God's essence as an ideal to which man owed an ideal allegiance; while the individual, as a result of a crude and uncitical interpretation of sound doctrines, was left without any inner defense against social pressure.

报个到，祝各位身体健康！

Now my mind has returned here. A break from full engagement with assignments and dissertation. What a sad thing.

thank you. the same to you!!!

Happy Spring Festival!

Well, he might be just referring to those business people who are quite lost in themselves pursuing their mighty business goals. Or he might be just joking or be tongue-in-cheek and actuall referring to other things.

Also the reality is far more complicated than whatever has been said. Each of us is half blinded from the other side of the society, just like one is always blinded from one's back neck. But one thing is certain, that we shall enjoy the happiness of life, despite of one's so-called achievements, successes and wealth. Enjoy the happiness that lies deeply in the simple hearts of our souls.

Always remember and regard the roots of it, which could forever generate this kind of feelings. No matter what kind of life is ahead of him, one should always be able to enjoy it with sensibility, wisdom and courage. For no one is going to achieve every success, if indeed there is such an absolute definition of it, and face every failure. After all, one should be regarded successful if he managed to lead a normal life till the end of his day inspite of all failures and no success. Sensiblity arises from intimate relations among human beings and wisdom represents one's life experience and lessons, the two of which provides the solid foundation for one's courage. With sensiblity, one could face life energetically. With wisdom, one could endure peacefully. And with courage, one can at all times march without any fear at least.

Really?
The West haven't even begun to understand what life is?
Well, at least, I can't agree.
Nowadays,
we're learning quite a lot of things from the west,
including the modern way of life or
the way dealing with the passed yesterdays,
the attitude toward arts and soul.
here,
just express my recent mind on life.
A wonderful human should learn from his own experiances on
what thing he should pick up and stick to,
and when he should have a change and enjoy a different kind of living.
every person should take life serious, but that's the main attitude,
and then, he should take easy to face the fresh new comings every day,
just like a new feeling to welcome another day's sun rise.
Each one should enjoy happiness,
in different ways.

The world, I believe, is far too serious, and being far too serious, it has need of a wise and merry philosophy. The philosophy of the Chinese art of living can certainly be called the "gay science," if anything can be called by that phrase used by Nietzsche. After all, only a gay philosophy is profound philosophy; the serious philosophy of the West haven't even begun to understand what life is. To me personally, the only function of philosohpy is to teach us to take life more lightly and gayly than the average business man does, for no business man who does no retire at fifty, if he can, is in my eyes a philosopher. This is not merely a casual thought, but is a fundamental point of view with me. The world can be made a more peaceful and more reasonable place to live in only when men have imbued themselves in the light gayety of this spirit. The modern man takes life far too seriously, and because he is too serious, the world is full of troubles. We ought, therefore, to take time to examine the origin of that attitude which will make possible a whole-hearted enjoyment of this life and a more reasonable, more peaceful and less hot-hearted temperament.--------------------The Awakening by Lin, Yutang

abstruse深奥的。
unintelligible难理解的。
touchstone试金石，但是在文中是什么意思呢？
shepherd牧师，牧羊人。
thee古代“你”的意思。
hast是什么意思？
panorama全貌。
take in 欺骗，蒙骗

In modern life, a philosopher is about the most honored and most unnoticed person in the world, if indeed such a person exists. "Philosopher" has become merely a term of social compliment. Anyone who is abstruse and unintelligible is called "a philosopher." Anyone who is unconcerned with the present is also called "a philosoper." And yet there is some truth in the latter meaning. When Shakespeare made Touchstone say in As You Like It, "Hast any philosophy in thee, shepherd?" he was using it in the second meaning. In this sense, philosophy is but a common, rough and ready outlook on things or on life in general, and every person has more or less of it. Anyone who refuses to take the entire panorama of reality on its surface value, or refuses to believe every word that appears in a newspaper, is more or less a philosopher. He is the fellow who refuses to be taken in.----------------Who Can Best Enjoy Life? by Lin, Yutang.

I have borrowed Lin Yutang's The Importance of Living. After a few glance today, I find it an excellent book. Lots of sparkIing thoughts and reflections on mortal human life. I will post some fine pieces from time to time. Do look forward to that!

Some chat about British history

I've just had a Speaking Assisstant Programme, invited by one of my friends. We began by talking on IELTS and ended up with the teacher lecturing us with the British history, which he described as absolutely a big mess. The teacher, Tonny, happened to be born in a town some 35 miles away from York, as he discovered that I was planning to York. He emphasized a lot on the historical value of York city and, especially its old walls that date from about 1 AD, the roman regime time.

