咏雪
What does snow look like?
Read, find evidence, and explain in your own words.
Read
谢太傅寒雪日内集，与儿女讲论文义。俄而雪骤，公欣然曰：“白雪纷纷何所似？”
On a cold, snowy day, Xie gathered the younger members of his family indoors to discuss literature. Suddenly the snow grew heavy. Delighted, he asked, “What does this swirling white snow look like?”
兄子胡儿曰：“撒盐空中差可拟。”兄女曰：“未若柳絮因风起。”公大笑乐。
His nephew Hu’er said, “Salt scattered into the air is a fair comparison.” His niece said, “Better to compare it to willow down rising on the wind.” Xie laughed with delight.
Explore the text
选自《世说新语·言语》，本课节选到公大笑乐，未收录后面的身份说明。儿女在这里指家中的年轻一辈。差可拟是大致可以相比；未若是不如；因风是借着风。
This excerpt from A New Account of Tales of the World, Speech, ends with Xie’s laughter and omits the following identification of his niece. Er nü refers to the family’s younger generation. Cha ke ni means a fair comparison; wei ruo means not as good as; yin feng means carried by the wind.
盐和柳絮都能让人想到白色。柳絮的比喻还写出了随风飘动的样子。原文只说大笑乐，没有直接给两个孩子打分。你可以喜欢不同的比喻，但要说出相似的地方。
Both salt and willow down suggest whiteness. Willow down also suggests drifting movement. The passage says Xie laughed; it does not give the children scores. You may prefer either comparison if you explain the resemblance.
Words to practise
雪似盐风乐