Part 1

In this chapter, the author talked about the childhood and youth of Su Tungpo. His family exerted a strong influence on him. Su’s mother was a well-educated woman, and she taught him some important qualities. Some of his relatives were in office, and he often met some other officials, which produced a deep impression upon him. To some extent, his father’s intolerance of evil influenced him in his later career. The home atmosphere seemed just right for his growing up.

Part 2

1.This memory work was hard and strenuous toil.

strenuous: an activity or action involves a lot of energy or effort.

eg. It would be better to avoid strenuous exercise before sleeping.

toil: this word here is a noun, and it means hard unpleasant work that makes you very tired.

eg. It is obviously that nobody want to have a life of hardship and toil.

2.When Tungpo was sixteen, there was an episode which put a heavy strain on the relationship between the father's and the mother's family,

strain: a state of worry and tension caused by a difficult situation.

put a heavy strain使关系紧张起来

eg. In present-day society, people are suffering from the the stresses and strains of a busy and demanding career.

3.Su Shun wrote a poem couched in bitter words and blaming himself for his daughter's death.

couch: as a noun, it means sofa. When it refers to a verb, it means to say or write words in a particular style or manner

eg.  The boss often couched in an incisive comments.

bitter words 刻薄的话