英文勵志的經典短故事

　　在我們有所空閒的時候，不如找一些來看看吧，那麼都有哪些呢?一起來看看吧。

　　：望洋興嘆

　　Tradition has it that many,many years ago,there lived on the Yellow River a river god known as He Bo.One day ,He Bo stood on the riverbank and watched the turbulent waves from the west surging forward to the east.He said both excitedly and conceitedly:"How big the Yellow River is !No other river on earth can compare with it.And therefore I am the greatest river god."

　　One man said to him,"You are wrong.There is a place to the east of the Yellow Rivers called the North Sea.The North Sea is really big."He Bo said,"I don't believe it .Big as the North Sea is, can it be bigger than Yellow River?"The man said,"Should the water of several Yellow River flow into the North sea,it could not fill the North Sea,let alone one Yellow River. "

　　He Bo said obstinately,"I don't believe it,for I have never been to the North Sea."

　　Having no alternative,the man said,"You will not be able to" understand what I mean until you have a chance to see the North Sea for yourself."

　　Winter came,and torrential rain had been falling for days on end.Rivers big and small emptied themselves into the Yellow River,making the Yellow River even broader.Standing on one side of the river,people could hardly tell what animals the oxen and horses on the other side of the river were.Thus He Bo was even more proud,thinking that all the magnificent sights were accumulated here.Then ,remembering the North Sea which had been mentioned to him before,he decided to go there and have a look.

　　He went downstream,and arrived at the river mouth to the sea.Suddenly,the god of the North Sea,whose name was Biennia Ruo,appeared before his eyes.With a smile,Beihai Ruo was welcoming He Bo to the North sea.He looked ahead,and saw that the North Sea,with its vast expanse of water,was boundless.With a dull look in his eyes,He Bo stood there for a while.Finally he said to Beihai Ruo with deep feeling,"As the common saying goes,some people go so far as to think that they are more knowledgeable than anybody else when they have got some knowledge.Actually I am one of such people.If I had not seen with that the Yellow River is matchless in the world.If I remained like that, I would be laughed at for ever by sensible people."

　　相傳很久很久以前，黃河裡有一位河神，人們叫他河伯。何伯站在黃河岸上。望著滾滾的浪濤由西而來，又奔騰跳躍向東流去，興奮地說;“黃河真大呀，世上沒有哪條河能和它相比。我就是最大的水神啊!”

　　有人告訴他：“你的話不對，在黃河的東面有個地方叫北海，那才真叫大呢。”

　　河伯說：“我不信，北海再大，能大得過黃河嗎?”

　　那人說：“別說一條黃河，就是幾條黃河的水流進北海，也裝不滿它。”

　　河伯固執地說：“我沒見過北海，我不信。”

　　那人無可奈何，告訴他：“有機會你去看看北海，就明白我的話了。”

　　秋天到了，連日的暴雨使大大小小的河流都注入黃河，黃河的河面更加寬闊了，隔河望去，對岸的牛馬都分不清。這一下，河伯更得意了，以為天下最壯觀的景色都在自己這裡，他在自得之餘，想起了有人跟他提起的北海，於是決定去那裡看看。

　　河伯順流來到黃河的入海口，，突然眼前一亮，海神北海若正笑容滿面地歡迎他的到來，河伯放眼望去，只見北海汪洋一片，無邊無涯，他呆呆地一會兒，深有感觸地對北海若說：“俗話說，只懂得一些道理就以為誰都比不上自己，這話說的就是我呀。今天要不是我親眼見到這浩瀚無邊的北海，我還會以為黃河是天下無比的呢!那樣，豈不被有見識的人永遠笑主。”

　　故事見於《莊子·秋水》。成語“望洋興嘆”，比喻要做某事而力量不夠，感到無可奈何。

　　：李代桃僵

　　The plum tree sacrifices itself for the peach tree-Sacrifice oneself for another person

　　This idiom comes from a old folk song. the last two stanzas go like this:

　　One family has five brothers, all serving to a minister as attendants. Every five days, they go back home for a reunion, decorating their horses and garments with shining gold. They vie with each other for ostentation and extravagance, attracting crowds of onlookers along the road.

　　Now there is a peach tree by a well, and a plum tree next to it. When worms come to gnaw at the root of the peach tree, the plum tree invites them to gnaw at its own root. Finally, the plum dies, ossified.

　　Even trees know how to sacrifice for other trees, why can't brothers do the same?

　　李代桃僵

　　這個成語來自於一首古老的民歌。 歌曲的最後兩段說的是：

　　一戶人家有兄弟五人，都在一個大官的家中做僕人。每隔五天，他們會回家團聚一次。他們用金子裝飾馬匹和衣服，吸引了許多路人來看。五人互不相讓，相互比較誰的排場大。

　　如今一口井邊有一棵桃樹，桃樹旁是一棵李樹。有蟲子來咬桃樹的根，李樹便讓蟲子來咬自己的根。最終，李樹變得僵硬，枯死了。

　　連樹都知道為了別的樹犧牲自己，為什麼兄弟之間反而做不到呢?

