Finished The Mill on the Floss today. A good novel worthy of intensive reading. In this tragedy the most tragic character is the heroine, Maggie. She’s a fine, kind and tame girl. But finally she is designed to be killed in a serious flood. She can’t marry Philip against Tom’ s will. Neither can she elope with Stephen as her admirer intends to hurt her cousin Lucy. One the one hand, she’s enviable for both Philip and Stephen love her deeply; on the other hand, she’ s unlucky for she cannot marry the man she loves regardless of opposition or reputation. When she returns from the failed elopement planned by Stephen, she’ s quite misunderstood and cast aside by the local people. She’ s in an agony of despair for she finds she has no way out in her homeland. Maybe death is the best deliverance for her from the misery.

The sky has brightened after the night rain.
But some sections of the road were still muddy. I pedaled my trike towards school
with difficulty against the wind.

雨後初晴猶泥濘，踏車容與迎風行。

I decided to push back home the trike load of
coal as early as possible, which I collected yesterday.

昨日攢得煤幾許，趁早舉步推家中。

Asked permission for going to school late in order to draw some money from the bank. I don’t want to see him go empty-handed after spending his short holiday at home this time.
Actually the National Day holiday has only three days and the two weekends close to it are added.
It is said this winter the central heating system at school will be put into operation by using electricity instead of burning coal. Pollution can be greatly reduced in this way.
I just overheard Mr T is to make a wedding feast tomorrow. Up to now he hasn’t given us a formal invitation.

A prolonged spell of hot weather with little rain will be prevailing in our region. Today’s maximum temperature reached 34°C. We suffered terribly from the intense heat during the day. It’s really unbearable to stay at mother’s bedroom. The scorching heat outside was also intolerable. In the heatwave people can easily get tired and sleepy. Seeing mother had lain down on the kang, I found a plank at the yard and took it indoors. I laid it on the floor of the corridor and covered it with a mat as a bed for taking a nap. Tomorrow ‘s maximum temperature is one degree higher than today ‘s. People have been told to prevent heatstroke and reduce the temperature where they rest.

During the coming National Day holiday, above
all, I will have mother’s live video posted to the designated website for getting
her annual pay.

不日休國慶，首要母認証。

Next, the outside crevices of the back windows
need strips of paper pasted on. Moreover, the messy rooms should be sorted out.

其次糊窗縫，亂室亦當清。

He had been out for sixteen years without
contacting his mother, wife and son.

一去十六載，妻子母相絕。He barely managed to survive in a strange
land, concealing his identity and passing every day in anxiety.

他鄕且偷生，隱名日惶惶。He had fled at once to far-away places after killing
one of his neighbors by accident in a fight.

憶昔毆鄰死，亡命天一涯。Taken into custody, he heard that his wife
had married another man.

伏法囹圄中，聞室有新夫。

Q2: When a teacher’s performance is assessed, the ratio of his excellent students should reach a set quota or keep rising year by year. What’s your opinion about it?
A: Even Confucius, the greatest master on education, trained only 72 able and virtuous scholars among his three thousand students, in an excellent ratio of 2.4%.
Q3: The parents of some students complain that you teachers have failed them in educating their children.

A: I’m not paid as a superman. They parents can’t discipline their only child whom they may beat and curse at will. How dare they expect a few of us teachers training a whole class of fifty to sixty students to their satisfaction?

Today I’d like to acquaint you with
a dish my family often enjoys recently, which is called Streaky Pork Steamed
with Tofu and Poached Eggs.

今儿给大家分享一款我家最近常吃的菜肴【五花肉豆腐蒸荷包蛋】，

The cooking method of this dish is very simple.
Its main materials include bean curd, marbled meat and eggs.

这个菜做法十分简单，主要用到的食材有：豆腐、五花肉、鸡蛋。

These are very common food materials rich in
protein.

这些食材都是很常见的，也是蛋白质含量很丰富的食材，

After cooking them together in a steamer, you’ll find this cuisine
tender, smooth, delicious with some exudates in addition. Mixing it with rice must satisfy your appetite.

把这几样食材放在一起下锅蒸，不仅嫩滑鲜香，还有汤汁渗出，拌饭吃特别棒。

A record of
the Old Drunkard’s Pavilion

醉翁亭記

by Ouyang Xiu

作者：歐陽修Chuzhou City is surrounded by mountains.

環滁皆山也。The woods and valleys among the peaks to
the southwest of it are especially beautiful.

其西南諸峰，林壑尤美，There is Mountain Langya which looks
thickly forested in the distance and with gorges deep and serene.

望之蔚然而深秀者，琅琊也。After a six-or-seven-li
walk in the mountains, a traveler can gradually hear flowing water rushing out
from between two peaks, which is the Niang Spring.

山行六七里，渐聞水聲潺潺而瀉出于兩峰之間者，酿泉也。

Both the cuffs of the locals and the front
parts of the men’s robes are often used as bags bulging with things.

当地人的袖口和男子的衣服前襟都是当做口袋用的好地方，经常鼓鼓囊囊放满了东西。The Bhutanese are naturally and gracefully attired
in traditional costumes indicating their spiritual pursuit to a certain extent.
They stand aloof from the worldly strife and lead a leisurely and carefree
life.

不丹的传统服饰飘逸潇洒，从一定程度上表现了他们的精神追求，他们过着与世无争、悠然自得的生活。The Bhutanese believe in Buddhism. People don’t
lock doors mostly when leaving home for the good public order and the simplicity
and honesty of the folkway.

不丹人信佛，社会治安良好，民风淳朴，人们出门都不怎么锁门。