經典英語成語故事雙語

　　想要學好英語，一定要懂得學習方法。有趣的學習方法能讓你的英語水平提升得更快，小編在此獻上英語故事，希望對你有所幫助。

　　成語寓言故事:Having a Foot in Both Camps東食西宿

　　In ancient times, a girl in the State of Qi had reached marriageable age. Two families delivered betrothal gifts to propose marriage.

　　古時候，齊國有位姑娘，已經到了應該出嫁的年齡。有兩戶人家送來聘禮求婚。

　　In the family on the east, the young man was short and ugly, but the family was rich. The family on the west was very poor, but the young man was handsome and talented.

　　東邊的一家，青年長得又矮又醜，可是家裡很有錢;西邊的一家，家裡很窮苦，但是青年卻長得一表人才。

　　The girl's parents considered the matter from different angles,but were unable to come to a decision. So they called the girl andlet her make her own decision.

　　姑娘的父母左右盤算，還是決定不下來，就把姑娘叫到跟前，讓她自己拿主意。

　　Seeing the daughter lower her head, blushing and shy, the father said:

　　父親看到女兒低著頭，紅著臉，一副羞羞答答的樣子，就說:

　　"If you are too shy to tell your decision, you can do it by exposing your arms. If you like the son of the family on the east, expose your right arm; if you like the son of the family on the west, expose your left arm."

　　“你要是不好意思說出口，那麼你就以袒露手臂來表示:喜歡東家兒子，你就袒露右臂;喜歡西家兒子，你就袒露左臂。”

　　After pondering for some time, the girl silently exposed both her arms.

　　姑娘左思右想，才默默地袒露出左右雙臂。

　　"Now what does this mean?" her parents asked in surprise.

　　“這是什麼意思?”父母驚詫地問姑娘。

　　"I…，，’the girl said bashfully. "I want to dine in the family on the east, and sleep in the family on the west."

　　“我……”姑娘扭扭捏捏地說:“我想在東家吃飯，在西家住宿。”

　　成語寓言故事:A Single Mesh View一孔之見

　　Once upon a time, there was a bird-catcher who liked to cast a net to catch birds.

　　古時候，有個捕鳥的人，喜歡張網捕鳥。

　　One day, seeing that birds would fly past, he immediately cast his net and waited patiently.

　　一天，他看見鳥兒將要從這裡飛過，於是立刻佈下了羅網，耐心地等待。

　　After a while, a bird came as expected, and was caught by him at once.

　　一會兒，鳥兒果然飛來了，一下子就被他捕獲了。

　　The bird-catcher drew in the net and found that the bird had been caught in one mesh. He thought that, such being the case, one mesh would be enough. Therefore, he especially made a net with only one mesh, cast it in the same place and waited in high spirits.

　　捕鳥人收網一看，發現鳥被縛在一隻網眼裡。他想，原來只要一個網眼就行了。於是，他就專門製作了一張只有一個眼孔的網，再拿到原處張起網來，興致勃勃地等待著。

　　However, he never caught another bird thereafter.

　　然而，從此以後，他再也沒有捕到過一隻鳥。

　　成語寓言故事:Who Should Take the Seat of Honour?誰坐上座

　　A long time ago, the kitchen chimney of a family was built so straight that when cooking meals, the flames came right out, while there was a big heap of firewood just in front of the opening of the range.

　　從前，有一戶人家的廚房煙囪砌得實在太直了，所以做飯的時候，火焰直冒;而在灶門前，卻又偏偏堆了一大堆柴草。

　　An old man living next door saw this and advised the master of the family:

　　隔壁鄰居的老頭，一看到這種情形，就勸告說:

　　"You must quickly overhaul the chimney, and make a bend of it so that when you light a fire, the flames will not come right out. You should move farther away the big heap of firewood in front of the opening of the range; otherwise it will be easy to catch fire."

　　“你要快快拆修一下煙囪，把它拐一個彎兒，這樣燒起火來就不會直冒火焰了。灶門前這一大堆柴草，應該搬遠些，不然容易著火。”

　　Though the old man had reminded him of the danger, the master thought nothing of it.

　　老頭雖然提醒了他，可是這家主人卻全不放在心上。

　　One day, the sparks of the fire spilled onto the firewood. Sure enough, the house was ablaze. Fortunately all the neighbours rushed to help put out the fire.

　　有一天，火星濺到柴草上，果然房子也被燒著了。幸虧鄰居都趕來救火，才把火撲滅了。

　　Consequently, the master gave a feast to reward the neighbours who had come to help put out the fire. Those who had been injured, especially those badly burned, were given the seats of honour, but the old man who had advised him beforehand was not invited.

　　於是，主人家辦了酒席，答謝那些前來幫忙救火的鄰居。在救火中受傷的人，特別是那些傷得焦頭爛額的，都坐在上座，主人卻沒有邀請早先曾經勸他修煙囪的那個老頭。

　　When the guests took their seats, a man with knowledge and experience said to the master:

　　人座的時候，一個有見識的人對主人說:

　　"If you had taken that old man's advice, overhauled the chimney earlier, and moved away the firewood before the range, then this fire wouldn't have happened. Today you invite and reward those who helped you put out the fire, which is quite reasonable.

　　“你如果聽了那個老頭的話，及早把煙囪修好，把灶前的柴草搬開，就不會發生火災了。你今天請客，答謝救火的人，這是應該的