畫蛇添足 An official of the ancient State of Chu awarded a pot of wine to his men after the ceremony of Spring Sacrifice. One man said, “We have only one pot of wine. It's not enough for all of us but sufficient for one. Let's determine who'll have the wine by drawing a snake on the ground. He who finishes first will have the wine.” The others agreed. Very soon, one man finished his snake. He was about to drink the wine when he saw the others were still busy drawing. He said complacently,“How slowly you are! I still have enough time to add feet to my snke.” But before he finished the feet, another man finished his snke and grabbed the pot from him, saying,“Whoever has seen a snake with feet? Yours is not a snke. So the wine should be mine!” He drank the wine. The man adding the feet to the snake had to give in and could only regret his foolishness. 楚國有一個官員,在春天祭過了祖宗之后,便將一壺酒賞給他的辦事人員喝。
有人提議:“我們只有一壺酒,肯定不夠我們大家喝的,一個人喝倒是綽綽有余。我們每人在地上畫一條蛇,誰畫得最快,就把這壺酒給他?!?/p>
大家都同意了。 有一個人很快就把蛇畫好了。
他正打算喝這壺酒時,看見別人都還忙著畫呢。他就得意揚揚地說:“你們畫得好慢呀,等我再畫上幾只腳吧!” 他的蛇腳還沒畫完,另一個人已經(jīng)把蛇畫好了。
那人把酒壺奪了過去說:“有誰見過長腳的蛇?你畫的不是蛇,這壺酒應(yīng)該是我的了?!闭f罷,就喝起酒來。
那個給蛇畫腳的人沒辦法,只能懊悔自己的愚蠢。一鳴驚人 In the Warring States Period, Duke Wei of Qi neglected state affairs, for the first three years of his reign, giving himself over to dissipation. One of his ministers, Chun Yukun who had a good sense of humour, said to him: 'There is a big bird which has neither taken wing nor sung for three years.' The duke answered, 'Once that bird starts to fly and sing, it will astonish the world.' The duke thereupon devoted himself to his duties and built his state up into a powerful one. 戰(zhàn)國時代,齊威王即位后做了三年國君,只顧享樂,不理政事。
有個善于說笑話的人叫淳于髡,一天對齊威王說:“城里有一只大鳥,三年不飛也不叫,你知道這是什么道理?”齊威王說:“這鳥不飛則罷,一飛就沖天;不鳴則罷,一鳴就驚人?!痹诖居邝盏募ぐl(fā)下,齊威王開始治理國家,取得很大成績,齊國的聲威一直保持了幾十年。
杞人憂天 In the Spring and Autumn Period, in the State of Qi there was a man who always let his imagination run away with him. One day he even worried that the sky would fall on his head. He was so worried that he could neither eat nor sleep. Later, someone persuaded him that his fears were Ground-less. 春秋時代,杞國有一個喜歡胡思亂想的人。一天,他竟然想到,天會塌下來,地會陷下去,自己到哪里去安身?這個人越想越害怕,整天愁眉苦臉,坐立不安,白天吃不下飯,晚上睡不著覺。
后來有人耐心地開到他,他才放下了心。精衛(wèi)填海 Once upon a time, the youngest daughter of Emperor Yan, legendary ruler of primitive China, went boating on the Eastern Sea. While she was enjoying herself, a strong wind rose on the sea and her boat capsized. Just before she was buried by the surging waves, her spirit turned into a beautiful bird. As it flew over the roaring sea, it cried sadly in the sound "jinwei, jingwei". That was why people called it "Jingwei". The bird lived on a mountain near the sea. It hated the sea so much that it decided to fill it up. Every day, it flew to and fro between the mountain and the sea, carrying in a twig or a pebble from the mountain and dropping it into the sea. One day, the roaring sea said to Jingwei, "Poor little bird, stop doing that meaningless thing! You'll never fill me up." Jingwei replied, "I'll fill you up no doubt! I will, even if it'll take me thousands of years! I'll fight on until doomsday!" The brave little bird kept carrying twigs and pebbles from the mountain to the Eastern Sea without taking a rest. From this fable comes the idiom "The bird Jingwei trying to fill the sea". We use it to describe people who are firm and indomitable and will not stop until they reach their goal. 從前,炎帝(傳說中中國原始社會的統(tǒng)治者)的小女兒在東海上劃船。
正當(dāng)她劃得高興時,海面上突然升起一陣大風(fēng),把她的小船弄翻了。就在她要被洶涌的波浪吞 沒時,她的靈魂變成了一只美麗的小鳥。
