中國成語寓言故事44:The Striving to Be the First and Fearing to Lag Behind爭先恐后(雙語)
Wang Yuqi was a well-known expert in driving carriages in the State of Zhao.
王于期是趙國有名的駕車能手。
When Xiang Zi of Zhao heard of this, he asked Wang to teach him to drive a carriage. Not long after, Xiang Zi of Zhao thought he had already mastered the skills, and suggested a race against Wang_ He didn't expect that after he had changed horses three times in succession, he still lost the race to Wang.
趙襄子聽說后，讓王于期教他駕車的本領。不久，趙襄子自以為已經學會了，就提出要和王于期比賽駕車。他沒想到，一連換了三次馬，都輸給了王于期。
Xiang Zi of Zhao was flustered and exasperated. He said to Wang:
趙襄子氣急敗壞，很不滿意，對王于期說:
"In teaching me to drive, have you held anything back and not taught me all your skills?"
“您教我駕車，是不是留了一手，沒有把全部本領教給我?”
Hearing this, Wang smiled and said:
王于期聽后，笑著說:
"You ought to believe that I have taught you all the skills in driving a carriage. But, when Your Highness was racing against me, you always tried to keep in front of me. Once you lagged behind, you strove to overtake me; but after you overtook me, you were afraid that I would catch up with you. You focused all your attention on me. You forgot that in driving a carriage, the most important thing is to take care of the horses wholeheartedly and pay attention to the handlebars of the carriage and the harness to see whether they fit or not. Only then can you give the rein to the horses and let them gallop for 1,000 li. But during the race, you not only strove to be the first but also feared to lag behind. How could you concentrate your mind on driving the carriage?"
“您應該相信，我把駕車的本領已經全部教給您了。但是，大王在跟我比賽的時候，總是跑在我的前面。一落后就想拼命地追上我;而大王跑到我前面以后，又怕被我追上。您把注意力全部放在了我身上，忘記了凡是駕車，最關鍵的是首先要一心一意地調理馬匹，注意車把、馬套合適不合適;然后才談得上縱馬飛騰，奔馳千里。而您在比賽的時候，既想爭先，又恐落后，怎么會集中思想駕車呢?”趙襄子聽了恍然大悟，感嘆地說:
Hearing this, Xiang Zi of Zhao was enlightened. He gave a deep sigh and said: "Your words certainly hit the nail on the head. That is the very reason why I lagged behind."
“您的話，真是一針見血。這才是我落后的根本原因啊!”（編者注：如果喜歡本文章可以點擊文章右上方的關注或者右下角的贊哦！感謝各位讀者。）
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