英语成语故事 成语故事英语版短篇【精选30篇】

成语故事包涵着我国从古代到现在的大道理大智慧，通过描写生活的一些简单的事，让我们感觉到有趣从而明白需要知道的，成语故事是我国历史的一部分，成语是历史的积淀，每一个成语的背后都有一个含义深远的故事，是我国几千年以来人民智慧的结晶。

贪得无厌 1

One day a man walking on the road met a celestial, who happened to be an old friend of his.

一天，有个人走在路上遇到一个神仙。原来，这个神仙还是他的老朋友呢。

Seeing that his life was hard, the celestial pointed with his finger at a brick on the roadside, which turned into a gold brick at once. And he gave it to the man.

神仙看到他生活很困难，就用手指朝路边的一块砖头一指，砖头立即变成了金砖。神仙把金砖送给了他。

But the man was not satisfied. The celestial pointed again with his finger at a large stone lion at the gate, which at once turned into a gold lion. And he gave it to him too. But the man still complained it was not enough.

他并不满足。神仙又把手指一指，门前的一尊大石狮马上变成了一尊金狮，也送给了他。可是他仍旧嫌少。

The celestial asked him:"My friend, how much will be enough for you? What should I do to satisfy you?"

神仙问他:“朋友，你要多少才能满足？我怎么做你才满意？”

The man hummed and hawed and said:"I want your finger."

成语故事英语版短 2

悬梁刺股

In the Eastern Han Dynasty, a man named Sun Jing was a famous politician. As a young man, he was diligent in study and often forgot eating and sleeping. When he was reading, he tied his hair to the roof beam with a rope. Therefore, when he dozed, he would feel pain and wake up as his hair was pulled upward by the rope, so that he would go on studying.

Su Qin in the Warring States Period was another example like Sun Jing. He felt sleepy when he was reading, so he took an awl and stabbed it into his own legs. Thus, the sudden pain would wake him up, and he could continue reading.

【故事翻译】

东汉时，有一个叫孙敬的年轻人，孜孜不倦勤奋好学，从早读到晚很少休息，有时候到了三更半夜的时候很容易打?

战国时期的苏秦是一个有名的政治家，但是他在年轻的时候学问并不多，到了好多地方都没有人关注，即使有雄心壮志也得不到重用，于是他下定决心发奋图强努力读书。由于他经常读书读到深夜，疲倦到想要打盹的时候就用事先准备好的锥子往大腿上刺一下，这样突然的痛感使他猛然清醒起来，振作精神继续读书。

古有孙敬头悬梁，苏秦锥刺股，来告诫后人要认真读书学习。

英语成语故事：within an ace of winning功亏一篑 3

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。

成语故事英语版短篇 4

班门弄斧

During the Warring States period, there wasa carpenter named Lu Ban. He was good at making woody tools.

One day, a youngman passed by a red gate. He held up an axe with his hand and said: “This axeis really good.

I can make the greatest tools in the world with it.” Hearingthis, people around here all laughed. One person asked: “So, can you make amore beautiful gate than this one?”

“That’s so easy! I was a student of Lu Ban before!Making a similar gate is like a piece of cake!” The young man said arrogantly.

“But the gate was made by Lu Ban!” Allpeople said.

鲁班是战国时代的鲁国人。他是一个善于制作精巧器具的能手，人们叫他“巧人”，民间历来把他奉为木匠的始祖。

有一天，一个年轻的木匠漫不经心地走到一个大红门的房子前，举起自己手里的斧子，说：“我这把斧子，别看它不起眼，可不管是什么木料，只要到了我的手里，用我的斧头这么一弄，就会做出漂亮无比的东西来。”

旁边的人听了，觉得他太夸口，就指着身后的大红门说：“小师傅，那你能做出比这扇还好的门吗？”年轻的木匠傲慢地说：“不是我吹牛，告诉你们，我曾经当过鲁班的学生，难道还做不出这样一扇简单的大门来，简直是笑话。”

众人听了，忍不住大笑起来，说：“这就是鲁班先生的家，这扇就是他亲手做的，你真的能做出比这扇还好的门吗？”那位年轻的木匠不好意思地跑掉了。

英语成语故事精选及翻译：讳疾忌医 5

One day, the miracle-working doctor Bian Que saw Huan

Gong, King of the State of Cai, and said:

一天，神医扁鹊见到蔡桓公，就说：

"Your Majesty, I think you are ill. But your illness is only

under the skin and can be easily cured. If you do not treat it now,

I'm afraid your condition will become serious."

“大王，我看您身体有病。不过，您的病还只是在皮肤里，不难治好。如果现在不治，恐怕病情就会加重。”

Huan Gong did not believe him. He said:

桓公不相信，说：

"I am not ill."