York is was a capital of the northen British island at the time of Norman governance. And Norman were people from Normandie, the northwest part of a mainland now called France. But ironically the Norman were not French at that time. They came from Norway and were a group of Norwegen people, who were good sailors as well as invaders to other nations. The Norman, from Normandie in now northwesten France, invaded England after a certain king in England, one of whose remote relative was the then Norman commander of this invasion, died and claimed the kingdom of England. This special relation was due to the fact that the English king that died and the Norman commander of the army shared the same Norwegen ancestors, who invaded the easten coastal areas of England much earlier to this invasion and whose descendents coexisted with the local English people ever since and eventually the king that died had the blood of both the English and the Norwegen.

Already a mess, isn't it? I just have more to tell before I get messed up myself. It is far beyond the capacity of a short piece of narration. Apart from the king's war, he told us other things about the English language. It is really a melting pot because it was influenced by the Norman French, and Norwegen Germantic, and of course Latin, due to early rule of Roman. And I joked that it is now being invaded again by Chinese language, for example kungfu.

Busy day today. Barely have time to rest! Spare me another day please:)

1) Groupthink means the thoughts a lot of people hold, I think.
2)It may be translated like this: sb should be required to study sth.
5)see is a little different from look, see means to view, to observe,
and to make sure of sth, but look may just stress the appearance of sth.

Vocabulary about media

!) For the book's main character, withdrawal is the only means of escape from the crowd, from groupthink, from the mass media.
withdrawal 隐居; groupthink 是什么??

2) The documentary should be required study for all students of mass-media communications, because it illustrates to perfection the way in which illustrations of man's inhumanity to man can mislead public opinion.
sth. be required study for sb. 怎么翻译较好呢?

3) The White House has announced that they normally will not let any member of the news media report on what is going to be in the speech until the president actually delivers it.
deliver a speech 发表演讲. deliver 的用途好象很多.比如运输货物什么的.

4) Belief systems and older cultures expire under a weight of more or less trivial information conveyed by an all-pervasive electronic media.
belief systems and older cultures 信念和传统文化

5) Black had set his heart on the 'News', which he saw as a key part of his plan to build a worldwide media empire.
see...as, look...as好象是一个意思

6) The thought of a quiet ceremony and a small dinner party to follow is becoming more attractive to stars as they watch pulicised marriages like Elizabeth Taylor's being transformed into a media circus.
media circus 在媒体上出丑

7) We were quite upset about the amount of attention this announcement was given, and the amount of media hype that went on around it.
media hype 媒体的大肆宣传

8) Those people ought to be our priority. I don't think they would be best pleased to hear this domestic squabble about the leadership of the Conservative Party being hyped yp by the media at this sort of time.
squabble小争吵, leadership 领导阶层, 类似的有fellowship意思是同伴

9) Reporters were kept away from the group when they arrived from Vietnam amid fears that any media coverage of the event might compromise their safety.
compromise折中;连累,损害. 后者的意思似乎很新鲜,也很好用.

明天登全句翻译:)

Oh, I've found the great change of the templet of your blog, Bennie,
and the great theme u set for your forum.
That's quite nice!
Hope to read more attracting essays here!

Mr Lin's essays are so funny to read
that almost each time when I read,
I cannot stop laughing and thinking.
Yea,
I adore such kind of writing.
Pls post more!

Find Thyself
by Lin, Yutang

The only problem unconsciously assumed by all Chinese philosophers to be of any importance is : How shall we enjoy life, and who can best enjoy life? No perfectionism, no straining after the unattainable, no postulating of the unknowable; but taking poor, mortal human nature as it is, how shall we organise our life so that we can work peacefully, endure nobly and live happily?

Who are we? That is the first question. It is a question almost impossible to answer. But we all agree that the busy self occupied in our daily activities is not quite the real self. We are quite sure that we have lost something in the mere pursuit of living. When we watch a person running about looking for something in a field, the wise man can set a puzzle for the spectators to solve: what has that person lost? Some one thinks it is a watch; another thinks it is a diamond brooch; and others will essay other guesses. After all the guesses have failed, the wise man who really does not know what the person is seeking after, tells the company:" I'll tell you. He has lost some breath." And no one can deny that he is right. So we often forget our true self in the pursuit of living, like a bird forgetting its own danger in pursuit of a mantis, which again forgets its own danger in pursuit of another prey, as is so beautifully expressed in a parable by Chuangtse.

