中国成语典故-- 对牛弹琴 (中英对照).docx

中国成语典故--对牛弹琴(中英对照)

第一篇：中国成语典故--对牛弹琴(中英对照)PlaythelutetoacowInancienttime,therelivedamusiciannamedGongMingyi.HewasverygoodatplayingtheZheng,apluckedstringinstrument.Buthealsobehavedfoolishlysometimes.Oneday,hesawacoweatinggrassinthefieldnearhishouse.Hewasinspiredbythesceneandranoutsidetoplayatuneforthecow.GongMingyiplayedbeautifullyandhehimselfwasintoxicatedbythemusic.Butthecowpaidnoheedtotheelegantsounds.Itsimplyfocuseditsattentiononeatingthegrass.GongMingyiwassurprisedtoseethat.Hecouldn'tunderstandwhythecowwassoindifferenttohisperformance.Obviously,itisnotbecausehisperformanceispoor.Butthecowneitherunderstoodnorappreciatedhiselegantmusic!Fromthatstorycomestheidiom“Playthelutetoacow”,whichimpliesthatsomeonespeaksorwriteswithoutconsideringhisaudience.Ingeneralspeaking,thespeakerorwriterhasover-estimatedhislistenersorreaders.Inthesecases,theidiommockstheaudienceratherthanthespeaker.对牛弹琴从前，有个著名的音乐家公明仪。他的筝弹得非常好，但有时会作些傻事。有天，他看到一头牛在他家附近的田里吃草。他一下子有了灵感，就跑出去为这头牛弹琴。公明仪弹的曲子非常优美，他自己也陶醉在音乐之中。可是那头牛根本不理会那美妙的音乐，只顾着吃草。公明仪感到十分奇怪，不明白为什么牛对他的演奏无动于衷。很明显，牛不理会他并不是因为他的演奏很糟糕。而是因为牛听不懂也欣赏不了这种高深的曲调。“对牛弹琴”这个成语就是从上述故事演化而来的，指那些说话或写东西不考虑到听众的人。一般来说，是说话人或作者高估了听众或读者，所以，这则成语嘲讽的主要是听众或观众，而不是说话者第二篇：中国成语典故--害群之马(中英对照)Thehorsewhichdoesharmtotheherd-AblacksheepItwasaboutfourthousandyearsago.Huangdi(YellowEmperor)-thefirstlegendaryrulerinChinawenttothecountrysidetovisitanoldfriendwithhisentourage.Theymetaboykeepingwatchoveraherdofhorsesontheirway.Huangdiaskedtheboy,“Doyouknowthewaytomyfriend'svillagefarawayfromhere?”Theboysaidyes.Thentheemperorasked,“Doyouknowmyfriend?”Theanswerwasyesagain.Huangdithoughttheboywasbroad-minded.Soheaskedhim,“Doyouknowhowtoruleacountry?”Theboysaid,“Thereislittledifferencebetweenrulingacountryandwatchingoveraherdofhorses.Yousimplyhavetodrivethewildhorsesoutoftheherd.”Theemperorleft,broodingovertheboy'swords.Theidiomistakenfromwhattheboysaidandisusedtodescribeanyonewhohasabadinfluenceonhispeers.害群之马大约四千年前，黄帝－传说中中国的第一个帝王，带着随从去乡村看望他的一个老朋友。路上，他们遇到了一个看守马群的小男孩。由于去朋友的村庄路途遥远，黄帝就问小男孩：“你知不知