“我没有病。”

After Bian Que left, Huan Gong said to his subjects around him:

扁鹊走后，桓公对左右的大臣说：

"These doctors always like to treat people who are not ill in order to brag about their superb medical skill."

“这些医生，就是喜欢给没有病的人治病，好夸耀自己医术高明。”

Ten days later, Bian Que saw Huan Gong again. He said:

过了十天，扁鹊又见到蔡桓公，说：

"Your Majesty, your illness has invaded your muscles. If you do not treat it now, your condition will become more serious."

“大王，您的病已侵人到肌体里了，如果现在不治，病情还会加重。”

Huan Gong was displeased with what he heard and did not listen to Bian Que.

桓公听了很不高兴，也不理睬扁鹊。

Another ten days later, Bian Que saw Huan Gong and said anxiously:

又过了十天，扁鹊看见蔡桓公，着急地说：

"Your Majesty, your illness has invaded your stomach and intestines. If your do not treat it, your condition will worsen."

“大王，您的病已经侵人肠胃，再不治的话，病情会恶化的啊！”

Huan Gong still would not listen to Bian Que.

桓公还是没有理睬扁鹊。

Another ten days later, when Bian Que saw Huan Gong, he turned round at once and left. Huan Gong was surprised and sent someone to catch up Bian Que to ask him for the reason. Bian Que said:

再过了十天，扁鹊一见桓公，转身就走。桓公很奇怪，就命人追去询问扁鹊。扁鹊说：

"When a person gets ill and his illness is only under the skin, it can be easily cured with medical plaster or decoction. When it is between the skin and the flesh, it can still be cured by acupuncture; even if it develops into the stomach and intestines, medical decoctions will still be effective. But when it reaches them arrow, then one can only resign to one's fate, for the doctor can no longer do anything about it. Now His Majesty's illness has penetrated into the marrow. I can do nothing to cure him."

“一个人生了病，当病在皮肤表面时，只要用膏药和汤药洗，就能够治好；如果发展到皮肉之间，用针灸还可以治好；即使发展到肠胃里，服用汤药还有疗效；而发展到了骨髓，那么只好听天由命，医生就无能为力了。现在，大王的病已经深人到了骨髓，我再也没有办法治好他了。”

Five days afterwards, Huan Gong felt pain all over his body. He sent for Bian Que. Since Bian Que had anticipated that Huan Gong would ask him for treatment and that he would get into trouble if he couldn't cure the illness, he had escaped to the State of Qin a few days before.

五天以后，蔡桓公全身疼痛，派人去请扁鹊来给他治病。扁?

Soon afterwards, Huan Gong of Cai died of his illness.

不久，蔡桓公就病死了。

成语故事英文版简短一分钟 6

fail the exam

名落孙山

In the Song Dynasty (宋朝) there was a joker called Sun Shan(孙山).

宋朝有一个很幽默的人，他叫孙山。

One year he went to take the imperialexamination, and came bottomof the listof successfulcandidates.

有一年他去参加考试，公布名单时他是最后一名。

Back in his hometown, one of his neighbor asked him whetherthe neighbor's son had also passed.

回到家，他的邻居向他打听自己的儿子考得怎么样。

Sun Shan said, with a smile:"Sun Shan was the last on the list. Your son came after Sun Shan."

孙山笑着对邻居说：“孙山考了最后一名，你儿子的名字还在孙山的后面呢。”

The peopleused this idiom to indicatefailing in an examination or competition.

人们用“名落孙山”来比喻考试没有考上或者选拔没有被录取。

杞人忧天 7

In the Spring and Autumn Period, in the State of Qi there was a man who always let his imagination run away with him. One day he even worried that the sky would fall on his head. He was so worried that he could neither eat nor sleep. Later, someone persuaded him that his fears were Ground-less.

春秋时代，杞国有一个喜欢胡思乱想的人。一天，他竟然想到，天会塌下来，地会陷下去，自己到哪里去安身？这个人越想越害怕，整天愁眉苦脸，坐立不安，白天吃不下饭，晚上睡不着觉。后来有人耐心地开到他，他才放下了心。

英语成语故事：黔驴技穷 8

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（可怕的） monster. It hide behind a tree and spied on the donkey.

When the donkey brayed（叫) ， the tiger was frightened, thinking that the donkey was about to devour(吞食，毁灭） 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: "Its 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.

英语成语故事精选及翻译：一鸣惊人 9

It had been three years since King Zhuang of Chu ascended the throne, but he had neither issued a decree 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.

楚庄王即位已经三年了，可是他还没有颁布过一项法令，没有处理过一件政事，更谈不上有什么作为。朝廷中的文武百官都弄不懂这是怎么回事。

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

一天，右司马在马车里悄悄地问楚王：

"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，我听说南方有一只大鸟栖息在山上，三年过去了，既不飞，也不鸣。请问大王，这是什么原因呢？”

King Zhuang of Chu smiled and answered:

楚庄王笑了一笑，回答说：

"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."

