小学英语中英对照学趣味成语.doc

爱屋及乌（中英对照学英语）
成语来源
Love me, love my dog.
爱屋及乌
There was a state called zhou (周) in the chinese history.
中国历史上有一个国家名叫“周”。
One day, the king of zhou asked his officials for advice on deal with prisoners of war.
一天，周王问他的官员，应该怎样处理战俘。
An official said, "i once heard if you love someone you are intended to love even the crows on the roof of his house; if you hate someone, you are intended to hate even the walls and the parapets of his. The prisoners of war were enemies fighting against us. In my opinion, we'd better kill them all."
一个官员说：“我以前曾听说：如果喜欢某个人，就连停留在那人住的屋顶上的乌鸦都喜欢；如果厌恶某个人，就连那人家里的墙壁和围墙都厌恶。战俘是我们的敌人，和我们是对立的，我觉得最好把他们全部杀了。”
But the king didn't agree with him."I think we should treat the prisoners of war differently by differing them into those who are guilty and those who are not. The guilty ones will be sentenced to death in order to avoid future disasters." Another official put forward his suggestion.
周王认为这样做不行。另外一个官员也提出了自己的意见：“依我看应该把战俘区分对待，把有罪的和无罪的、好的和坏的区分开来。有罪的战俘要处死，不能留下祸患。”
The king didn't think it was a proper way, either.
周王认为这样做也不大妥当。
Then a third one said, "Your majesty, I think all the prisoners should be set free and sent back home to work in the fields and support themselves by their own labor. Moreover, you should keep strictly the rules for reward and punishment and treat your relatives and friends impartially.The people are sure to believe in you if you administer our country by morals and laws."
接着，又有一个官员说：“大王，我认为应该把这些战俘全都放了，让他们回到自己的家里，耕种田地，自食其力。而大王对自己的亲人和朋友，也要赏罚分明，不能偏心。通过道德和法律来治理国家，人民肯定会对大王信服的。”
The king thought the official's proposal was quite reasonable so he accepted and followed it.As a result, the domestic situation soon settled down and gradually the country became more stable and stronger.
周王听后觉得很有道理，就按这个办法去做，结果国家真的很快安定下来了，变得越来越稳定和强大。
The idiom is then used to mean that if you love someone,you'll love people and things relative to him as well.
成语“爱屋及乌”后来就被用来比喻：因为喜爱一个人，连带和他有关的人或事物也喜爱、关心。
文化链接
“爱屋及乌”的英语表达大家也一定都有所耳闻了吧~就是“Love me, love my dog.”字面意思就是“爱我，就要爱我的狗”，比喻一个人如果喜欢一样事物或者人，他就会喜爱关于这个事物或是人的一切，也就是“爱屋及乌”的意思啦~