它飛過那咆哮的海面,傷心的叫著"精衛(wèi),精衛(wèi)"的聲音。所以人們就叫她"精衛(wèi)"。
精衛(wèi)鳥住在靠海的一座山上。它非常恨大海,所以決心要把它填平。
它每天來回于山海之間,把從山上銜來的小樹枝和小石子扔在大海里。 一天,咆哮的大海對精衛(wèi)說:"可憐的小鳥,停止你那無謂的舉動吧!你是永遠(yuǎn)都填不平我的。
" 精衛(wèi)回答說:"我當(dāng)然會把。
邯鄲學(xué)步 English 相傳在兩千年前,燕國壽陵地方有一位少年,不知道姓啥叫啥,就叫他壽陵少年吧! 這位壽陵少年不愁吃不愁穿,論長相也算得上中等人材,可他就是缺乏自信心,經(jīng)常無緣無故地感到事事不如人,低人一等——衣服是人家的好,飯菜是人家的香,站相坐相也是人家高雅。
他見什么學(xué)什么,學(xué)一樣丟一樣,雖然花樣翻新,卻始終不能做好一件事,不知道自己該是什么模樣。 家里的人勸他改一改這個毛病,他以為是家里人管得太多。
親戚、鄰居們,說他是狗熊掰棒子,他也根本聽不進(jìn)去。日久天長,他竟懷疑自己該不該這樣走路,越看越覺得自己走路的姿勢太笨,太丑了。
有一天,他在路上碰到幾個人說說笑笑,只聽得有人說邯鄲人走路姿勢那叫美。他一聽,對上了心病,急忙走上前去,想打聽個明白。
不料想,那幾個人看見他,一陣大笑之后揚長而去。 邯鄲人走路的姿勢究竟怎樣美呢?他怎么也想象不出來。
這成了他的心病。終于有一天,他瞞著家人,跑到遙遠(yuǎn)的邯鄲學(xué)走路去了。
一到邯鄲,他感到處處新鮮,簡直令人眼花繚亂??吹叫『⒆呗?,他覺得活潑、美,學(xué);看見老人走路,他覺得穩(wěn)重,學(xué);看到婦女走路,搖擺多姿,學(xué)。
就這樣,不過半月光景,他連走路也不會了,路費也花光了,只好爬著回去了。 故事出自《莊子·秋水》。
成語“邯鄲學(xué)步”,比喻生搬硬套,機械地模仿別人,不但學(xué)不到別人的長處,反而會把自己的優(yōu)點和本領(lǐng)也丟掉。 Imitating Another without Success and Losing What Used to Be One'sOwn Ability Tradition has it that more than 2,oooyears ago,there lived a young man in the Shouling area of the State of Yan.As his name is not known ,we just call him Shouling young man for convenience's sake. self confident He was at a loss as to how to behave all the time. His family members advised him to overcome this shortcoming,but he thought they were fond of poking their noses into his business and were unwilling to provide him with tuition fee.His relatives and neighbours sneered at him,saying that he would never be able to learn anything.Asthe days went by,he even began to doubt whether he should walk the way he did,for he felt more and more that his walking gestures were too clumsy and awkward. One day,he met some people on the road who werechattingand laughing.One of themsaid that people in Handan walked most gracefully.And thatwas just what he was most concerned about,so he hurreed towards themand wanted to make further inquiries.To his surprise,when these people saw him,they stalked off laughing. He could not picture to himself in what way their walking gestures were graceful,no matter how hard he racked his parents one day.He went to Handanwhich was far away to learn how to walk. As soon as he arrived in Handan,he was dazzled to find that everything was novel.He learned from the children there how to walk,because he thought that the children's walking gestures were lively and pleasing to the eye.He learnd from the old people there how to walk,because he thought the old people's walking gestures were steady .He learnd from the women there how to walk,because he thought the women' swaying walking gestures were beautiful.That being the case with him ,in less than half a month he even forgot how to walk.As he had already used up his traveling expenses,he had to crawl back home. Thisstory come from the article"Autumn Water"in The Works of Xhuang Zi(Zhuang Zi was a famous ancient Chinese philosopher of about 300B.c.).Later the set phrase"initating another without success and losing what used to be one's own ability"is used to refer to acts of copying others mechanisally in disregard of specififc conditions. 汲黯是西漢武帝時代人,以剛直正義、敢講真話而受人尊重。
他為人和做官都不拘小節(jié),講求實效。雖然表面上不那么轟轟烈烈,卻能把一個郡治理得井井有條,因此,朝廷把他從東海太守調(diào)到朝廷當(dāng)主爵都尉——一種主管地方吏任免的官職。
有一次,漢武帝說要實行儒家的仁義之政,為老百姓辦好事了。沒等皇帝把話說完,汲黯就說:“陛下內(nèi)心里那么貪婪多欲,表面上卻要裝得實行仁政,這是何苦呢?”一句話把皇帝噎了回去。
漢武帝登時臉色大變,宣布罷朝,滿朝文武都為汲黯捏著一把汗,擔(dān)心他會因此招來大禍。武帝回到宮里以后,對身邊的人說,汲黯這個人也未免太粗太直了。
從此以后,汲黯的官職再也沒有提升。他當(dāng)主爵都尉的時候,公孫弘、張湯都還是不起眼的小官,后來,他們一個勁兒住上升,公孫弘當(dāng)上了丞相,張湯做上了御史大夫,可他汲黯還蹲在原地沒動窩。
