Su Shi, known as Su Dongpo, was a famous Chinese writer, poet and painter.
When he was young, he read a lot of books and (1)
wrote
many good articles. People thought highly of him. Because of this, he became very proud and wrote a couplet for (2)
himself
, "Knowing all the words in the world. Reading all the books on the earth."
A wise old man saw this couplet and thought, "It is important for Su Shi (3)
to learn
how to be modest." So, one day, he came to Su Shi's house with a book.
The old man showed Su Shi the book and said, "So far, I have read the book several times, but there are still some difficult words that I can't understand. I have asked many people, but none of them could understand their (4)
meanings
. I have heard that you are a person of rich knowledge, so I come to ask you."
Full of confidence, Su Shi took the book from the old (5)
man's
hand. But when he opened it, he became very (6)
surprised
because there were many words he didn't know. At that moment, Su Shi realized that there were many more things that he had to learn.
Actually, the old man knew every word in this book. He just wanted to make Su Shi know the importance of (7)
being
modest. Su Shi was embarrassed(尴尬的) and said, "Now I know why you came. I shouldn't have been so arrogant(自大的)."
The old man smiled and (8)
left
. Then Su Shi (9)
quickly
took his brush and ink, and added some words to the couplet, "Working hard to know all the words in the world. Being determined to read all the books on the earth."
From then on, he worked even (10)
harder
than before. Finally, Su Shi made great achievements in many fields, especially in literature.