A few notes on the previous paragraph

proceed from//sim/come from,arise from//这种用法现在似乎看不到
rapidity//sim/speed,agility//opp/sluggishness//似乎可用下文的quickness代替
estimable值得评价的,好象很难找到其他例子
execution在这里应该不是执行的意思
prize//sim/appreciate//用作动词
resolve on doing//sim/decide to do/似乎两者区别不大
should在这里似乎可以换作could
panegyric赞颂//sim/laud//
laudable//sim/praisable//
precipitance//sim/haste//
necessary//sim/essential/important//

Volume I Chapter X

(Mr. Darcy) "The indirect boast;-for you are really proud of your defects in writing, because you consider them as proceeding from a rapidity of thought and carelessness of execution, which if not estimable, you think at least highly interesting. The power of doing anything with quickness is always much prized by the possessor, and often without any attention to the imperfection of the performance. When you told Mrs. Bennet this morning that if you ever resolved on quitting Netherfield you should be gone in five minutes, you meant it to be a sort of panegyric, of compliment to yourself-and yet what is there so very laudable in a precipitance which must leave very necessary business undone, and can be of no real advantage to yourself or anyone else?"

I've finished my final at last~~
and I'll go back home soon.
Wish u , Bennie and Jill,
lucky and happy these days,
and enjoy the spring festival~
C ya~

Hi, Shellin, simply ADD OIL! I finished mine early in mid Dec while Jill is still struggling for her finals (she's in Mainland China). There are more holidays in Hong Kong, leaving me abundant time for other meaningful things. Isn't it very nice:-)

第一卷 第一章

(班纳特先生) "这人叫什么名字?"

(班纳特夫人) "彬格莱."

"已婚还是未婚?"

"噢!未婚,亲爱的,的的确确! 钻石王老五一个;每年有四五千磅的收入.真是女儿们的福气啊!"

"这从何谈起? 关她们什么事?"

"我的好老爷," 太太回答道, "你怎么这样叫人讨厌! 你该知道我在盘算什么, 他要是挑中我们的一个女儿做老婆,那多好!"

"他住到这儿来, 就是为了这个打算吗?"

"打算! 胡扯, 这是哪的话! 不过, 他就未必不会看中我们中的某一个女儿呢. 所以嘛, 等他一搬过来你就立刻去拜访他."

"我看没这个必要. 你带女儿们去就得啦. 要不你干脆打发她们自己去, 那也许更好些都说不准, 因为你的美貌并不比你的女儿们差, 你去了, 彬格莱先生倒说不准挑中你呢!"

Hi, Jill, Nice to meet u here.
Shall we be good friends?
I felt so happy to greet u and Bennie,
yea, another two friends come in my life.
Best wishes!

I still have two final exams,
Time is limited, so I will go on writing on my blog after that fight.
How about u two?

Cheers~

Selections from Pride and Prejudice

As I have been reading this novel recently I would like to share some of the wonderful pieces of selections with you. Here we go.

Volume I Chapter I

(Mr. Bennet)"What is his name?"

(Mrs. Bennet)"Bingley."

"Is he married or single?"

"Oh! single, my dear, to be sure! A single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls!"

"How so? how can it affect them?"

"My dear Mr. Bennet," replied his wife, "how can you be so tiresome! You must know that I am thinking of his marrying one of them."

"Is that his design in settling here?"

"Design! nonsense, how can you talk so! But it is very likely that he may fall in love with one of them, and therefore you must visit him as soon as he comes."

"I see no occasion for that. You and the girls may go, or you may send them by themselves, which perhaps will be still better, for as you are as handsome as any of them, Mr. Bingley might like you the best of the party."

Read between the lines
Tongue-in-cheek

There is a very interesting Chinese book titled Thick and Black Philosophy>, by a scholar named Li Zhong-wu. The author proclaimed that the secret of success is to be thick-skinned and black-hearted. He recounted many incidents in the history of China: During the "Three Kingdom era (commencing 220 AD), for instance, a warlord Cao Cao was said to have been a merciless killer. His motto in life was <Better to deny justice to others than to be denied justice by others>. Li put him up to be a member of the "black" bridage. Another warlord who rivalled Cao Cao was Liu Bei. He was reputed to be able to win sympathy and gain advantage on several occasions, utilising his tears-no doubt a hero of the "thick" contigent. Both achieved limited success. At the end, the "Three Kingdoms" were united under Si Ma-yi. Li explained how this gentleman embodied the two enviable qualities. Hence history presented a grandmaster.

