1. Vocabulary
1.1 Indefatigable writers of memoirs, like Wang Mingching and Shao Powen.
indefatigable /??nd??f?t?ɡ?b?l/
You use indefatigable to describe someone who never gets tired of doing something. 不知疲倦的; 不屈不撓的
仿寫：
His indefatigable spirit helped him to cope with his illness.
1.2 Owing to the imbroglio over Wang Anshih's state capitalism and the heat and excitement of the political battles that extended through Su Tungpo's lifetime.
imbroglio /?m?br??l????/
An imbroglio is a very confusing or complicated situation. 紛亂; 錯綜復雜的局面
仿寫：
Try to avoid the imbroglio on money.
1.3 Such a trend of things could not escape Su Tungpo's perspicacious mind and was a little too much even for his sense of humor.
perspicacious /?p??sp??ke???s/
Someone who is perspicacious notices, realizes, and understands things quickly. 敏銳的; 有洞察力的
仿寫：
He was one of the most perspicacious and perceptive historians of that period.
1.4 There were dishonest reporters who thought it expedient to maintain a strict silence on the bad features of the socialist regime.
expedient /?k?spi?d??nt/?
If it is expedient to do something, it is useful or convenient to do it, even though it may not be morally right. 權宜的
仿寫：
He will agree if it is politically expedient to do so.
2. Guiding Questions
2.1 The central question that the author answered in this chapter is why he wrote the biography just for Su Dongpo. There are two reasons. First, it comes from Su Tungpo’s excellence in writing, painting, medicine and so on. The second reason is that there is a more complete record of Su Tungpo’s life than of other Chinese poets.
2.2 Sentences
Considering how incomplete our knowledge usually is of people who live in the same city with us, or even of the private life of the mayor, it seems sometimes easier to know a dead man than a living one.
作者指出評價和我們生活在同一年代的人很難，因為我們無法預測接下來會發生什么，而很多秘密只有死后才會揭曉。聽聞，若想評價一個人，至少要等其死后三十年；所以，評價幾百年前甚至上千年前的人要容易的多。
The human spirit in Su Tungpo was mellowed, not soured, by his many troubles, and we love him today because he suffered so much.
這句話寫出蘇東坡雖飽經憂患，但性格更趨溫和，并沒有變得尖酸刻薄，這也正是我們喜愛他的緣故。
But the hindsight of biographers is always better than the foresight of astrologers.
傳記家的馬后課卻總比星象家的馬前課可靠。hindsight 和 foresight 一對反義詞。
3. Reflection
蘇東坡生活年代正是北宋從繁榮走向衰敗的時期。蘇東坡生于仁宗年間（仁宗為北宋最好的皇帝），做官是在善良但野心勃勃的神宗年間，而被貶是在愚笨的哲宗即位時，逝世是在金人征服北宋的二十五年前。我想蘇東坡還是幸運的，其后出生的北宋詞人李清照、辛棄疾、陸游等，莫不趕上金人入侵，生逢亂世，不得已流落南方，顛沛流離。蘇東坡雖說生于太平時期，但也經歷了朋黨之爭，數次被貶，看到百姓流離失所，為民疾呼，當朝皇帝卻聽而不聰，所見不明，蘇東坡縱有治國奇才，卻也無可奈何。
作者講到偏愛蘇東坡的原因，一是蘇東坡的卓越才華都深深地印刻在他的作品當中，如他所繪的《墨竹》時隔千年，還依然閃耀照人，落筆仿佛只是在頃刻之前；二是，蘇東坡的生活資料比較完整，遠非其他詩人可比。我想也正是這些史料，讓我們有幸認識這位偉大的詩人。
4. 蘇詩鑒賞
Four years has Tungpo lived at Huangchow,
Strange that he never mentioned Li Chi.
Exactly like Tu Fu of the West River;
Of the best flower, begonia, he sang the least.
東坡四年黃州住，何事無言及李琪。卻似西川杜工部，海棠雖好不吟詩。
