Summary for my reading: 很久没有坐定长时间去读书，今天开始读TTG的第一章，觉得还慢吃力的。词汇是一方面问题，另一方面是对长难句的分析，花费的时间太长，导致后期疲惫，没有完成全部十五页的阅读。晚上回去再试着读一读。
Central question of this chapter: Actually I haven't finished the whole chapter yet. But from what I have read, Lin states the two reasons for the clearness of the mental portrait of Su in his mind, and some brief inductions to Su.
Words and natural expressions:
1. contemporary 平常见这个词是拿来当形容词用的，在文中出现了...That is why it is sodifficult usually to judge a contemporary...这里把contemporary当做名词使用了，叫做同时代的人，同辈。
2. compassion 同情怜悯。只记得passion是激情了，看compassion着实眼熟，却想它不起来。
3. recess本作为名词暂停，休会讲，比如paliamentart's summer recess. 但是在文章里出现为...we know the recesses of his mind by.....在这里解释为暂停，休会必然是不通顺的，索性词典上出现了。这样的解释the recesses of sth, the inner hidden parts of something 某事物的隐秘（幽深）处:
the deep recesses of the cave
洞穴的深处
fears hidden away in the darker recesses of her mind
隐藏在她内心深处的恐惧
所以这里理解为他思想的深处就比较合理了。
4. imbroglio完全陌生的单词，虽然使用了Eric的卡片仍然是没有记下这个单词。a difficult, embarrassing, or confusing situation, especially in politics or public life〔尤指政治或公务中出现的〕错综复杂的局面:
a political imbroglio
政治上错综复杂的局面
5. 在文中看到了journal和diary的表达，以前是将两者通用的，今天发现原来两者存在细微差别: Journal vs Diary
Diaries and journals have been popular for over centuries and are used for writing and recording information about a specific person. Journals are more personal than diaries; however, both diaries and journals are generally kept private.
6. banishment 和exile都有流放，流亡国外的意思，上大学读英美文学的时候会经常碰到的词，久而不用已经生疏。
7. inevitability sth. that is certain to happen.
8. There is a current Chinese saying that final judgement upon a man is possible only when the cover is nailed on his coffin.
一读到这个句子，第一个反应就是盖棺定论。我不知道这个是林语堂自己的翻译还是固定的翻译。非常简练，也和中文的盖棺定论有很直接的联系。
9.Su Tungpo was forever young. He was as a character more like Thackeray, in his politics and poetic fame more like Victor Hugo, and he had something of the exciting quality of Dr. Johnson. Somehow Dr. Johnson's gout is exciting to us even today, while Milton's blindness is not. If Johnson were a Gainsborough at the same time, and also a Pope making criticism of current politics in verse, and if he had suffered like Swift, without the growing acidity of Swift, we would have an English parallel.
读到这里的时候，想起了大学上英美文学的内容，虽然不是全部都涉猎，但是还是立马和自己已知的东西联系起来了。然后看见了Eric的笔记，觉得感同身受，所以以下截图了一部分他的笔记，作为学习。
10. 噢，对了，今天才知道Li Po就是李白。
2017.12.4
Chris .
