春秋时代,杞国有一个喜欢胡思乱想的人.一天,他竟然想到,天会塌下来,地会陷下去,自己到哪里去安身?这个人越想越害怕,整天愁眉苦脸,坐立不安,白天吃不下饭,晚上睡不着觉.后来有人耐心地开到他,他才放下了心.“杞人忧天”这个成语讥笑那些没有必要或是毫无根据的忧虑.The Man of Qi who Worried That the Sky Would Fall 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.This idiom satirizes those who worry unnecessarily.A tiger caught a fox in a forest,and was just about to eat it,when the fox said,'You mustn't eat me.I was sent by Heaven to rule the animals.By eating me,you will violate the command of Heaven.If you don't believe me,just follow me to see whether the animals are of me.' The tiger agreed,and followed the fox as it walked around the forest.The animals all ran away on seeing them.The tiger thought they were of the fox,so he let it go.He didn't realise that it was him that the beasts were really of.This idiom means relying on another's power to 战国时,赵国名将赵奢的儿子赵括,喜欢看兵书,谈兵法.他把病树备得滚瓜烂熟,谈起打仗来头头是道,似乎它的父亲也比不过他.一次秦国攻打赵国,赵王派赵括率领四十万大军去抵抗.由于他只知道死抠书本而不会在十几种灵活运用,最后指挥失策,以致全军覆灭,他自己也中箭身亡.后来人们根据这一历史故事,把死抠书本,没有实践经验,指挥夸夸其谈称为“纸上谈兵”.Discussing Strategms on Paper In the Warring States Period,the State of Zhao had a famous general called Zhao She,whose son,Zhao Kuo,was very fond of reading books on military science and discussing strategy.He could recite military texts by heart,and when discussing warfare he spoke so clearly and logically that it seemed that even his father was not his match.When the State of Qin attacked the State of Zhao,the ruler of Zhao ordered Zhao Kuo to lead 400,000 men to resist the attack.But since Zhao Kuo had no practical experience of battle,he was defeated and lost his life.Later people used this idiom to describe those who are good only at theorizing 狐假虎威 A tiger caught a fox in a forest,and was just about to eat it,when the fox said,'You mustn't eat me.I was sent by Heaven to rule the animals.By eating me,you will violate the command of Heaven.If you don't believe me,just follow me to see whether the animals are of me.' The tiger agreed,and followed the fox as it walked around the forest.The animals all ran away on seeing them.The tiger thought they were of the fox,so he let it go.He didn't realise that it was him that the beasts were really of.
