英语成语故事

天衣无缝

Divine Garments Without Seams

There was a man called Guo Han in the Tang Dynasty(618-907).One summer night, when the moon was very bright he suddenly saw a girl descending slowly from the sky. He observed the girl closely, and found that the dress she was wearing was seamless. He was

puzzled, and asked why. The girl answered,"Heavenly clothes are not sewn with needle and thread."

This idiom is used metaphorically to indicate the flawless handling of things. It can also be used to indicate a perfectly written poem or other literary article.

唐朝有个人教郭翰。一个夏天的晚上，月光非常明亮，他忽然看见天空中有个女子轻盈而缓慢地飘落下来。他仔细地观察那个女子，发现她身上穿的衣服连一条缝也没有，感到非常奇怪，便问那个女子。女子回答说：“天衣本来就用不着针线缝合的呀！”

这个成语用来比喻处理事情十分周密，不露一点痕迹。也比喻诗文写得很精辟，找不出一点毛病。

黔驴技穷

从前，贵州没有驴子，有人从外地带回一头驴子，拴在山下，一只老虎看到了，以为是什么怪物，急忙躲到树林中去头头地瞧。驴子大叫一声，老虎吓了一跳，以为驴子要吃掉自己。时间一长，老虎觉得驴子没有什么恶意，逐渐走近去戏弄它，触犯它。驴子生气了，用蹄子踢老虎。老虎心里想：“你的本领不过就是如此啊！”于是立刻扑过去，一口把它咬死吃掉了。这个成语比喻仅有的一点本事也用完了，在没有别的办法了。

The Guizhou Donkey Has Exhausted It's Tricks

In ancient times there were no donkeys in Guizhou province. Somebody brought a donkey from somewhere and tied it to a tree at the foot of a mountain. A tiger saw the donkey, and thought that it must be a fearsome monster. It hide behind a tree and spied on the donkey. When the donkey brayed, the tiger was frightened, thinking that the donkey was about to devour it. After a while, seeing that the donkey had not moved, the tiger approached it and teased it. The donkey became angry, and kicked the tiger. The tiger thought to itself:"It then all it is capable of?" It then jumped on the donkey and ate it.

This idiom is used to mean that one has exhauseted one's skills.

破镜重圆

A Broken Mirror Joined Together

This set phrase metaphorically means the reunion of husband and wife after an enforced separation or a rupture.

At the end of Southern Dynasties,when the Chen Dynasty was about to be overthrown.

Xú Déyán felt very worried.He foreknew that his wife Princess Lè Chāng was destined to separate from him.

His wife is the last Emperor Chén Shūbǎo's younger sister.

Hence he broke a round bronze mirror into halves.

One half is given to the Princess,the other half left with himself.

The couple agreed on it that the wife would pretend to sell the broked mirror in the street of

Cháng'ān,the capital of the Suí Dynasty,on the Lantern Festival.

After the fall of Chén Dynasty,Princess Lè Chāng was captured and sent to Chang'an and forced to be a concubine-servant in the mansion of Yáng Sù.

Xú Déyán missed his wife very much and went to the captial to look for her.

On the 15th day of the first lunar month,he found a man selling half the mirror.

After asking the man,he knew that his wife had been a concubine-servant of Yáng Sù. Thinking that he could not see her again,he sighed a great sorrow.

Having known the matter,Yáng Sù felt much sympathy for the couple.He sent for Xú Déyán and told him to take wife away.Thus the husband and the wife were reunited into a happy couple.

自相矛盾

A man of the state of Chu had a spear and a shield for sale. He was loud in praises of his shield.

"My shield is so strong that nothing can pierce it through."

He also sang praises of his spear.

"My spear is so strong that it can pierce through anything."

"What would happen," he was asked, "if your spear is used to pierce your shield?"

It is impossible for an impenetrable shield to coexist with a spear that finds nothing impenetrable.

刻舟求剑

A man from the state of Chu was crossing a river. In the boat, his sword fell into the water. Immediately he made a mark on the boat.

"This is where my sword fell off," he said.

When the boat stopped moving, he went into the water to look for his sword at the place where he had marked the boat.

The boat had moved but the sword had not. Is this not a very foolish way to look for a sword?

井底之蛙

Have you not heard of the frog that lived in a shallow well? It said to a turtle that lived in the East Sea, "I am so happy! When I go out, I jump about on the railing beside the mouth of the well. When I come home, I rest in the holes on the broken wall of the well. If I jump into the water, it comes up to my armpits and holds up my cheeks. If I walk in the mud, it covers up my feet. I look around at the wriggly worms, crabs and tadpoles, and none of them can compare with me. Moreover, I am lord of this trough of water and I stand up tall in this shallow well. My happiness is full. My dear sir, why don't you come often and look around my place?"