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19、A Masterpiece in the Making 洛阳纸贵 Long ago, the writer Zuo Si lived in a village in the state of Qi. His family was poor, but they were rich in knowledge. They studied the teachings of Confucius. Zuo Si’s father was in charge of the royal records of the Wei Kingdom.Zuo Si liked to play word games with his sister. She grew up to become a famous writer. When she moved to the capital city of Luoyang, Zuo Si decided to move there, too.Zuo Si was a quiet man. He spent most of his time at home, writing.If Zuo Si had a thought, he would write it down immediately.“Oh, What a spark of inspiration!” Zuo Si would cry.“Quick! Write it down. Write it down. Write it down.”He would grab a pen and paper and write down his thoughts. Soon his home became very messy. There were pens and papers everywhere!But Zuo Si’s father was not impressed with his son. One day, Zuo Si overheard his father say, “My son is not very bright. When I was young, I was not like that at all.”This made Zuo Si sad. But it motivated him, too. He decided to work harder. He would read and write even more. He would write a masterpiece!“I shall spend the next ten years writing,” said Zuo Si. “I will call my work “Ode to the Three Capitals.”People were doubtful. No one believed him.“What is this loner going to do?” asked a neighbor when he heard the news.“Oh, he says he’s going to hide away for ten years and write a masterpiece. Ha!” said another.“Zuo Si can say what he wants. It will never happen. He’s just going to stay locked inside like he does every other day,” said a neighbor.Over the next ten years, Zuo Si continued to run around inside his messy home. He grabbed pens and papers and wrote note after note.He tossed aside many of them. Papers were piled in mounds all around his home. He would just grab more paper and pens and write some more.Oh, a spark of inspiration!” Zuo Si would cry.“Quick! Write it down. Write it down. Write it down.”Finally, at the end of ten years, Zuo Si was finished.His “Ode to the Three Capitals” described daily life in the three capitals of the Three Kingdoms Period. It talked about the customs and the habits of the people there. Zuo Si wrote about the best way to run a state. He believed it was through goodness, and not force.Some important scholars read the book. They wrote introductions to it.They praised Zuo Si’s ideas. Zuo Si’s book became very popular.The town was surprised by Zuo Si’s success.“Did you hear?” asked one man. “Zuo Si finished his book.”“It took him ten years, but he finally did it!” said another.“I hear it’s a masterpiece,” said the neighbor.“Everyone wants to read it!” said the lady across the road.Many people wanted to read the book. Writers, poets, nobles, even the royal court had heard about it! They didn’t just want to read it, they wanted their own copies, too.Because of the book’s popularity, there was a high demand for paper. At the time, paper was still a fairly new invention. It had only been invented in 100 BCE, just a few hundred years earlier. The demand for Zuo Si’s book caused paper prices in Luoyang to go up.Today, the phrase, “paper is expensive in Luoyang” describes the popularity of a new book that everybody wants. When writing aboutbestselling books, reporters often use this idiom.Question: What was it about Zuo Si’s book that made it so popular? 核心词汇 Confucius n. 孔子 in charge of 管理，掌管 spark of inspiration 灵感的火花 be impressed with 对……印象深刻 overhear v. 无意中听到，偶然听到 bright adj. 聪明的 motivate v. 激发……的积极性 Ode to the Three Capitals 《三都赋》 doubtful adj. 怀疑的，疑惑的 loner n. 喜孤独的人，不合群的人 toss aside 扔到一边 pile in mounds 堆成一堆 run a state 经营一个国家 force n. 武力 scholar n. 学者 royal court n. 宫廷 demand for 对……的需求 fairly adv. 相当，还，尚 He’s just going to stay locked inside like he does every other day,” 他仅仅是要把自己锁在屋里，就像他之前每天那样做的一 样。本句中 does 代指 stay locked inside，避免重复。 
以下翻译来自百度翻译： 很久以前，作家左思住在齐国的一个村庄里。他家很穷，但知识丰富。他们学习孔子的教义。左思的父亲负责魏国的皇室记录。左思喜欢和妹妹玩文字游戏。她长大后成为一名著名作家。当她搬到首都洛阳时，左思也决定搬到那里。他会拿起笔和纸，写下自己的想法。很快他的家变得很乱。到处都是钢笔和纸！但左思的父亲对他的儿子没有印象。有一天，左思无意中听到父亲说：“我儿子不太聪明，我小时候一点都不像。”这让左思很伤心。但这也激励了他。他决定更加努力工作。他会读得更多，写得更多。他会写一部杰作！左思说：“我将在接下来的十年里写作。”。“我将把我的作品称为《三都颂》。”一位邻居听到这个消息后问道：“这个孤独的人打算干什么？”。“哦，他说他要躲藏十年，写一部杰作。哈！”另一个说。一位邻居说：“左思想说什么就说什么。这永远不会发生。他只会像每隔一天一样被锁在家里。”。在接下来的十年里，左思继续在他凌乱的家里到处乱跑。他抓起笔和纸，写了一张又一张的纸条。他扔掉了很多纸。家里到处都是成堆的纸。他会抓起更多的纸和笔，再写一些。他的《三都颂》描述了三国时期三都的日常生活。它谈到了那里的风俗习惯。左思写的是治理国家的最佳方式。他相信这是出于善良，而不是武力。许多人想读这本书。作家、诗人、贵族，甚至王室都听说过！他们不只是想读它，他们还想要自己的副本。由于这本书很受欢迎，对纸张的需求量很大。当时，纸张仍然是一项相当新的发明。它是在公元前100年才发明的，也就是几百年前。对左思书的需求导致洛阳的纸张价格上涨。
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