有一天,汲黯對武帝說,陛下使用群臣,跟碼劈柴一樣,是“后來者居上”?。h武帝當(dāng)然聽得出這是發(fā)牢騷。于是,轉(zhuǎn)臉對臣下們說:“人真是不能不學(xué)習(xí)啊!你們聽汲黯說話,越來越離譜了!” 故事出自《史記。
邯鄲學(xué)步English 相傳在兩千年前,燕國壽陵地方有一位少年,不知道姓啥叫啥,就叫他壽陵少年吧! 這位壽陵少年不愁吃不愁穿,論長相也算得上中等人材,可他就是缺乏自信心,經(jīng)常無緣無故地感到事事不如人,低人一等——衣服是人家的好,飯菜是人家的香,站相坐相也是人家高雅。
他見什么學(xué)什么,學(xué)一樣丟一樣,雖然花樣翻新,卻始終不能做好一件事,不知道自己該是什么模樣。 家里的人勸他改一改這個毛病,他以為是家里人管得太多。
親戚、鄰居們,說他是狗熊掰棒子,他也根本聽不進(jìn)去。日久天長,他竟懷疑自己該不該這樣走路,越看越覺得自己走路的姿勢太笨,太丑了。
有一天,他在路上碰到幾個人說說笑笑,只聽得有人說邯鄲人走路姿勢那叫美。他一聽,對上了心病,急忙走上前去,想打聽個明白。
不料想,那幾個人看見他,一陣大笑之后揚長而去。 邯鄲人走路的姿勢究竟怎樣美呢?他怎么也想象不出來。
這成了他的心病。終于有一天,他瞞著家人,跑到遙遠(yuǎn)的邯鄲學(xué)走路去了。
一到邯鄲,他感到處處新鮮,簡直令人眼花繚亂??吹叫『⒆呗?,他覺得活潑、美,學(xué);看見老人走路,他覺得穩(wěn)重,學(xué);看到婦女走路,搖擺多姿,學(xué)。
就這樣,不過半月光景,他連走路也不會了,路費也花光了,只好爬著回去了。 故事出自《莊子·秋水》。
成語“邯鄲學(xué)步”,比喻生搬硬套,機械地模仿別人,不但學(xué)不到別人的長處,反而會把自己的優(yōu)點和本領(lǐng)也丟掉。Imitating Another without Success and Losing What Used to Be One'sOwn Ability Tradition has it that more than 2,oooyears ago,there lived a young man in the Shouling area of the State of Yan.As his name is not known ,we just call him Shouling young man for convenience's sake. self confident He was at a loss as to how to behave all the time. His family members advised him to overcome this shortcoming,but he thought they were fond of poking their noses into his business and were unwilling to provide him with tuition fee.His relatives and neighbours sneered at him,saying that he would never be able to learn anything.Asthe days went by,he even began to doubt whether he should walk the way he did,for he felt more and more that his walking gestures were too clumsy and awkward. One day,he met some people on the road who werechattingand laughing.One of themsaid that people in Handan walked most gracefully.And thatwas just what he was most concerned about,so he hurreed towards themand wanted to make further inquiries.To his surprise,when these people saw him,they stalked off laughing. He could not picture to himself in what way their walking gestures were graceful,no matter how hard he racked his parents one day.He went to Handanwhich was far away to learn how to walk. As soon as he arrived in Handan,he was dazzled to find that everything was novel.He learned from the children there how to walk,because he thought that the children's walking gestures were lively and pleasing to the eye.He learnd from the old people there how to walk,because he thought the old people's walking gestures were steady .He learnd from the women there how to walk,because he thought the women' swaying walking gestures were beautiful.That being the case with him ,in less than half a month he even forgot how to walk.As he had already used up his traveling expenses,he had to crawl back home. Thisstory come from the article"Autumn Water"in The Works of Xhuang Zi(Zhuang Zi was a famous ancient Chinese philosopher of about 300B.c.).Later the set phrase"initating another without success and losing what used to be one's own ability"is used to refer to acts of copying others mechanisally in disregard of specififc conditions. 汲黯是西漢武帝時代人,以剛直正義、敢講真話而受人尊重。
他為人和做官都不拘小節(jié),講求實效。雖然表面上不那么轟轟烈烈,卻能把一個郡治理得井井有條,因此,朝廷把他從東海太守調(diào)到朝廷當(dāng)主爵都尉——一種主管地方吏任免的官職。
有一次,漢武帝說要實行儒家的仁義之政,為老百姓辦好事了。沒等皇帝把話說完,汲黯就說:“陛下內(nèi)心里那么貪婪多欲,表面上卻要裝得實行仁政,這是何苦呢?”一句話把皇帝噎了回去。
漢武帝登時臉色大變,宣布罷朝,滿朝文武都為汲黯捏著一把汗,擔(dān)心他會因此招來大禍。武帝回到宮里以后,對身邊的人說,汲黯這個人也未免太粗太直了。
從此以后,汲黯的官職再也沒有提升。他當(dāng)主爵都尉的時候,公孫弘、張湯都還是不起眼的小官,后來,他們一個勁兒住上升,公孫弘當(dāng)上了丞相,張湯做上了御史大夫,可他汲黯還蹲在原地沒動窩。
有一天,汲黯對武帝說,陛下使用群臣,跟碼劈柴一樣,是“后來者居上”啊!漢武帝當(dāng)然聽得出這是發(fā)牢騷。于是,轉(zhuǎn)臉對臣下們說:“人真是不能不學(xué)習(xí)?。∧銈兟牸橱稣f話,越來越離譜了!” 故事出自《史記·汲鄭列傳》。
成語“。
我再給你補充2個哦。淺顯易懂!
