Reading Reflection
“巴东三峡巫峡长，猿啼三声泪沾裳”，巫峡雄奇艰险，三苏此次赴京挑选了水路，一路的风景既震撼人心，又暗涌丛生，联想他们之后的人生，也许早就在这次旅途中铺垫了不少。读到最后看到苏洵对历史观的思考很受触动，不予粉饰的历史才是真实，十分荣耀往往是堂皇，白玉微瑕才是值得追求的吧。
Guiding Question
What were the main activities did the Su's take after they set out for the capital?
They took the voyage down the Yangtse river, enjoyed the beautiful scenery, versified and went through the dangerous Wu Gorges. After they settled in the capital, all Sus were appointed a good job and the family were gradually known as a literary phenomenon.
Words & Expressions
1. tower (P51)
From Tsekuei on, the back of the Giant Buffalo was visible on the distant horizon, towering above the tops of the nearer mountain ridges.
[熟词僻义] tower: Someone or something that towers over surrounding people or things is a lot taller than they are. 远远高于；凌驾于……
2. took the view; gloss over (P53)
Su Shiin took the view that this was strictly a historian's job and a historian should not gloss over the faults even of one's ancestors.
take the view: 认为；虽然直译是‘持某种观点’，但是我们不这么说话吧~
e.g. Some people take the view that sometimes in life we have to take chances in order to make progress.
gloss over: If you gloss over a problem, a mistake, or an embarrassing moment, you try and make it seem unimportant by ignoring it or by dealing with it very quickly. 粉饰；可以用于 gloss over one's faults/shortcomings. 而gloss本身就有光泽的意思，想象一下粉饰之后就是把丑陋地变美丽，从而闪亮有光泽~
3. strike off (P53)
"I hear that some colleagues have petitioned to Your Majesty, saying that the ancestors may have had personal blemishes, but that if they were no concern of the state, these should be struck off the records.
strike off: 勾销，删除的意思，还可以用来表示“摆脱……”，比如strike off shackles of past“摆脱束缚”
