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.

The End

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?
核心詞匯

Confucius n. 孔子

in charge of 管理，掌管

spark of inspiration 靈感的火花

be impressed with 對……印象深刻

overhear v. 無意中聽到，偶然聽到

bright adj. 聰明的

motivate v. 激發……的積極性

Ode to the Three Capitals 《三都賦》

doubtful adj. 懷疑的，疑惑的

loner n. 喜孤獨的人，不合群的人

toss aside 扔到一邊

pile in mounds 堆成一堆

run a state 經營一個國家

force n. 武力

scholar n. 學者

royal court n. 宮廷

demand for 對……的需求

fairly adv. 相當，還，尚

He’s just going to stay locked inside like he does every otherday,” 他僅僅是要把自己鎖在屋里，就像他之前每天那樣做的一樣。本句中 does 代指 stay locked inside，避免重復。

以下翻譯來自百度翻譯：很久以前，作家左思住在齊國的一個村莊里。他家很窮，但知識豐富。他們學習孔子的教義。左思的父親負責魏國的皇室記錄。左思喜歡和妹妹玩文字游戲。她長大后成為一名著名作家。當她搬到首都洛陽時，左思也決定搬到那里。左思是個安靜的人。他大部分時間都呆在家里寫作。如果左思有什么想法，他會馬上寫下來?！芭?，多么靈感的火花啊！”左思哭了?！翱?！寫下來。寫下來。寫下來?！彼麜闷鸸P和紙，寫下自己的想法。很快他的家變得很亂。到處都是鋼筆和紙！但左思的父親對他的兒子沒有印象。有一天，左思無意中聽到父親說：“我兒子不太聰明，我小時候一點都不像。”這讓左思很傷心。但這也激勵了他。他決定更加努力工作。他會讀得更多，寫得更多。他會寫一部杰作！左思說：“我將在接下來的十年里寫作?！?。“我將把我的作品稱為《三都頌》?！比藗儗Υ吮硎緫岩?，沒有人相信他。一位鄰居聽到這個消息后問道：“這個孤獨的人打算干什么？”?！芭叮f他要躲藏十年，寫一部杰作。哈！”另一個說。一位鄰居說：“左思想說什么就說什么。這永遠不會發生。他只會像每隔一天一樣被鎖在家里。”。在接下來的十年里，左思繼續在他凌亂的家里到處亂跑。他抓起筆和紙，寫了一張又一張的紙條。他扔掉了很多紙。家里到處都是成堆的紙。他會抓起更多的紙和筆，再寫一些?！芭?，靈感的火花！”左思哭了?！翱欤懴聛?。寫下來。寫下來。”十年后，左思終于完成了。他的《三都頌》描述了三國時期三都的日常生活。它談到了那里的風俗習慣。左思寫的是治理國家的最佳方式。他相信這是出于善良，而不是武力。一些重要的學者讀了這本書。他們寫了介紹信。他們稱贊左思的思想。左思的書很受歡迎。鎮上對左思的成功感到驚訝?！澳懵牭搅藛?？”一個人問?！白笏紝懲炅怂臅?。”“他花了十年時間，但他終于做到了！”另一個人說?！拔衣犝f這是一部杰作，”鄰居說?！懊總€人都想看！”馬路對面的女士說。許多人想讀這本書。作家、詩人、貴族，甚至王室都聽說過！他們不只是想讀它，他們還想要自己的副本。由于這本書很受歡迎，對紙張的需求量很大。當時，紙張仍然是一項相當新的發明。它是在公元前100年才發明的，也就是幾百年前。對左思書的需求導致洛陽的紙張價格上漲。