英语成语故事-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.
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英语故事:惊弓之鸟
A Bird Startled by the Mere Twang of a Bow-String
This set phrase figuratively denotes those who have suffered disasters and so have a lingering fear when anything happen.
During the War Period ,in the Wèi State there lived a famous archer named Gēng léi.
One day,Gēng léi and the King of Wei standing on a high terrace saw some birds flying past.
At this Gēng léi said to the King:"I'll shoot a flying bird down for YourMajesty by drawing a bow with no arrow."
The King asked,"Is it possible that one's archery can attain such a level?"
A little later,a wild goose was flying from the east.
Gēng léi just drew his bow but didn't shoot an arrow.
As expected,the wild goose fell to the ground with the twang.
The King asked in surprise,"How can your archery reach such a high level?"
Gēng léi replied ,"This wild goose has been wounded."
The King got more surprised,asking,"How do you know it,sir?"
Gēng léi esplained,"This wild goose flew slowly and cried sadly.Its flying slowly suggested that it was still aching with the old wound; its crying sadly suggested that it had strayed long from its flock.When it heard the twang the wild goose had to flutter hard to fly high for its life.So it is evitably fell down with its old wound burst."
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刻舟求剑
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?
