英语成语故事.doc

天衣无缝

Divine Garments Without Seams
There was a man called Guo Han in the Tang Dynasty(618-907).One summer night, when the moon was very bright he suddenly saw a girl descending slowly from the sky. He observed the girl closely, and found that the dress she was wearing was seamless. He was puzzled, and asked why. The girl answered,"Heavenly clothes are not sewn with needle and thread."
This idiom is used metaphorically to indicate the flawless handling of things. It can also be used to indicate a perfectly written poem or other literary article.
唐朝有个人教郭翰。一个夏天的晚上，月光非常明亮，他忽然看见天空中有个女子轻盈而缓慢地飘落下来。他仔细地观察那个女子，发现她身上穿的衣服连一条缝也没有，感到非常奇怪，便问那个女子。女子回答说：“天衣本来就用不着针线缝合的呀！”
这个成语用来比喻处理事情十分周密，不露一点痕迹。也比喻诗文写得很精辟，找不出一点毛病。
黔驴技穷
从前，贵州没有驴子，有人从外地带回一头驴子，拴在山下，一只老虎看到了，以为是什么怪物，急忙躲到树林中去头头地瞧。驴子大叫一声，老虎吓了一跳，以为驴子要吃掉自己。时间一长，老虎觉得驴子没有什么恶意，逐渐走近去戏弄它，触犯它。驴子生气了，用蹄子踢老虎。老虎心里想：“你的本领不过就是如此啊！”于是立刻扑过去，一口把它咬死吃掉了。
这个成语比喻仅有的一点本事也用完了，在没有别的办法了。
The Guizhou Donkey Has Exhausted It's Tricks
In ancient times there were no donkeys in Guizhou province. Somebody brought a donkey from somewhere and tied it to a tree at the foot of a mountain. A tiger saw the donkey, and thought that it must be a fearsome monster. It hide behind a tree and spied on the donkey. When the donkey brayed, the tiger was frightened, thinking that the donkey was about to devour it. After a while, seeing that the donkey had not moved, the tiger approached it and teased it. The donkey became angry, and kicked the tiger. The tiger thought to itself:"It then all it is capable of?" It then jumped on the donkey and ate it.
This idiom is used to mean that one has exhauseted one's skills.
破镜重圆
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
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.

刻舟求剑
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
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.

Hide the ears and stole the bell(掩耳盗铃)

Once upon a time,there was a very foolish man.But he himself didn't think so.He thought that he was very clever.One day,he saw a family hanging up a beautiful bell.He liked the bell and wanted to steal it.
But if he put his idea into practice,he must touch the bell,and the bell would make a noise.Then other people would hear the noise and catch him.How to avoid the state?
Suddenly a good idea came across his mind.He took action.The man hide his ears behind his hands.Then he used his right arm to leave his right hand.He took his right hand to steal the bell.The bell rang,but he could't hear it.The people heard the bell ringing and caught the man.
But the man was still very confused and asked:"How did you hear the noise?"
Ha ha,what a foolish man!

Amazing the World with a Single FeatIn 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 minister, Chun Yukun who had a good sense of humour, said to him:”There is a big bird which has neigher 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.This idiom is used to indicate that a person may rise from obscurity and achieve greatness.
战国时代，齐威王即位后作了三年国君，只顾享乐，不理政事。有个善于说笑话的人叫淳于髡，一天对齐威王说：“城里有一只大鸟，三年不飞也不叫，你知道这是什么道理？”齐威王说：“这鸟不飞则罢，一飞就冲天；不鸣则罢，一鸣就惊人。”在淳于髡的激发下，齐威王开始治理国家，取得很大成绩，齐国的声威一直保持了几十年。

中国有句俗语，“一朝被蛇咬,十年怕井绳”。
这个俗语真要讲的就是，很久很久以前，人们还都是用井水的那个年代。有两个小朋友，名字叫做“一朝”和“十年”，他们是好朋友，每天都在一起玩耍、做游戏。有一天，他们在井边玩耍，突然，趴在井口边的“一朝”被一条攀在井绳上的蛇咬了一口。在一边的“十年”听到好朋友的哭喊赶快看过去，这时那条蛇已经逃之夭夭了。他只看到了井绳和好朋友“一朝”的痛苦。因为“十年”很年幼，所以他把井绳和痛苦联系在了一起，认为是井绳咬了好朋友。从那以后，就流传下来了“一朝被蛇咬,十年怕井绳”的说法。从这个故事中，可见人们对灾祸感受之深。
解释:比喻遭过一次挫折以后就变得胆小怕事
Long, long ago, people were still using well water in those days. There were two children, called the "once" and "Decade," they were good friends and played together every day . One day, they played near the well, suddenly,” once” was bitten by a snake climbing on the hemp rope when he lying on the wellhead side. "Decade" , on the other side , heard the cry of friend and quickly run to look at him, when the snake had been away. He only saw hemp rope and "once" suffering. Because the "Decade" very young, so he link hemp rope and suffering together, considered hemp rope bitten his friend. Since then, they have been handed down on "once bitten, twice shy".
This idiom Metaphor: people becomes too timid after a setback.