9．
阅读理解
They say that "travel
is the best teacher" and there is no better example of this idea than the
Ming dynasty travel writer and geographer Xu Xiake (1587—1641). His book The
Travel Notes of Xu Xiake, not only
encour-aged a love of travelling among Chinese people but provided important
scientific information about the country's land and geography.
Born into a wealthy
Jiangyin family, Xu became interested in books about different places at an
early age and wanted to travel. When he was 18, however, Xu's father died and
so, it seemed, did his travelling dreams. He now was responsible for the family
farm and taking care of his 60-year-old mother as tradition required.
But his mother had
different ideas. Understanding her son's love of travel and valuing the knowledge
he could get from such experiences, this modern-thinking woman refused to keep
her son at home. She agreed that Xu could travel for three months every year,
when there was less farm work.
So at the age of twenty
and with his mother's support, Xu set off for the first time, leaving behind
not only his mother but his new wife as well. He would repeat this goodbye each
year for most of the next 30 years. During this time, he travelled throughout
the Ming kingdom, carefully studying the lands he passed through and recording
his experiences and many discoveries in a diary. This diary, which once had
over 500,000 words, would eventually become The Travel Notes
of Xu Xiake.
Although
rich, Xu avoided comfortable travel, preferring to go almost everywhere on
foot. This way he could research the environment in detail and get a true
picture of the natural world. Many of his trips were to hard-to-reach mountain
areas, and through wild forests where few people lived. His willingness to face
hardships came at a cost however. Progress was slow and tiring and he was
frequently sick, robbed and beaten during his journeys.
Sadly Xu became
seriously ill during his last and longest journey, a 4-year trip through the
southwest of China. He died in 1641, soon after returning to his hometown for
the last time. When his diary was finally printed years after his death, much
of it had been destroyed or lost. Although incomplete, it still made Xu a
travelling legend around the world.