这里向大家介绍一首好听的英文歌曲，就叫做“Love me, love my dog.”是由Peter Shelley演唱的，相信大家听完，一定会牢牢记住这一个有趣的英文表达。
抱薪救火（中英对照学英语）
成语来源
to add insult to injury/to add fuel to the fire
抱薪救火
In the last years of the Warring States period (战国, 475-221BC), the State of Qin (秦国) attacked the State of Wei (魏国) on a large scale repeatedly and occupied large areas of land, for the State of Wei was too weak to defend itself.
战国末期，秦国向魏国接连发动大规模的进攻，魏国无力抵抗，大片土地都被秦军占领了。
In 273 BC, the Qin army launched another attack upon the State of Wei with a momentum more vigorous than ever. The king of the State of Wei summoned his officials,and asked with a worried look if anyone could propose a way to defeat the Qin army.
到公元前273年，秦国又一次向魏国出兵，势头空前猛烈。魏王把大臣们召来，愁眉苦脸地问大家有没有使秦国退兵的办法。
After years of chaos caused by the wars,the officials trembled when fighting was mentioned, and no one dared to speak of “resistance”.
大臣们由于经过多年的战乱，提起打仗就吓得哆嗦，谁也不敢谈“抵抗”二字。
At the critical moment when a large enemy force was approaching the border, most of the officials persuaded the king to sue for peace, at the cost of giving away to the State of Qin the large area of land north of the Huanghe River
(huáng hé 黄河) and south of the Taihang Mountain (tài háng shān 太行山).
在这大兵压境的危急时刻，多数大臣都劝魏王，用黄河以北和太行山以南的大片土地为代价，向秦王求和。
However Su Dai (sūdài 苏代), a counsellor, did not agree. He hurried up to the king and said:"Your Majesty, they don't think about the interests of the country at all.It is just because they are cowardly and afraid of death that they ask you to sue for peace by betraying the country.Of course you can temperarily satisfy the ambition of the king of the State of Qin is insatiably greedy. It will never stop assaulting us until our land is totally given away."
谋士苏代听了这些话，很不以为然，忙上前对魏王说：“大王，他们是因为自己胆小怕死，才让您去卖国求和，根本不为国家着想。您想，把大片土地割让给秦国虽然暂时满足了秦王的野心，但秦国的欲望是无止境的，只要魏国的土地没割完，秦军就不会停止进攻我们。”
Once there was a man whose house was on fire. People told him to put out the fire with water, but he would not listen. Instead, he carried a faggot to put out the fire, only to make the fire fiercer. That was because he didn't know that,instead of putting out the fire, faggots could only make it burning more vigorously. Isn't it equivalent to carrying faggots to put out a fire if you agree to sue for peace at the cost of the land of the State of Wei?"
说到这里，苏代讲了一个故事：“从前有一个人，他的房子起火了，别人劝他快用水去浇灭大火，但他不听，偏抱起一捆柴草去救火，是因为他不懂得柴草不但不能灭火反而能助长火势的道理。大王若同意拿着魏国土地去求和，不就等于抱着柴草救火吗？”
Though Su Dai's argument was very convincing, the king accepted the suggestion of those officials and gave away to the State of Qin a large area of the land of the State of Wei.
尽管苏代讲得头头是道，但是胆小的魏王只顾眼前的太平，还是依大臣们的意见把魏国大片土地割让给秦国。
The State of Wei was finally destroyed by the State of Qin. This story appears in the Historical Records Written by Sima Qian. The set phrase"carrying faggots to put out a fire"is used to mean adopting a wrong method to save a situation and ending up by making it worse.
到公元225年，魏国最终被秦国灭掉了。这个故事出自司马迁的《史记》，“抱薪救火”就是指“用错误的方式去挽救现状，最终只会令状况更糟糕”。
文化链接
英文中“抱薪救火”的相应说法可以用“to add insult to injury”，“insult”是“言语侮辱”的意思，试想当一个人已经受伤了，你可能本想用激将法，但最后却适得其反，越帮越忙，变成了“在伤口上撒盐”，那就是“抱薪救火”啦~
同时也可以用“to add fuel to the fire”来表达“抱薪救火”的意思，其实“to add fuel to the fire”的直译是“火上浇油”，但实际表达的含义是相近的~

杯弓蛇影（中英对照学英语）
成语来源 
a false alarm
杯弓蛇影
In Jin Dynasty there was a man named Yue Guang who was fond of drinking alcohol.
晋朝有个叫乐(yuè)广的人，爱喝酒。
One day, he invited a friend to his house to drink together.
一天，他邀请朋友到家里来对斟对饮。
Suddenly, his friend saw the reflection of a snack swimming in the goblet.
忽然，朋友看见酒杯里有条蛇影在游动。
He got so much frightened that he took ill on bed after getting home.
他受了惊吓，回去便一病不起。
And neither any doctor or any medicine could cure his illness.
请医服药，都无起色。
Yue Guang came to see him and asked about the cause of his disease.
乐广跑来看他，问明起病的缘由。
When he got to know the cause, he pulled his friend from the bed immediately and took him to his house.
乐广听后一把拉起朋友往家走。
Yue Guang made his friend sit where he used to, pouring a goblet of alcohol for him, and asked him," Is there any snake reflection in the goblet?"
他让朋友坐在原处，斟满酒问：“有蛇影吗？”
There was still a "snake reflection" in the goblet! Yue casually took away the bow hanging on the wall.
杯子里还有“蛇影”！乐广随手取下墙上的弓。
This time, the "snake reflection" disappeared.
这次，“蛇影”不见了！
"So it was the bow reflection that was in the goblet!" His friend at once got well from his illness.
“杯子里原来是弓影呀！”朋友的病情顿时好了！
文化链接
其实“杯弓蛇影”的意思有点偏向于以前已经讲解过的“草木皆兵”，也有点“虚惊一场”的意思，英语中就可以用“a false alarm”，也就是“一个错误的讯号”的意思。我们来一起通过下面一个小漫画来更加了解这个成语吧~
Subway False Alarm
地铁“杯弓蛇影”事件
On the subway yesterday morning and this guy I saw sleeping at the beginning of the subway (and then forgot about) fell totally on his face and completely on the floor.
昨天早晨在地铁里我看到一个人睡着，然后俯身摔倒在地。
He kind of shook it off and got back into his seat.
结果他震醒了，又回到了自己的座位上。
Though for a moment I was thinking if he was really unconscious who would be the one to check him?
其实我原来还以为他真的已经不省人事了，还在想有谁能帮他检查一下呢……

