關於驚弓之鳥英語故事

　　通過調查發現,小學生對英語故事有濃厚的興趣,老師對故事教學的作用也很肯定。小編分享，希望可以幫助大家!

　　版本1

　　A bird startled by the mere twang of a bow-string

　　During the time of the Warring States ***475-221 BC***， there lived a well-known archer named Geng Ying whose art in shooting was excelled by none at his time.

　　One day, as he was standing by the side of the King of Wei, a flock of swan geese were flying over. With confidence, Geng Ying said to the king, "The twang of my bow-string might bring down a bird." The King doubted much. Just then a solitary swan goose appeared, low and slow in its flight, sad and dolorous in its cry. Instantly Geng Ying bended his bow and forcibly pulled the bowstring. Twang! High up went he shrilling sound into the air and down fell the bird to the ground. The king admired with bewilderment. Gang Ying then explained: "The bird was flying low and slow, because it was already hurt; it was crying in a bitter tone, because it had lost its companions. Due to the fact that it was already hurt and sad at heart, the twang of my strong bow, that birds dreaded most, startled it. The shrilling sound made its heart beat fast, its wings weak, its balance uneven. Thus it fell down just as commonly as a man drops his chop-sticks, at the thunder-stroke, at a dinner table."

　　Henceforth comes the idiom "A bird startled by the mere twang of a bow-string", illustrating a case where a man who had been previously and repeatedly frightened became numb and stupefied by a new thing of the same nature not knowing how to face the new situation.

　　驚弓之鳥

　　戰國時期，有個傑出的弓箭手，叫做更贏。他的射箭本領在當時可稱是舉世無雙。

　　有一天，他和魏王並肩站著，天空中忽然飛過一群鴻雁。更贏很自信的對魏王說："我可以用弓聲就把飛鳥給打下來。"魏王很懷疑。正在那是，一隻孤雁很低很慢的飛過。鳴聲悽慘。更贏見了，就張著弓，扣著弦，砰的一聲，直入雲宵。那孤雁果然應聲落地。魏王驚歎之餘，不明白這是怎麼回事。更贏解釋說："那孤雁飛得低且慢，因為它已經受過傷;它鳴叫的聲音悲而哀，因為它離了群。身傷心碎，使它心跳加速，兩翼無力，體重失去平衡，正如人們吃飯時，突然聽見雷聲，筷子落地的情況一樣自然而平常。

　　後人根據上面的故事，做成了 "驚弓之鳥"這個成語，形容先前多次受過驚嚇的人，忽然遇到同樣可怕的事物，就嚇得魂飛魄散，驚惶失措，不知如何去應付新的環境。

　　版本2

　　In the Warring States Period, there was a man in the State of Wei called Geng Lei. One day he said to the king: 'I can shoot down birds by simply plucking my bowstring.' When the king expressed doubt, Geng Lei pointed his bow at a wild goose flying in the sky, twanged the bowstring, and the goose fell to the ground. Geng Lei said, 'This goose has been hurt in the past. Hearing the twang of the bowstring, it assumed that it was doomed. So it simply gave up trying to live.

　　戰國時期***公元前403―221年中國中原地區各諸侯國連年爭戰的時代***魏國有個名叫更羸的人。一天，他對國王說：“我只要拉開弓，空射一下，就能把天上的鳥射下來。”國王不相信。更羸便對準天上飛來的一隻雁射去，果真那隻雁聽到拉弦的聲音就掉了下來。國王感到很奇怪。更羸說，“那是一隻受過傷的雁。它一聽到我拉開弓弦的聲響，就驚慌得支援不住，自然要掉下來了。”

　　This idiom means that if one has been frightened in the past one's will may become paralysed in a similar situation.

　　“驚弓之鳥”這個成語比喻受過驚恐之後，有一點動靜就特別害怕。

　　版本3

　　There was an archer named Geng Ying in the State of Wei.

　　魏國有位射手名叫更贏。

　　He went sightseeing with the King of Wei at Jingtai.

　　他跟隨魏王在京臺遊玩。

　　At that time a bird was circling around in the sky, uttering sad and shrill cries now and then.

　　這時有一隻鳥在空中盤旋，還不時發出淒厲的叫聲。

　　The King of Wei looked up at it for a while and said to Geng Ying:

　　魏王抬頭一會兒，便對更贏說:

　　"Do you see that bird? Can you shoot it down?"

　　“你看見那隻鳥了嗎?你能把它射下來嗎?”

　　"I can shoot it down without using an arrow," Geng Ying said.

　　更贏說:“這隻鳥，我不用箭就能把它射下來。”

　　After a while, the bird flew near.

　　一會兒，那隻鳥飛近了。

　　Geng Ying pulled his bow to the full, plucked the bowstring, and at the sound the bird fell tothe ground before their feet.

　　更贏拉滿弓，撥動了一下弓弦，鳥就應聲落在他們跟前。

　　The King of Wei said in surprise: "You can shoot down a bird without an arrow. Your skill inarchery is really wonderful."

　　魏王驚奇地說: “你不用箭就能把飛鳥射下來，你射箭的技術真高明啊!”

　　Geng Ying said: "Your Majesty, this is not due to my good skill, but because this is a bird of badluck.

　　更贏說: “大王，這不是我的技術高明，而是因為這是一隻倒黴的鳥。

　　You can hear how sadly and shrilly it wailed, and see how tiredly it flew.

　　你聽它叫得那樣淒厲，飛得那樣疲乏。

　　It was already wounded, and for a long time could not find its companion.

　　它已經負了傷，很長時間找不到伴侶。

　　Therefore it couldn't stand the least fright.

　　所以經不起一點點的驚嚇。

　　As soon as I twanged my bow, it thought it had been shot and fell down of its own accordfrom the sky.

　　我的弓弦一響，它就以為是被射中了，自己從空中跌落下來。

　　What a pitiful bird frightened by the mere twang of a bowstring!"

　　多麼可憐的驚弓之鳥啊!”