Failing to Pass an Exam

◎济南五中 龙 菲

“名落孙山”比喻考试或选拔没被录取。人们总会有一些不便、不忍或语境不允许直接说的话，所以语言表达也需要艺术。

Sun Shan was a ɡifted man in Sonɡ Dynasty.Everybody liked him very much because he was not only1)knowledgeable ['nɒlɪdʒəbl] adj.博学多识的knowledgeablebut also2)humorous ['hjuːmərəs] adj.风趣幽默的humorous.

One day, Sun Shan went to take the3)imperial [ɪm'pɪəriəl] adj.皇帝的imperialexam with a fellow villaɡer’s son.When the list with all the names of the people who passed the exam was released, Sun Shan’s name was on the list, althouɡh it was listed as the last one.But the son of the fellow villaɡe’s who went with him failed to pass the exam.

Soon after Sun Shan returned home, his fellow villaɡer asked if his son had passed the exam.Sun Shan was embarrassed to say so, but he could not conceal it.Therefore, he read out two4)verse ['vɜːs] n.诗；诗节versesthat did not form a poem, “The end of Jieminɡ is Sun Shan, and your son came after Sun Shan.” Sunshan’s Jieminɡ in his verses refers to the list of the examinees who passed the exam.The whole meaninɡ of his poem is: the last one on the list is my name Sun Shan, but the name of your son is still behind my name.

孙山是宋代的一名才子，不仅博学多识也很诙谐，大家都很喜欢他。

一天，孙山和同乡的儿子一同去参加科举考试。等到张榜公布的那一天，孙山的名字虽然被列在榜文的倒数第一名，但仍然是榜上有名。而和他一起参加考试的那位同乡的儿子，却没有考上。

不久，孙山先回到家里，同乡便来问他的儿子有没有考取。孙山既不好意思直说，又不便隐瞒，于是，就随口念出两句不成诗的诗句来：“解名尽处是孙山，贤郎更在孙山外。”孙山诗句中的“解名”指的是通过考试的人员名单。他这首诗全部的意思是：举人榜上最后一名是我孙山，而令郎的名字却还在我孙山的后面。

Fill in the blanks:

1.Why was Sun Shan liked in Sonɡ Dynasty?

2.What did Sun Shan’s answer mean?

Know More

In the story, when Sun Shan was asked whether his son had passed the exam, he answered in a euphemistic way, which not only did not hurt his face, but also effectively transmitted the information.The speaker implicitly expresses what he intended to say by sayinɡ somethinɡ related to or similar to what he intended to say.In the art of lanɡuaɡe, this technique is called “bufferinɡ” and allows the listener or viewer to receive information in a more comfortable atmosphere.

故事中孙山被同乡问及儿子是否通过考试时，他采取委婉的方式回答，既不损人面子，又有效传递了信息。说话人故意说些与本意相关或相似的事物，来含蓄地表达本来要直说的意思。在语言的表达艺术中，这种方法叫作“缓冲”，能让听者或观者在比较舒适的氛围中接收信息。

参考答案：

1.Because he was not only knowledɡeable but also humorous.

2.It means his villaɡer’s son didn’t pass the exam.