The author also raised many other examples in his book. He further submitted that there are three levels of accomplishment: (1) Thick as the Great Wall and black as charcoal (this is only the very basic level); (2) Thick, but tough, Black but shinny (you may know of a good specimen); (3) Thick, but formless, Black, but invisible (he described this as the highest level: "Examples can only be found among the great sages and moralists in history.")

I am sure not all readers would feel the same way about this book. Some might revere Master Li as the true teacher and arm themselves with the above principles to tackle the world. On the other hand, some might have considered his teachings despicable and so, burned the book. However, I feel the book is not really teaching people to be "thick" and "black", but is only meant to be a piece of satire.

It is a technique in writing to express an idea in a camouflaged or indirect manner if the readers understand the hidden message, we would say that they are "reading between the lines." We may describe the indirect style as being "tongue-in-cheek."

Of course there are also times when the auther does not deliberately try to be tongue-in-cheek, but reveals a message inadvertantly. As long as the readers could decipher the message, we can still say that they "read between the lines."

"雨落猫狗"(实在不会翻这一句呢)

一句最普遍而又最古怪的英语口头禅就是用来形容大雨的"Raining cats and dogs"了.这句口头禅的出处受到很多人的争议.

英文有一个代表洪水的字是"Cataclysm", 有人认为这个字的字首是"cat", 被人误解以为和"猫"有关,后来便演变出"Raining cats and dogs"的字句.

又有人指出:在挪威人的传说中有一位雷神名为"奥丁",他有一对招风唤雨的助手,是猫神和狗神,这个传说后来进入了英文的语言里,便造成了以上的口头禅.

不过,最可相信的解释就是有人认为从前在一些排水通道简陋的地方,落大雨之后往往带来洪水泛滥,以致很多猫狗被溺死,便给人一个天上落下猫和狗的感觉.

就像很多其他的口头禅一样,这一句的出处已经没有人去稽考,下倾盆大雨的时候一些中国人会说出一句"赶狗不出门",西方人就会说"Raining cats and dogs",各有其趣.

Welcome, Jill! You've finally got here. Well, Shellin, let me introduce my girlfriend, Jill, to you. She's been your admirer since she watched your performance, am I right, Jill?
Haha!

Raining cats and dogs

A very common yet strange English idiom is that used in describing a heavy downpour of rain: "Raining cats and dogs." Its origin is somewhat inconclusive.

An English word denoting a big deluge is "Cataclysm." Some people think that the "Cat" part of the word had misled people into thinking that the water related to cats, hence the idiom.

Other people say that in Norwegian folklore there was a thunder god named Oldi. He had a pair of assistants who assumed the appearance of a cat and a dog. The "cat" and the "dog" were later introduced into English idiom usage.

Perhaps the most credible explanation comes from the observation that, in certain underdeveloped places where drainage was inadequate, heavy deluges often resulted in the drowning of some cats and dogs. The dead bodies gave the impression that these animals fell from the sky.

Like many other idioms, the exact origin of this idiom is no longer an important issue. It may be interesting to note, however, that the Chinese have this to say about a heavy downpour: it is a day that "a dog cannot be chased out the door!"

Hehe, thank u for your remind,
Sorry that I missed the letter "s"after the sparking in your site link.
Now, I've added it and the click could lead to the right place.
Come and check~ [Haha]

Some reflections on library

The first library I came across was that of my grandpa's. At the age of 5, I suppose, I did not have a very strong impression of it. What's left in my mind is just a black wooden closet, the most common style that you could imagine, with three layers with two pieces of sliding glass filled with books and notes, some of which were so worn-out that I just took them as bindages of waste paper. Under the upper layers were two folding doors, inside which there were no more books but a rice bag and other groceries.

Young and innocent as I was I did not know what those books or notes were about, but I could remember that on the leaves there were lines of hand writings and notes, between the lines or in the page margins. Later I knew that those were the text books and note books of my grandpa's when he was a college student. Now they are missing due to a removal years ago.

Now, I have begun to create my own and enrich it all the time.

Well, I'm finally back. How's everything going? Excuse for my absence these days but I was indeed busy with some personal matters. Anyway, a later-coming happy new year to you, Shellin. I've watched the other competitions and you performed pretty well. Hopefully we will receive our video discs very soon.

Seems that u've forgotten to comtribute to your own webpage,
But I still work on mine.
Wish u a great new year~
and welcome back to my site.
http://sisipy.blogspot.com/
C ya~