　　：脣亡齒寒

　　During the Spring and Autumn Period 707 - 476 B.C., Duke Xian of the State of Jin Wanted to expand his position of strength and sphere of influence. Therefore he would like to send his troops to destroy the State of Guo on the pretest that the State of Guo often encroached on theborders of the State of Jin. But there was a third state, the State of Yu,between the State of Jin and the State of Guo, and the Jin army had to cross the State of Yu before it could reach the State of Guo . "How can my army cross the State of Yu without a hitch?" Duke Xian of the State of Jin asked his ministers.Xun Xi , one of the ministers, said, "The monarch of the State of Yu is short - sighted and covets small advantages. If we give him priceless precious stones and fine horses, it is not unlikely that he will allow our army to pass through his country. " Seeing that Duke Xian of the State of Jin was a little bit grudging, Xun Xi continued to say, "The State of Yu and the State of Guo are neighbor stated as closely related as lips and teeth. The State of Yu cannot exist independently if the state of Guo is destroyed. Your precious stones and fime hores are just left in the care of the monarch of the State of Yu." So Duke Xian of the State of Jin accepted Xun Xi's plan. When the monarch of Yu saw the precious gifts, he was elated,and readily promised to let the Jin army pass through his state. Hearing the news, Gong Zhiqi, one of the ministers as the State of Yu, hastened to admonish the monarch, saying," That won't do.For the State of Yu and the State of Guo are neighbor states as closely related as lips and teeth. Our two small states are interdependent, and can help cach other when problems crop up .If the State of Guo were destroyed, it would be difficult for our State of Yu to continue to exist. As the common saying goes, if the lips are gone ,the teeth will be cold, The teeth can hardly be kept if the lips are gone. So it won't do at all to allow the Jin army pass our state." The monarch of the State of Yu said," The State of Jin is a big state. Now they here specially to present gifts to us with the intention of being on friendly terms with us. Under suchcircumstances, how can we refuse to allow them to pass through our state?" Hearing this, Gong Zhiqi sighed repeatedly. Knowing that the State of Yu would soon be destroyed, Gong Zhiqi left the State of Yu together with his whole family.

　　As expected, the troops of the State of Jin, allowed to pass through the State of Yu, destroyed the State of Guo and on their return trip captured the monarch of the State of Yu who went out personally to meet them, htus destroying the State of Yu as Well.

　　This story appears in the chapter " The Fifth Year of Duke Xi " in Zuo zhuan,the famous commentary by Zuo Qiuming on The Spring and Autumn Annals. The set phrase " if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold " is used to mean that two persons or things share a common lot and that is one fails ,the other is in danger.

　　春秋時候，晉獻公想要擴充自己的實力和地盤，就找藉口說鄰近的虢guó國經常侵犯晉國的邊境，要派兵滅了虢國。可是在晉國和虢國之間隔著一個虞國，討伐虢國必須經過虞地。“怎樣才能順利通過虞國呢?”晉獻公問手下的大臣。大夫荀息說：“虞國國君是個目光短淺、貪圖小利的人，只要我們送他價值連城的美玉和寶馬，他不會不答應借道的。”晉獻公一聽有點捨不得，荀息看出了晉獻公的心思，就說：“虞虢兩國是脣齒相依的近鄰，虢國滅了，虞國也不能獨存，您的美玉寶馬不過是暫時存放在虞公那裡罷了。”晉獻公採納了荀息的計策。

　　虞國國君見到這兩們珍貴的禮物，頓時心花怒放，聽到荀息說要借道虞國之事時，當時就滿口答應下來。虞國大夫宮之奇聽說後，趕快阻止道：“不行，不行，虞國和虢國是脣齒相依的近鄰，我們兩個小國相互依存，有事可以自彼幫助，萬一虢國滅了，我們虞國也就難保了。俗話說：‘脣亡齒寒’，沒有嘴脣，牙齒也保不住啊!借道給晉國萬萬使不得。”虞公說：“人家晉國是大國，現在特意送來美玉寶馬和咱們交朋友，難道咱們借條道路讓他們走走都不行嗎?”宮之奇連聲嘆氣，知道虞國離滅亡的日子不遠了，於是就帶著一家老小離開了虞國。

　　果然，晉國軍隊借道虞國，消滅了虢國，隨後又把親自迎接晉軍的虞公抓住，滅了虞國。 故事出自《左傳·僖公五年》。成語“脣亡齒寒”，比喻雙方關係密切，相互依存。