病入膏肓（中英对照学英语）
成语来源
have one foot in the grave
病入膏肓
In the Spring and Autumn Period (春秋时期,770-476 BC), King Jing of the State of Jin (晋国) fell ill. And he heard that there was a doctor of exceptional skill, so he dispatched person to invite the doctor.
春秋时期，晋景公有一次得了重病，听说秦国有一个医术很高明的医生，便专程派人去请来。
One night he dreamed that the disease turned into two little kids talking beside him.
有一晚，晋景公恍惚中做了个梦。梦见了两个小孩，正悄悄地在他身旁说话。
One said “I’m afraid the doctor will hurt us.”
一个说：“那个高明的医生马上就要来了，我看我们这回难逃了，我们躲到什么地方去呢？”
The other said, “Do not worry. We can hide above ‘huang’ and below ‘gao’. Then the doctor will be able to do nothing to us.”
另一个小孩说道：“这没什么可怕的，我们躲到肓的上面，膏的下面，无论他怎样用药，都奈何我们不得。”
The next day, having examined the king, the doctor said, ‘Your disease is incurable, I am afraid, Your Majesty. It’ above huang and below gao, where no medicine can reach.’
翌日，秦国的名医到了，立刻被请进了晋景公的卧室替晋景公治病。诊断后，那医生对晋景公说：“这病已没办法治了。疾病在肓之上，膏之下，用灸法攻治不行，扎针又达不到，吃汤药，其效力也达不到。这病是实在没法子治了。”
The idiom indicates a hopeless condition.
这个成语意喻事情到了无可挽回的地步
文化链接

英文中“病入膏肓”可以说成“have one foot in the grave”，就是“一只脚在坟墓里”的意思，形容一个人已经行将就木，病的很重。这个短语与中文一样，可以引申指“事态很严重”，比如可以说“某国经济已经病入膏肓”就可以说“……economy already has one foot in the grave”。