刻舟求劍 Making His Mark
戰(zhàn)國時,楚國有個人坐船渡江。船到江心,他一不小心。把隨身攜帶的一把寶劍掉落江中。他馬上掏出一把小刀,在船舷上刻上一個記號,說:“這是我寶劍落水的地方,所以我要刻上一個記號。”
船靠岸后,那楚人立即從船上刻記號的地方跳下水去撈取掉落的寶劍。撈了半天,仍不見寶劍的影子。其實他又怎么找得到寶劍呢?船繼續(xù)行駛,而寶劍卻不會再移動。像他這樣去找劍,真是太愚蠢可笑了。
A man from the state of Chu was crossing a river. In the boat, his sword fell into the water. Immediately he made a mark on the boat.
"This is where my sword fell off," he said.
When the boat stopped moving, he went into the water to look for his sword at the place where he had marked the boat.
The boat had moved but the sword had not. Is this not a very foolish way to look for a sword?
撥苗助長 To Pull up the Seedlings to Help Them Grow
從前,有個農(nóng)夫,種了稻苗后,便希望能早早收成。每天他到稻田時,發(fā)覺那些稻苗長得非常慢。
他等得不耐煩,心想:“怎么樣才能使稻苗長得高,長很快呢?
想了又想,他終了想到一個“最佳方法”,就是將稻苗撥高幾分。
經(jīng)過一番辛勞后,他滿意地扛鋤頭回家休息。心想:明天稻苗長得一定更高了。
隔天早晨.一早起身,他迫不及待地起去稻田看他的“成果”。
哪知,他跑到稻田時,卻看到所有的稻苗都枯萎了。
Once upon a time, an old farmer planted a plot of rice. Everyday he went to the field to watch the seedlings grow. He saw the young shoots break through the soil and grow taller each day. But still, he thought they were growing too slowly. He got impatient with the young plants. "How could the plants grow faster?" He tossed in bed during the night and could not sleep. Suddenly he hit upon an idea. He had an idea not wait for daybreak. He jumped out of the bed and dashed to the field. By the moonlight, he began working on the rice seedlings. One by one, he pulled up the young plants by half an inch. When he finished pulling, it was already morning. Straightening his back, he said to himself, "What a wonderful idea! Look, how much taller the plants have grown one night!" With great satisfaction, he went back home. He told his son what he had done in a triumphant tone. His son was shocked. Now the sun had risen. The young man was heart-broken to see all the pulled-up young plants dying.
A woman had something wrong with her heart. So she went to see a doctor. He was a new doctor and didn't know her, so he first asked some questions. And one of them was, "How old are you?"
"Well," the woman said, "I don't know, doctor. But I will try to think. Oh, I remember now. When I got married, I was eighteen and my husband was thirty. Now my husband is sixty, which is twice thirty. I am sure. So I am twice eighteen. That is, thirty-six, isn't it?"
一位女士有心臟病,去看醫(yī)生。那是個新來的醫(yī)生,不認(rèn)識她,所以先問了幾個問題,其中一個是:你多大了?
“哦,”這女人說,“我不記得了,醫(yī)生,但是我可以努力去想。哦,我記起來了,我結(jié)婚的時候,是18歲,我丈夫30歲,現(xiàn)在我丈夫60歲,是30的兩倍,那我是18的兩倍,也就是36歲,對不對?”
破鏡重圓 A Broken Mirror Joined Together This set phrase metaphorically means the reunion of husband and wife after an enforced separation or a rupture. At the end of Southern Dynasties,when the Chen Dynasty was about to be overthrown. Xú Déyán felt very worried.He foreknew that his wife Princess Lè Chāng was destined to separate from him. His wife is the last Emperor Chén Shūbǎo's younger sister. Hence he broke a round bronze mirror into halves. One half is given to the Princess,the other half left with himself. The couple agreed on it that the wife would pretend to sell the broked mirror in the street of Cháng'ān,the capital of the Suí Dynasty,on the Lantern Festival. After the fall of Chén Dynasty,Princess Lè Chāng was captured and sent to Chang'an and forced to be a concubine-servant in the mansion of Yáng Sù. Xú Déyán missed his wife very much and went to the captial to look for her. On the 15th day of the first lunar month,he found a man selling half the mirror. After asking the man,he knew that his wife had been a concubine-servant of Yáng Sù. Thinking that he could not see her again,he sighed a great sorrow. Having known the matter,Yáng Sù felt much sympathy for the couple.He sent for Xú Déyán and told him to take wife away.Thus the husband and the wife were reunited into a happy couple. 