秦国军队攻打赵国的都城。

赵国的平原 君打算亲自到楚国去请救兵，

想挑选一个

精明能干的人一同前去 。

有一个名叫毛遂的人，自告奋勇愿意同去。平原君到楚国后，

与楚

王谈了半天，

没有一点结果。

毛遂 怒气冲冲地拿着宝剑，

逼近楚王，

终于迫使楚王答应出兵，

与赵国联合共同抵抗秦国。

In

the

Warring

States

Period,

the

State

of

Qin

besieged

the

capital

of

the

State

of

Zhao.

Duke

Pingyuan of Zhao planned to ask the ruler of the State of Chu personally for assistance. He wanted

to

select

a

capable

man

to

go

with

him.

A

man

called

Mao

Sui

volunteered.

When

the

negoti- actions

between

the

two

states

were

stalled

because

the

ruler

of

Chu

hesitated

to

send

troops, Mao Sui approached him, brandishing a sword. At that, the ruler of Chu agreed to help

Zhao, against Qin.

“

毛遂自荐

”

这个成语用来比喻自己推荐自己，

不必别人介绍。

This idiom means to recommend

oneself.

例

1

：当 老师问到有没有人愿意为孤寡老人服务时，同学们各个毛遂自荐，教室里一时

热闹非凡。

When the teacher asked if anyone would like to help the childless old, all the students

offered to take the duty and the classroom was at once full of noise and excitement

例

2

：

将来说不定您会需要一位新的译 员。

因而在此不揣冒昧，

特致函向阁下毛遂自荐，

敬请原谅。

Someday in the future you may have need for a new interpreter. So I take the liberty of

writing you here to to offer myself for a position in your corporation.

例

3

：然后她坦率地告诉他自己曾是一 个妓女，她想毛遂自荐作为他的一个情妇。

After that,she told him frankly that she was a prostitute, and she wondered whether she

could offer herself as his mistress.

3.

世外桃源

A Haven of Peace and Happiness

东晋的文学家 陶渊明写了一片著名的文章叫《桃花源记》

。叙述一个渔人出外捕鱼的时候，

从这里通过一个山洞，

发现了一个村子，

这里的居民是秦朝时

避难人的后代。

这是一个与世隔绝、

没有剥削和压迫、人人安居乐业的美好社会。

渔人告别

村民回家以后，再也找不到这个地方了。

< br>

Tao Yuanming, a famous writer of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420), wrote the well- known essay

Peach-Blossom Spring. In it he tells a story which goes like this: A fisherman happened to come

upon

a

place

called

Peach-Blossom

Spring.

Squeezing

through

a

cave,

he

found

a

village,

the

residents of which were descendants of refugees from the Qin Dynasty. It was a paradise isolated

from the outside world, without exploitation or oppression, and everybody living and working in

peace and contentment. The fisherman left the villagers and went home. But he could never find

the place again.

后来，由这个故事产生了

“

世外桃源

”

这个成语，用来比喻与世隔绝的、 理想的美好世界。

This idiom is derived from the above story, and is used to mean an isolated, ideal world.

例

1

：进入九寨沟如同进入世外桃源一般，人间烦恼都会置于脑 后。

Upon entering the resort, you will find yourself strolling in a haven of peace, leaving

behind nothing but earthly troubles and vexations.

例

2

：西藏的确是世界上最后一个世外桃源。来到这儿，我感觉好像置身于一个世外桃

源。

Tibet is really the world's last Shangri-La, and when I came here, I felt as if I had been

in a different world.

4.

南辕北辙

Going South by Driving the Chariot North

从前有个人要到南方去，他坐的车子却向北方行驶。过路人说：

“

< br>你去南方，车子怎么向北

行驶呢？

”

他回答说：

“

我的马很能跑路，

我 的车夫驾车的技术也很高明，加上我又带了充足

的路费。

”

这个人没有考虑到，方向弄反了，他的条件越好，离他要去的地方就越远。

< br>

Once a man wanted to go to the south, but his carriage was heading north. A passer-by asked him:

'If you are going to the south, why is your chariot heading north? ' The man answered, 'My horse

is good at running, my driver is highly skilled at driving a carriage, and I have enough money. '

The

man

didn't

consider

that

the

direction

might

be

wrong;

the

better

his

conditions

were,

the

further he was away from his destination.

后来人们就把这 个故事概括为

“

南辕北辙

”