不寒而栗（中英对照学英语）
成语来源
a chill runs down one's spine
不寒而栗
During the Han dynasty (汉朝, 206BC—220AD), there was a man whose name was Yi Zong (义纵). Because of the special kindness of the mother of the emperor, Yi Zong was made a magistrate in one county.
汉武帝时，有一个人名叫义纵，因为受到太后的恩宠，做了上党郡某县令。
After taking up the official post ,he did very well in managing the official business. He was courageous and resolute in handling cases, and punished according to law anybody who violated the law, no matter whether he was a despotic gentleman who was rich and powerful or was one of the common people.
上任以后，公务办得很出色，案子处理上敢作敢为，不论是有钱有势的豪绅，还是平民， 只要犯了法，义纵秉公审办。
When Yi Zong was transferred to be the prefect of the Nanyang Prefecture (南阳郡), Ning Cheng (宁成), a despotic landlord who stopped at nothing in doing evil, was living there，in order to ingratiate himself with Yi Zong, Ning Cheng pretended to be very modest and courteous every time he met Yi Zong and saw him off.
当义纵被调任到南阳郡做河内郡都尉，当地的恶霸宁成为了讨好义纵，所以每次遇见义纵总是假装成非常谦逊恭敬的样子。
But Yi Zong had heard of the evil conducts of Ning Cheng already and, soon after he took office in Nanyang,he made investigations. It did not take much time for him to find out Ning cheng's crimes and had him put in prison.
但是，义纵对他的恶行早有所闻，到南阳后立即展开调查，很快就查清他的罪行，把他关押起来。
Later, Emperor Wu Di (汉武帝) of the Han Dynasty appointed Yi Zong the prefect of the Dingxiang Prefecture (定襄).
后来，汉武帝又任命义纵做定襄太守。
At that time, the public order in Dingxiang was very chaotic. When he took office there, there were 200 convicts in prison who had committed felonies had no implements of punishment on them.There were also more than 200 persons who offered bribes in order to absolve those serious offenders from guilt.Yi Zong treated the matter severely. He arrested all those bribers and punished the bribers and those serious offenders already in prison severely. More than 400 convicts were executed in a day.
当时定襄的社会治安十分混乱。义纵到任以后，把押在狱中的没有加开具的二百多名重犯，以及为重犯开脱罪责进行贿赂的二百多名门客亲属，一律严加追究，拘捕治罪，一天之内处死的就有四百多名。
From that day on, whenever the name of Yi Zong was mentioned，people in Dingxiang would tremble with fear --they would shiver all over though not cold.
从此以后，定襄的人一听到义纵的名字就“不寒而栗”——天气不冷却浑身发抖。
文化链接

英文中“不寒而栗”可以说成“a chill runs down one's spine”，“spine”就是“脊椎”的意思，那这个短语也就是“一股寒气从脊椎流下”的意思啦~
平时看了恐怖片或是听了鬼故事后，我们常会说“身后感到一阵发凉”，这样想也就不难理解了，也就是“不寒而栗”的意思。

才高八斗（中英对照学英语）
成语来源
highly talented
才高八斗
Tsau Pi and Tsau Jr were sons of Tsau Tsau. Both were very gifted writers, and
Tsau Jr was especially quick-witted.
曹丕与曹植都是曹操的儿子，二者均有才华，特别是曹植更具文采。
After Tsau Tsau's death, Tsau Pi took over the throne of the kingdom of wei. Jealous
of Tsau Jr's literary ability, and afraid that he might cause problems, Tsau Pi was always looking for a way to kill his brother.
在曹操死后，曹丕继任大统，但他嫉妒曹植的才华，同时也惧怕曹植回谋反，所以一直在伺机杀害曹植。
One day, Tsau Pi called Tsau Jr into see him.He ordered his brother to make up a poem within the time it took to walk seven steps, adding that if he could not, his life would be in danger.
有一天，曹丕要求接见曹植，他要求曹植在他七步之内作诗一首，如果做不到，就会有生命危险。
Greatly saddened, Tsau Jr began to walk and to think. Before he had taken the seven steps, he had already finished his poem, the meaning of which was: "Brothers are of the same family, so why should the oppress each other?"
悲愤之下，曹植急中生智，作出七步诗，是的意思就是“本来就是亲兄弟，为什么要这样步步紧逼，伤及感情？”
Tsau Jr was very intelligent and loved to study. He wrote many outstanding articles which showed his artistic talent and earned him the admiration of many people. One scholar said of him: "Heaven gave the world ten decalitres of talent, and Tsau Jr alone has eight of them."
曹植文采俱佳，热爱学习，他曾做过不少才华横溢的文赋，均令世人感叹不已。曾有一位学者说道：“如若天下文采共有十斗，曹植一人独占八斗。”
Today, to say that a person "has eight decalitres of talent" is to say that he has a great aptitude for writing.
今天，如果我们说一个人“才高八斗”，就是指他“才华横溢，很有文采”。
文化链接
英文中“才高八斗”并没有特别固定的说法，“highly talented”就可以表达相应的意思，当然“highly gifted”或者是“extremely talented”都是可以的。
草木皆兵（中英对照学英语）

