Never forget martyrs’ unfulfilled wish and march forward hand
in hand with a tempered will.

不忘先烈遗志 携手砥砺前行Every piece of land is soaked with martyrs’ blood; in every handful of soil dwell
the souls of the sacrificed heroes.

一寸山河一寸血，一抔热土一抔魂。Since the modern times, in the struggle for
national independence and people’s liberation, countless revolutionary forefathers of our country, one stepping into the breach as anther fell,
have composed many heroic epics at the cost of their lives and forged unfading
spiritual monuments.

近代以来，在争取民族独立、人民解放的道路上，无数革命先辈前仆后继、顽强奋斗，用鲜血和生命谱写出一部部气壮山河的英雄史诗，铸就了永不褪色的精神丰碑。

They have intended to beautify themselves
by painting without expecting to give off an aggressive smell.

本爲增色而敷粉，未料其氣襲煞人。The natural beauty of the laundress needn’t
any adornment at all. It’s a pity that the ugly girl tried in vain to imitate
her knitting brows.

西子天姿無須飾，可歎東施徒效顰。

On August 20, No. 18 typhoon W this year passed through Dalian City, Liaoning Province. Under its influence, just moored beside the 760th Research Institute of China Shipbuilding Industry, one of State Key Experimental Platforms was in great danger. At the critical moment, Huang, a member of the Party Committee and deputy director of the institute, and other 16 of his colleagues fearlessly rushed out to reinforce the platform in spite of the typhoon and huge waves. In the operation, H, S and J were drawn into the sea by the mighty waves and laid down their lives heroically.

Last night when I watched TV, I happened to
switch to Channel 1 of CCTV which was televising live Session III of Season IV
of Contest on Knowledge of Chinese Poetry and Lyrics. The former anchorwoman Ms
Dong still chaired the competition. One of the two distinguished guests present
was Professor Wang, my old acquaintance; another was a middle-aged female
professor surnamed Yang from Central South University. When the two ladies were
showing off their commonplace learning on poetry, Mr Wang kept silent and
listening. But when a thorny problem was presented, such as an astronomical one,
which the two ladies couldn’t tackle, he would give a satisfactory explanation
by quoting the classics.

Having divorced her rich husband, she remarried
another poor divorced man in pursuit of freedom. The middle-aged newly-weds have been
defying adversity persistently year in year out.

棄富從貧覓自由，不惑再婚共苦舟。Now the tide has begun turning to the
struggling couple at last. They are the real happiest people for they have
tasted both sweets and bitters of life.

曙光終現風雨後，别有滋味在心頭。

By the cold end of the year, the mole
crickets are bemoaning their sad fate at night.凛凛岁云暮，蝼蛄夕鸣悲，
The man
travelling far away from home has no wear to keep out the bitter wind.凉风率已厉，游子寒无衣。
Soon
after marriage, he left me for a protracted business trip.

锦衾遗洛浦，同袍与我违。

Both wheels of the chariot got stuck in the
mud and its four horses were entangled in the reins. The drum was thumped loudly
by sticks embedded with jade.

霾兩輪兮縶四馬，援玉枹兮撃鳴鼓。
All the fighters were cruelly slain and
deserted on the battlefield. Heaven was exasperated at the scene. 天时墜兮威靈怒，嚴殺盡兮棄原壄。On their way to the far front meeting the
invading enemy, they hadn’t expected to return alive.

出不入兮往不反，平原忽兮路超逺。Wearing swords and bows from the Qin state,
they fought heroically to the death.

帶長劒兮挾秦弓，首身離兮心不懲。They were really both brave and powerful,
unyielding to the end.

誠既勇兮又以武，終剛强兮不可凌。
Your bodies are dead, but your souls are still
alive as heroes among the ghosts.

身既死兮神以靈，子魂魄兮為鬼雄！

As throngs after throngs of famers fight
their way to the towns, some far‐sighted white‐collar workers quit their well‐paying jobs in the cities retreating to the rural communities that
they have come from. Some may call them fools. But the great farming achievements
of many of these highly educated professionals have proved that their choice is
right and the talents can put their abilities to good use in the countryside
similarly. Here these modern promising recluses enjoy
a simple healthy life without working pressure, traffic jams, air pollution, cold
relations they have suffered in the cities. Above all they can take good care of their old whom many young
townspeople have ignored for being occupied in their careers.

The first day of Beginning of Winter
Finished North and South by Mrs. Gaskell, in which the authoress advocates peaceful reconciliation between capital and labour. The plot of the novel seems unnatural and inappropriate to me. Mr. Thornton and Mr. Lenox offer their hands to Margaret in turn but both are rejected mercilessly. She is graceful and feels sympathy for the poor. Then I find it difficult to pinpoint her other merits. At first she conceals the truth about her brother from Mr. Thornton. But she is always anxious about being misunderstood. At last she tries to have Mr. Bell tell Mr. Thornton the truth. When Bell fails to do the job before his death, the authoress assigns Higgins to finish the task. That episode is a mistake in an otherwise very good plot.

It took Ms L about two hours to drive four of
us colleagues to S Primary School attending the lectures of several subjects. There
we first heard an admirable speech made by the school principal. Then I was
ushered to a calligraphy class with some visiting counterparts from other
schools as assigned. Before the small young teacher conducted his class, an
address of welcome was given by a girl in Chinese and by a boy in English. Afterwards
we listeners gathered with the lecturer and two chiefs concerned in another
room for a discussion. I just kept silent listening to others’ opinions.