自相矛盾 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- His Spear Against His Shield (Zi Xiang Maodun) A man of the state of Chu had a spear and a shield for sale. He was loud in praises of his shield."My shield is so strong that nothing can pierce it through." He also sang praises of his spear."My spear is so strong that it can pierce through anything.""What would happen," he was asked, "if your spear is used to pierce your shield?" It is impossible for an impenetrable shield to coexist with a spear that finds nothing impenetrable. 刻舟求劍 Making His Mark (Ke Zhou Qiu Jian) A man from the state of Chu was crossing a river. In the boat, his sword fell into the water. Immediately he made a mark on the boat."This is where my sword fell off," he said.When the boat stopped moving, he went into the water to look for his sword at the place where he had marked the boat.The boat had moved but the sword had not. Is this not a very foolish way to look for a sword? 井底之蛙 The Frog in the Shallow Well (Jing Di Zhi Wa) Have you not heard of the frog that lived in a shallow well? It said to a turtle that lived in the East Sea, "I am so happy! When I go out, I jump about on the railing beside the mouth of the well. When I come home, I rest in the holes on the broken wall of the well. If I jump into the water, it comes up to my armpits and holds up my cheeks. If I walk in the mud, it covers up my feet. I look around at the wriggly worms, crabs and tadpoles, and none of them can compare with me. Moreover, I am lord of this trough of water and I stand up tall in this shallow well. My happiness is full. My dear sir, why don't you come often and look around my place?" Before the turtle from the East Sea could get its left foot in the well, its right knee got stuck. It hesitated and retreated. The turtle told the frog about the East Sea."Even a distance of a thousand li cannot give you an idea of the sea's width; even a height of a thousand ren cannot give you an idea of its depth. In the time of King Yu of the Xia dynasty, there were floods nine years out of ten, but the waters in the sea did not increase. ln the time of King Tang of the Shang dynasty there were droughts seven years out of eight, but the waters in the sea did not decrease. The sea does not change along with the passage of time and its level does not rise or fall according to the amount of rain that falls. The greatest happiness is to live in the East Sea." After listening to these words, the frog of the shallow well was shocked into realization of his own insignificance and became very ill at ease. 守株待兔 Staying by a Stump Waiting for More Hares To Come and Dash Themselves Against It This story took place more than 2,000 years ago,in the Warring States period(475-221 B.C.).Tradition has it that in the State of Song at that time there was a man who was famous for staying by a stump waiting for more hares to come and dash themselves against it. He was a yong farmer,and his family had been farmers for generations.Year after year and generation after generation, farmers used to sow in spring and harvest in autumn,beginning to work at sunrise and retiring at sunset.In good harvest years,they could only have enough food to eat and enough clothing to wear.If there was a famine due to crop failure,they had to go 。
掩耳盜鈴Plugging One's Ears While Stealing a Bell 春秋時侯,晉國貴族智伯滅掉了范氏。
有人趁機跑到范氏家里想偷點東西,看見院子里吊著一口大鐘。鐘是用上等青銅鑄成的,造型和圖案都很精美。
小偷心里高興極了,想把這口精美的大鐘背回自已家去??墒晴娪执笥种兀趺匆才膊粍?。
他想來想去,只有一個辦法,那就是把鐘敲碎,然后再分別搬回家。 小偷找來一把大大錘,拼命朝鐘砸去,咣的一聲巨響,把他嚇了一大跳。
小偷著慌,心想這下糟了,這種聲不就等于是告訴人們我正在這里偷鐘嗎?他心里一急,身子一下子撲到了鐘上,張開雙臂想捂住鐘聲,可鐘聲又怎么捂得住呢!鐘聲依然悠悠地傳向遠(yuǎn)方。 他越聽越害怕,不同自由地抽回雙手,使勁捂住自已的耳朵。
“咦,鐘聲變小了,聽不見了!”小偷高興起來,“妙極了!把耳朵捂住不住就聽不進(jìn)鐘聲了嗎!”他立刻找來兩個布團(tuán),把耳朵塞住,心想,這下誰也聽不見鐘聲了。于是就放手砸起鐘來,一下一下,鐘聲響亮地傳到很遠(yuǎn)的地方。
人們聽到鐘聲蜂擁而至把小偷捉住了。 故事出自《呂氏春秋·自知》“掩耳盜鐘”被說成“掩耳盜鈴”,比喻愚蠢自欺的掩飾行為。