成语来源 
be afraid of one's own shadow
草木皆兵
In AD 383, the king of Former Qin (秦朝), Fu Jian (fú jiān 苻坚), led a huge army to attack Eastern Jin.
公元383年，秦王苻坚率领步兵、骑兵90万，攻打江南的晋朝。
After losing the first round of fighting, Fu Jian looked down from a city wall, and was terrified when he saw the formidable battle array of the Eastern Jin army.
在一轮战败后，苻坚从城墙俯视周遭，当他看到势不可破的东晋部队，他感到很害怕。
And then looking at the mountains around, he mistook the grass and trees for enemy soldiers.
此时，苻坚在寿春城上望见晋军队伍严整，士气高昂，再北望八公山，只见山上一草一木都像晋军的士兵一样，于是更加恐慌。
As a result, when the nervous Fu Jian led his army into battle, it suffered a crushing defeat.
后来苻坚全军覆没，带着少数残余的队伍逃回去了。
This idiom describes how one can defeat oneself by imaging difficulties.
这个成语后来形容人在极度惊恐时，疑神疑鬼的心理状态。
【文化链接】

英文中“草木皆兵”的相应说法可以用“afraid of one's own shadow”，也就是一个人连自己的影子都怕，当一个人连自己的影子都怕的时候，是不是就是疑神疑鬼，“草木皆兵”了呢~~
我们来一起看一个例句吧~
She stays at home all the time and never makes any new friends. She seems to be afraid of her own shadow.
她老待在家里, 从不交新朋友，感觉“草木皆兵”。

东施效颦（中英对照学英语）
成语来源
mere copycat
东施效颦
In the Spring and Autumn Period (春秋时期,770-476 BC), there was a beauty in the State of Yue called Xishi (西施).
传说春秋时期，越国有一美女，名唤西施。
She often suffered from pains in her chest, and so she would often walk around doubled over and with her brows knitted.
但是西施有心口疼的毛病，所以她经常手捂胸口，皱着眉头走着。
There was an ugly girl in the village called Dongshi who envied Xishi.
村子里还住着一位丑姑娘，叫做东施，她十分嫉妒西施。
Striving to emulate Xishi, she imitated her stoop, knitting her brows at the same time.
于是东施时常效仿西施，手捂胸口，紧皱眉头。
She thought that this made her elegant, but in fact, it only made her more ugly.
东施觉得她效仿西施就会变得很美丽，但是实际上，只会使她变得更难看而已。
Later, this idiom came to be used to indicate improper imitation that produces the reverse effect.
这个典故比喻不恰当的模仿，带来相反的效果。
文化链接
英文中“东施效颦”可以说成“mere copycat”，“mere”有“仅仅”的意思，而“copycat”则可以表示我们常说的“山寨”，也就是“模仿的产品”，所以合在一起就是“仅仅只是山寨而已”，也就是“东施效颦”所表达的含义啦~
比如说，大家都知道美国由好莱坞Hollywood，而印度有一个宝莱坞Bollywood,所以曾有人说“宝莱坞是不是东施效颦好莱坞呢？”，英文表达就是“Bollywood a mere copycat?”，但事实其实不是哈，宝莱坞已经越来越有自己的特色，也有很多广为人知的好电影了。

功亏于溃（中英对照）
成语来源
within an ace of winning
功亏一篑
Once a man planned to build a terrace.
古时，有一个人要筑一座九仞（八尺=一仞）高的山。
He worked very hard and spent a lot of time digging and carrying earth.
他十分努力的建造这座山，并且花了很多时间挖土、搬运泥土。
When the mound was almost completed and only one more basket of earth was needed, the man gave up.
终于当山快要建成的时候，几乎只差最后一篮子的泥土就行了的时候，他放弃了。
The terrace was never completed.
这座山便永远无法完工。
This idiom means to fail to succeed for lack of final effort.
这个典故用以形容“离成功只有一步之遥，但最终失败告终”的意思。
文化链接
“功亏一篑”是有相对的美国俚语的，那就是“within an ace of winning”，“within an ace of winning”从字面解释是要有一张ace就赢了。
比方说，你先发到的牌是两张九接着又来了两张ace，形势看来大好。你知道如果再拿到一张ace，你就 必胜无疑了，但是事与愿违，你最后到手的是一张四，而对方手头却有三张K。
这一来你就功亏一篑，败在他的手下。这就是习惯用语within