曲永华

本文介绍了明朝著名旅行家、地理学家徐霞客的故事。徐霞客生于一个富裕的家庭，他父亲早亡，幸亏母亲非常開明，徐霞客才有机会游遍祖国大好河山，并最终写成了《徐霞客游记》。让我们一起穿越时空，走近明朝，看看徐霞客是如何成名的吧！

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. His book The Travel Notes of Xu Xiake， not only encouraged 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. 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.

随堂小练习

1. What is the passage mainly about？

A. The general details of Xu Xiake’s life story.

B. The difficulties Xu Xiake faced in his travels.

C. The important discoveries made by Xu Xiake.

D. The influence of Xu’s book The Travel Notes of Xu Xiake.

2. Which of the following best describes Xu’s mother？

A. Strict but interesting.

B. Kind but uneducated.

C. Helpful and hardworking.

D. Supportive and open-minded.

3. Why did Xu prefer walking during his travels？

A. It gave him the chance to meet different kinds of people.

B. It helped him to save money and travel for a longer time.

C. It allowed him to see and study the environment in detail.

D. It was the only way to reach the places he was interested in.

4. What is true about Xu’s book The Travel Notes of Xu xiake？

A. It was only made public after Xu died.

B. It made Xu very famous during his

lifetime.

C. It was the first travel book ever written in China.

D. It was mainly about the different people of China.

5. What is the correct order for the following events from Xu’s life？

a. He went on his first journey.

b. His book was finally printed.

c. He returned to his hometown for the last time.

d. He developed an interest in books about other places.

e. He started managing the family farm after his father died.

A. a-e-d-c-b

B. d-e-a-c-b

C. d-e-a-b-c

D. e-d-a-b-c