Plugging One's Ears While Stealing a Bell During the Spring and Autumn period,Zhi Bo of the State of Jin destroyed Fan's family.Taking advantage of this occasion,a man went to Fan's house and tried to steal something.As soon as the man entered the gate,he saw that there hung a big bell in the courtyard.The bell was cast in high-quality bronza,and was beautiful in design and shape.The theif was very glad,and decided to carry this beautiful bell back home.But no matter how hard he tried,he could not move the bell,because the bell was both big and heavy.He thought and thought again,and believed there was only one way to solve the problem.He had to break the bell to pieces before he was able to carry them back to his home separately. The thief found a big iron hammer,with which he struck the bell with all his might.The striking produced an enormous crashing sound,which might.The striking produced an enormous crashing sound,which made the thief terribly frightened.The thief got flurried,thinking that it was too bad to have produced the crashiing sound which would himself on the bell,trying to muffle the crashing sound with his arms.But how could the crashing sound of the bell be muffled?The crashing sound still kept drifting melodiously to distant places.The more he listened to the sound,the more frightened hw became.He xubconsciously shrank back,and covered his ears hard with his hands."Hey,the sound becomes fainter,inaudible,"the thief became cheerful at once," wonderful!The sound of the bell can not be heard when the ears are covered."He immediately got some odd bits of cloth,made two rolls with them,and had his ears plugged with the two cloth rolls.He thought that in this way nobody could hear the sound of the bell.Feeling relieved,he began striking the bell,one blow after another.The resounding sound of the bell was heard at distant places,and finally people caught the thief by gracing the sound. This story comes from"Knowing Yourself" in The Annals by Buwei,written just before the Qin Dynasty(221-207 B.C.)was founded.Allegedly,when Li Yuan,Emperor Gao Zu of the Tang Dynasty(618-907),read this story,he felt it simply ridiculous and said,"This is what is called plugging one's ears while stealing a bell." Later,people have used the set phrase "plugging one's ears while stealing a bell" to refer to the ignorance and foolishness of the person who deceives himself as well as others.。
Sweat is HuoGuang, emperor han commander-in-chief of TuoGu ministers, drinking eight years of emperor han style-came kisen, ruling pomp very heavy. HuoGuang nearby have a call YangChang people, act is timid, popular with HuoGuang recognition, rose to prime minister position, seal for anping syndrome. Actually, YangChang humanness cowardly incompetence, timid, not when the prime minister of the material. 74 B.C., was only twenty one-year-old han emperor died.both in WeiYangGong kisen, with all the princes HuoGuang counsel, chose the emperor's grandson made WangLiuHe nearbu heir. Behold LiuHe ascended the mid-north song and dance, often pleasure-resorts. HuoGuang heard later, anxieties, and bike ride general ZhangAn births, TianYanNian secret counsel, on to nullify LiuHe, set up other Yin jun. After TianYanNian HuoGuangPa goading agreed to jointly YangChang, tell gun. YangChang all of a sudden, she was scared to sweat, panic, just something indistinctly fence. YangChang wife, is TaiShiGong sima qian's daughter, quite have the guts. She saw her husband shilly-shally appearance, secretly worried, while TianYanNian change clothes walk away, infero-anterior advised her husband and said, "National affairs, will shilly-shally. General has ChengYi, you should also chosin reservoir, otherwise inevitable difficult ahead." YangChang step back and forth in the house, but had no acid attention. Just at this time TianYanNian back, SiMaFu people avoid inferior, straight-tempered without embarrassment and TianYanNian meet, told TianYanNian, her husband willing to listen to the general's command. TianYanNian after listening pleased to take leave walk. TianYanNian returns HuoGuang, HuoGuang very satisfied. YangChang brought all the princes immediately arrange table, playing please dowager. The next day, YangChang advice, ernie see luang nearbu king unbearable successin statement of reason. Queen letter removed immediately LiuHe, another sign of emperor of the once SunLiu enquiry for jun, was said han XuanDi.Idioms citations, han shu YangChang biography of our afraid, not words. Jia sweated back ACTS yes just.Idioms interpretations ", "Jia drenched, sweating much soaked backbone. Describe sweat. Also describe extreme fear or ashamed excessive.汗流浹背 漢大將軍霍光,是漢武帝的托孤重臣,輔佐八歲即位的漢昭帝執(zhí)政,威勢很重。
