Do you know what family instructions (家訓(xùn)) are? They are common beliefs that family members follow. In ancient China, people passed down their family instructions from generation (一代) to generation.
Some schools in Zhejiang are encouraging students to learn more about their own family instructions. At Hangzhou Gongyi Middle School and Hangzhou Xuejun High School, it was part of students’ winter vacation homework to learn about their family instructions.
Meng Yaohan, 16, from Hangzhou Xuejun High School, looked at her family instructions. One of them is “don’t take the wrong way”, a piece of advice that has been passed down for 100 years. Her father told her how her grandfather stuck to his “right way” - to become an engineer. “It inspired me to pursue (追求) what I love,” she said.
Shen Duanjie, 14, from Hangzhou Gongyi Middle School, has benefited from his family instruction – “democratic” (民主的) and “equal” (平等的). In his own words, it has helped him get along with his parents.
The school has also published books about two classic collections of family instructions – The Family Instructions of Zhu Xi (《朱子家訓(xùn)》) and Family Instructions of Yan Clan (《顏氏家訓(xùn)》). The books include dialogues and pictures drawn by students.
Gong Zhenyue, 14, drew pictures for one of the instructions in Family Instructions of Yan Clan. She was impressed (對(duì)……印象深刻) by the instruction, which says that parents should not only love their children, but also educate them. “It made me understand my parents’ strictness (嚴(yán)格) with me,” she said. She made it her own family instruction.
1.What are family instructions?
A. Dialogues between family members.
B. The words of one’s ancestors.
C. Common beliefs that family members follow.
D. Books passed down from the past.
2.Which of the following is NOT true about Meng Yaohan?
A. She knows about her family instructions.
B. She is proud of what her grandfather did.
C. “Don’t take the wrong way” is one of her family instructions.
D. “Democratic” and “equal” are included in her family instructions.
3.Who drew pictures for Family Instructions of the Yan Clan?
A. Meng Yaohan. B. Shen Duanjie. C. Zhu Xi. D. Gong Zhenyue.
4.Learning family instructions helps Gong Zhenyue _____.
A. study better in school
B. draw pictures for other books
C. understand her parents better
D. learn to publish books by herself
