1.The Dog Who Carried the Meat

1.叼著肉的狗

A dog was crossing a river holding a piece of meat in his mouth. Catching sight of his reflection in the water, he believed that it was another dog who was holding a bigger piece of meat. So, dropping his own piece, he leaped into the water to take the piece from the other dog. But the result was that he ended up with neither piece-one didn't even exist
and the other was swept away by the current.

一只狗嘴里叼著一塊肉，正在過河看。看到自已在水中的倒影，他以為是另一只狗叼著一大塊肉。于是，他放下自己嘴里的肉，跳進(jìn)水里，想從另一只狗嘴里搶過肉來。但結(jié)果是最后他一塊肉也沒有了：一塊根本不存在，而另一塊被激流卷走了。

This fable applied to the covetous.

這則寓言適用于貪婪之人。

2.The North Wind and the Sun

2.北風(fēng)和太陽

The North Wind and the Sun had a contest of strength. They decided to allot the palm of victory to whichever of them could strip the clothes off a traveler.

北風(fēng)和太陽較量誰的威力大。他們決定誰能剝?nèi)ヒ粋€(gè)行人的衣服，誰就是勝利者。

The North Wind first tried his power. He blew with all his might. As the man clung on to his clothes, the North Wind attacked him with greater force. But the man,uncomfortable from the cold, put on more clothes. So, disheartened, the North Wind left him to the Sun.

北風(fēng)第一個(gè)施展威力，他使盡全力刮起來。當(dāng)行人把一衣服裹緊時(shí)，北風(fēng)更猛烈地吹著他，行人卻冷得難受，又穿上了更多的衣裳。最后，北風(fēng)心灰意冷地把那人交給了太陽。

The Sun shone moderately, and the man removed his extra cloak. Then the Sun darted light which was more scorching until the man, not being able to stand the heat,took off his clothes and went to take a dip in a nearby river.

太陽溫和地照著，行人脫掉了添加的斗篷。然后，太陽射出的光更強(qiáng)烈了，行人難耐高溫，脫下衣服，跳到附近的河里洗澡去了。

This fable shows that persuasion is often more effective than force.

這則寓言說明，勸說往往比暴力更有效。

3.Cutting a Mark on the Boat to Find the Sword

3.刻舟求劍

One day, a man of the State of Chu was crossing a river by boat. Due to carelessness,his sword which hung at his side fell into the water. Not in the least worried, he slowly took out a small knife and cut a mark on the side of the boat.

一天，有個(gè)楚國人坐船過河，一不小自，身上掛的寶劍掉進(jìn)了河里。他一點(diǎn)兒也不著急，慢騰騰地拿出小刀，在船舷上刻了一個(gè)記號(hào)。

Someone on the boat asked him:

船上有人問他:

"Why don't you jump into the water at once to fish for your sword? What's the use of making his mark on the side of the boat?"

你為什么不馬上下水把劍撈上來?你在船舷上刻記號(hào)有什么用啊?”

He pointed to the mark on the side of the boat, saying unhurriedly:

他指著船舷上的記號(hào)，不慌不忙地說:

"There is no need to worry. My sword fell into the river at this marked place. As soon as the boat reaches the dock and pulls in to shore, I will jump down from here to retrieve my sword."

“不必?fù)?dān)心。我的劍是從這個(gè)刻著記號(hào)的地方掉下去的。等船一到碼頭，靠了岸，我就從這里跳下去，把寶劍撈上來。”

4.Startling the World with a Single Cry

4.一鳴驚人

It had been three years since King Zhuang of Chu ascended the throne, but he had neither issued a law nor dealt with any state affairs. Furthermore, there were no deeds worth mentioning. All the civil and military officials of the court couldn't understand what was the matter.

楚莊王即位已有三年之久，卻沒有頒布過一項(xiàng)法令，沒有處理過一件政事，更談不上有什么作為。朝廷中的文武官員都弄不懂這是怎么回事。

One day, a military official quietly asked King of Chu in the carriage:

一天，右司馬在馬車?yán)锴那蔚貑柍?

"Your Majesty, I heard that in the south, there was a big bird dwelling in the hills.Three years passed, it neither flew nor cried. Could Your Majesty tell me the reason?"

“大王，我聽說南方有一只大鳥棲息在山上，:二年過去了，既不飛.也下鳴。請(qǐng)問大王，這是什么原因呢?”

King Zhuang of Chu smiled and answered:

楚莊王笑了笑，回答說:

"It didn't spread its wings to fly for three years in order to grow full-fledged. It didn't cry for three years in order to carefully observe the conditions of the people in the world. This bird, once it flies, will soar high into the sky; once it cries, it will startle the world with a single cry."

“三年不展翅飛，是為了讓羽翼長得更加豐滿；三年不鳴，是在細(xì)心觀察天下的民情。這只鳥，不飛則已，一飛沖天;不鳴則已，一鳴驚人，”

Another half a year passed before King Zhuang of Chu began to personally administer state affairs. He abolished the old rules and regulations, issued nine new policies, sentenced five ministers to death for their evil deeds and promoted six persons with real talents. From then on, the state of Chu became stronger and stronger.

又過了半年，楚莊王開始親自處理政事。他廢除了十項(xiàng)舊的規(guī)章制度;頒布了九項(xiàng)新政策;處決了五個(gè)專千壞事的大臣;還提拔了六個(gè)真正有才能的人。從此，楚國終于強(qiáng)大起來了。

課堂筆記：
1.搭配“allot sth. to sth. else”意思為“把……分配給……”句中介詞“to"后接由關(guān)系代詞“whichever”引導(dǎo)的賓語從句。
2..句中“which'’引導(dǎo)定語從句用于修飾“light"，連詞“until”引導(dǎo)的分句中，分詞結(jié)構(gòu)"not being able to stand the heat”用作原因狀語。
3..楚莊王(?一公元前591 )，春秋時(shí)期楚國最有成就的君主，春秋五霸之一莊王之前，楚國一直被排除在中原文化之外，莊王自稱霸中原，不僅使楚國強(qiáng)大，威名遠(yuǎn)揚(yáng)，也為華夏的統(tǒng)一、民族精神的形成發(fā)揮了一定的作用有關(guān)楚莊王的典故很多，其中“一鳴驚人”已成為眾所周知的成語，對(duì)后世產(chǎn)生了深遠(yuǎn)的影響。
4.英語中“neither”與“nor”連用作連詞，連接兩個(gè)詞或短語，表示“既不……也不……”·此句中“neither”與“nor"連接兩個(gè)動(dòng)詞短語，并列作句子的謂語。
5."once”用作連詞表示“一旦”之意。這兩句構(gòu)成排比句式，漢語意思為:“不飛則
  已，一飛沖天;不鳴則已，一鳴驚人”。

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