霍光身邊有個叫楊敞的人,行事謹(jǐn)小慎微,頗受霍光賞識,升至丞相職位,封為安平候。其實,楊敞為人懦弱無能,膽小怕事,根本不是當(dāng)丞相的材料。
公元前74年,年僅廿一歲的漢昭帝駕崩于未央宮,霍光與眾臣商議,選了漢武帝的孫子昌邑王劉賀作繼承人。誰知劉賀繼位后,經(jīng)常宴飲歌舞,尋歡作樂。
霍光聽說后,憂心忡忡,與車騎將軍張安世、大司馬田延年秘密商議,打算廢掉劉賀,另立賢君。計議商定后,霍光派田延年告訴楊敞、以便共同行事。
楊敞一聽,頓時嚇得汗流浹背,驚恐萬分,只是含含糊糊,不置可否。楊敞的妻子,是太史公司馬遷的女兒,頗有膽識。
她見丈夫猶豫不決的樣子,暗暗著急,趁田延年更衣走開時,上前勸丈夫說;“國家大事,豈能猶豫不決。大將軍已有成議,你也應(yīng)當(dāng)速戰(zhàn)速決,否則必然太難臨頭。”
楊敞在房里來回酸步,卻拿不定注意。正巧此時田延年回來,司馬夫人回避不及,索性大大方方地與田延年相見,告知田延年,她丈夫愿意聽從大將軍的吩咐。
田延年聽了后高興地告辭走了。田延年回報霍光,霍光十分滿意,馬上安排楊敞領(lǐng)眾臣上表,奏請皇太后。
第二天,楊敞與群臣遏見皇太后,陳述昌邑王不堪繼承王位的原因。太后立即下詔廢去劉賀,另立漢武帝的曾孫劉詢?yōu)榫贩Q漢宣帝。
成語出處《漢書·楊敞傳》敝驚懼,不知所言。汗出浹背徒唯唯而已。
成語釋義“浹”,濕透,出汗多,濕透脊梁。形容滿身大汗。
也形容極度惶恐或慚愧過度。
英語故事:破鏡重圓 A Broken Mirror Joined Together This set phrase metaphorically means the reunion of husband and wife after an enforced separation or a rupture. At the end of Southern Dynasties,when the Chen Dynasty was about to be overthrown. Xú Déyán felt very worried.He foreknew that his wife Princess Lè Chāng was destined to separate from him. His wife is the last Emperor Chén Shūbǎo's younger sister. Hence he broke a round bronze mirror into halves. One half is given to the Princess,the other half left with himself. The couple agreed on it that the wife would pretend to sell the broked mirror in the street of Cháng'ān,the capital of the Suí Dynasty,on the Lantern Festival. After the fall of Chén Dynasty,Princess Lè Chāng was captured and sent to Chang'an and forced to be a concubine-servant in the mansion of Yáng Sù. Xú Déyán missed his wife very much and went to the captial to look for her. On the 15th day of the first lunar month,he found a man selling half the mirror. After asking the man,he knew that his wife had been a concubine-servant of Yáng Sù. Thinking that he could not see her again,he sighed a great sorrow. Having known the matter,Yáng Sù felt much sympathy for the couple.He sent for Xú Déyán and told him to take wife away.Thus the husband and the wife were reunited into a happy couple. 自相矛盾 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- His Spear Against His Shield (Zi Xiang Maodun) A man of the state of Chu had a spear and a shield for sale. He was loud in praises of his shield."My shield is so strong that nothing can pierce it through." He also sang praises of his spear."My spear is so strong that it can pierce through anything.""What would happen," he was asked, "if your spear is used to pierce your shield?" It is impossible for an impenetrable shield to coexist with a spear that finds nothing impenetrable. 刻舟求劍 Making His Mark (Ke Zhou Qiu Jian) A man from the state of Chu was crossing a river. In the boat, his sword fell into the water. Immediately he made a mark on the boat."This is where my sword fell off," he said.When the boat stopped moving, he went into the water to look for his sword at the place where he had marked the boat.The boat had moved but the sword had not. Is this not a very foolish way to look for a sword? 井底之蛙 The Frog in the Shallow Well (Jing Di Zhi Wa) Have you not heard of the frog that lived in a shallow well? It said to a turtle that lived in the East Sea, "I am so happy! When I go out, I jump about on the railing beside the mouth of the well. When I come home, I rest in the holes on the broken wall of the well. If I jump into the water, it comes up to my armpits and holds up my cheeks. If I walk in the mud, it covers up my feet. I look around at the wriggly worms, crabs and tadpoles, and none of them can compare with me. Moreover, I am lord of this trough of water and I stand up tall in this shallow well. My happiness is full. My dear sir, why don't you come often and look around my place?" Before the turtle from the East Sea could get its left foot in the well, its right knee got stuck. It hesitated and retreated. The turtle told the frog about the East Sea."Even a distance of a thousand li cannot give you an idea of the sea's width; even a height of a thousand ren cannot give you an idea of its depth. In the time of King Yu of the Xia dynasty, there were floods nine years out of ten, but the waters in the sea did not increase. ln the time of King Tang of the Shang dynasty there were droughts seven years out of eight, but the waters in the sea did not decrease. The sea does not change along with the passage of time and its level does not rise or fall according to the amount of rain that falls. The greatest happiness is to live in the East Sea." After listening to these words, the frog of the shallow well was shocked into realization of his own insignificance and became very ill at ease.。
源自希臘羅馬神話傳說的1.An Apple of Discord爭斗之源;不和之因;禍根 An Apple of Discord直譯為“糾紛的蘋果”,出自荷馬史詩Iliad中的希臘神話故事 傳說希臘阿耳戈英雄(Argonaut)珀琉斯(Peleus)和愛琴海海神涅柔斯的女兒西蒂斯(Thetis)在珀利翁山舉行婚禮,大擺宴席。
他們邀請了奧林匹斯上(Olympus)的諸神參加喜筵,不知是有意還是無心,惟獨沒有邀請掌管爭執(zhí)的女神厄里斯(Eris)。這位女神惱羞成怒,決定在這次喜筵上制造不和。
于是,她不請自來,并悄悄在筵席上放了一個金蘋果,上面鐫刻著“屬于最美者”幾個字。天后赫拉(Hera),智慧女神雅典娜(Athena)、愛與美之神阿芙羅狄蒂(Aphrodite),都自以為最美,應(yīng)得金蘋果,獲得“最美者”稱號。
她們爭執(zhí)不下,鬧到眾神之父宙斯(Zeus)那里,但宙斯礙于難言之隱,不愿偏袒任何一方,就要她們?nèi)フ姨芈逡恋耐踝优晾锼梗≒aris)評判。三位女神為了獲得金蘋果,都各自私許帕里斯以某種好處:赫拉許給他以廣袤國土和掌握富饒財寶的權(quán)利,雅典娜許以文武全才和勝利的榮譽,阿芙羅狄蒂則許他成為世界上最美艷女子的丈夫。
年青的帕里斯在富貴、榮譽和美女之間選擇了后者,便把金蘋果判給愛與美之神。為此,赫拉和雅典娜懷恨帕里斯,連帶也憎恨整個特洛伊人。
后來阿芙羅狄蒂為了履行諾言,幫助帕里斯拐走了斯巴達(dá)國王墨涅俄斯的王后---絕世美女海倫(Helen),從而引起了歷時10年的特洛伊戰(zhàn)爭。不和女神厄里斯丟下的那個蘋果,不僅成了天上3位女神之間不和的根源,而且也成為了人間2個民族之間戰(zhàn)爭的起因。
因此,在英語中產(chǎn)生了an apple of discord這個成語,常用來比喻any subject of disagreement and contention;the root of the trouble;dispute等意義 這個成語最初為公元2世紀(jì)時的古羅馬歷史學(xué)家馬克·朱里·尤斯?。∕arcus Juninus Justinus)所使用,后來廣泛的流傳到歐洲許多語言中去,成為了一個國際性成語。eg: He throwing us an apple of discord,we soon quarrelled again. The dispute about inheriting estate formed an apple of discord between them. This problem seems to be an apple of discord between the Soviet union and the USA.2.The Heel of Achilles 亦作The Achilles' Heel唯一弱點;薄弱環(huán)節(jié);要害 The Heel of Achilles直譯是“阿基里斯的腳踵”,是個在歐洲廣泛流行的國際性成語。
它源自荷馬史詩Iliad中的希臘神話故事。 阿基里斯是希臘聯(lián)軍里最英勇善戰(zhàn)的驍將,也是荷馬史詩Iliad里的主要人物之一。
傳說他是希臘密耳彌多涅斯人的國王珀琉斯和海神的女兒西蒂斯所生的兒子。阿基里斯瓜瓜墜地以后,母親想使兒子健壯永生,把他放在火里鍛煉,又捏著他的腳踵倒浸在冥河(Styx)圣水里浸泡。
因此阿基里斯渾身象鋼筋鐵骨,刀槍不入,只有腳踵部位被母親的手捏住,沒有沾到冥河圣水,成為他的唯一要害。在特洛伊戰(zhàn)爭中,阿基里斯驍勇無敵,所向披靡,殺死了特洛伊主將,著名英雄赫克托耳(Hector),而特洛伊的任何武器都無法傷害他的身軀。
后來,太陽神阿波羅(Apollo)把阿基里斯的弱點告訴了特洛伊王子帕里斯,阿基里斯終于被帕里斯誘到城門口,用暗箭射中他的腳踵,負(fù)傷而死。 因此,the heel of Achilles,也稱the Achilles' heel,常用以表示a weak point in something that is otherwise without fault;the weakest spot等意思。
eg:The shortage of fortitude is his heel of Achilles. His Achilles' heel was his pride--he would get very angry if anyone criticized his work.3.Helen of Troy Helen of Troy 直譯"特洛伊的海倫",源自源自荷馬史詩Iliad中的希臘神話故事。 Helen是希臘的絕世佳人,美艷無比,嫁給希臘南部邦城斯巴達(dá)國王墨涅俄斯(Menelaus)為妻。
后來,特洛伊王子帕里斯奉命出事希臘,在斯巴達(dá)國王那里做客,他在愛與美之神阿芙羅狄蒂的幫助下,趁著墨涅俄斯外出之際,誘走海倫,還帶走了很多財寶 此事激起了希臘各部族的公憤,墨涅俄斯發(fā)誓說,寧死也要奪回海輪,報仇雪恨。為此,在希臘各城邦英雄的贊助下,調(diào)集十萬大軍和1180條戰(zhàn)船,組成了希臘聯(lián)軍,公推墨涅俄斯的哥哥阿枷門農(nóng)(Agamemnon)為聯(lián)軍統(tǒng)帥,浩浩蕩蕩,跨海東征,攻打特洛伊城,企圖用武力奪回海輪。
雙方大戰(zhàn)10年,死傷無數(shù),許多英雄戰(zhàn)死在沙場。甚至連奧林匹斯山的眾神也分成2個陣營,有些支持希臘人,有些幫助特洛伊人,,彼此展開了一場持久的惡斗。
最后希臘聯(lián)軍采用足智多謀的奧德修斯(Odusseus)的“木馬計”,里應(yīng)外合才攻陷了特洛伊。希臘人進(jìn)城后,大肆殺戮,帕里斯王子也被殺死,特洛伊的婦女、兒童全部淪為奴隸。
特洛伊城被掠奪一空,燒成了一片灰燼。戰(zhàn)爭結(jié)實后,希臘將士帶著大量戰(zhàn)利品回到希臘,墨涅俄斯搶回了美貌的海輪重返故土。
這就是特洛伊戰(zhàn)爭的起因和結(jié)局。正是由于海輪,使特洛伊遭到毀滅的悲劇,真所謂“傾國傾城”,由此產(chǎn)生了Helen of Troy這個成語。
特洛伊戰(zhàn)爭的真實性,已為19世紀(jì)德國考古學(xué)家謝里曼在邁錫尼發(fā)掘和考證古代特洛伊古城廢墟所證實。
學(xué)習(xí)鳥網(wǎng)站是免費的綜合學(xué)習(xí)網(wǎng)站,提供各行各業(yè)學(xué)習(xí)資料、學(xué)習(xí)資訊供大家學(xué)習(xí)參考,如學(xué)習(xí)資料/生活百科/各行業(yè)論文/中小學(xué)作文/實用范文實用文檔等等!
聲明:本網(wǎng)站尊重并保護(hù)知識產(chǎn)權(quán),根據(jù)《信息網(wǎng)絡(luò)傳播權(quán)保護(hù)條例》,如果我們轉(zhuǎn)載的作品侵犯了您的權(quán)利,請在一個月內(nèi)通知我們,我們會及時刪除。
蜀ICP備2020033479號-4 Copyright ? 2016 學(xué)習(xí)鳥. 頁面生成時間:0.129秒