“三年不展翅飞翔，是为了让羽翼长得更加丰满；三年不鸣，是在细心观察天下的民情。这只鸟，不飞则已，一飞冲天；不鸣则已，一鸣惊人。”

Another half a year passed before King Zhuang of Chu began to personally administer state affairs. He abolished ten outmoded 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.

又过了半年，楚庄王开始亲自处理政事。他废除了十项旧的规章制度；颁布了九项新的政策；处决了五个专干坏事的大臣；还提拔了六个真正有才能的人。从此，楚国终于强大起来了。

成语故事英语版短篇 10

按图索骥

In the Spring and Autumn Period, a man named Bo Le is an expert in identifying a good horse.

He put his experiences in this area into his book Physiognomy Of Horses, which illustrated all kinds of horses with rich pictures and words.

His son wanted to learn his skill about identifying a good horse. Then he read the book carefully over and over again.

He thought he had mastered the skill.

Once he saw a toad along the road, whose forehead was in accord with the features of a good horse.

Then he rushed to his father and told him he had found a good steed.

Hearing this, Bo Le didn’t know whether to cry or laugh. He had to reply jokingly: “ This horse does too well in jumping, so it’s hard for us to rein it. ”

春秋时期，有个人叫伯乐，他非常善于鉴别马匹，他将自己这方面的经验写成了一本书《相马经》，书中图文并茂地介绍了各类马匹。

他的儿子想学到识马的本领。于是就把父亲的这本书反复诵读，之后，他就以为自己已经掌握了这个本领。

有一次他在路上看到了一只癞蛤 蟆，前额刚好与《相马经》上的好马特征相符，便以为找到了一匹千里马，马上跑去告诉父亲。

伯乐被儿子弄得哭笑不得，就开玩笑的回答说：“这匹马太会跳了，不好驾驭。”

有趣的英语成语故事 11

一鸣惊人

In the Warring States Period, Duke Wei of Qi neglected state affairs, for the first three years of his reign, giving himself over to dissipation. One of his ministers, Chun Yukun who had a good sense of humour, said to him: 'There is a big bird which has neither taken wing nor sung for three years.' The duke answered, 'Once that bird starts to fly and sing, it will astonish the world.' The duke thereupon devoted himself to his duties and built his state up into a powerful one.

战国时代，齐威王即位后做了三年国君，只顾享乐，不理政事。有个善于说笑话的人叫淳于髡，一天对齐威王说：“城里有一只大鸟，三年不飞也不叫，你知道这是什么道理？”齐威王说：“这鸟不飞则罢，一飞就冲天；不鸣则罢，一鸣就惊人。”在淳于髡的激发下，齐威王开始治理国家，取得很大成绩，齐国的声威一直保持了几十年。

成语故事英文版简短一分钟 12

惊弓之鸟

In the Warring States Period, there was a man in the State of Wei called Geng Lei. One day he said to the king: 'I can shoot down birds by simply plucking my bowstring.' When the king expressed doubt, Geng Lei pointed his bow at a wild goose flying in the sky, twanged the bowstring, and the goose fell to the ground. Geng Lei said, 'This goose has been hurt in the past. Hearing the twang of the bowstring, it assumed that it was doomed. So it simply gave up trying to live.

战国时期（公元前403―221年中国中原地区各诸侯国连年争战的时代）魏国有个名叫更羸的人。一天，他对国王说：“我只要拉开弓，空射一下，就能把天上的鸟射下来。”国王不相信。更羸便对准天上飞来的一只雁射去，果真那只雁听到拉弦的声音就掉了下来。国王感到很奇怪。更羸说，“那是一只受过伤的雁。它一听到我拉开弓弦的声响，就惊慌得支持不住，自然要掉下来了。”

This idiom means that if one has been frightened in the past one's will may become paralysed in a similar situation.

“惊弓之鸟”这个成语比喻受过惊恐之后，有一点动静就特别害怕。

英语成语故事简短 13

Once a man wanted to go to the south, but his carriage was heading north. A passer-by asked him:"If you are going to south, why is your chariot heading north?" The ma answered, "My horse is good at running, My driver is highly skilled at driving a carriage, ad I have enough money."The man didint consider that the direction might be wrong; the better his conditions were, ther further he was away from his destination.

The idiom derived froim this story indicates that ones action was the opposite effect to ones intention.

从前有一个人，从魏国到楚国去。他带上很多的盘缠，雇了上好的车，驾上骏马，请了驾车技术精湛的车夫，就上路了。楚国在魏国的南面，可这个人不问青红皂白让驾车人赶着马车一直向北走去。

路上有人问他的车是要往哪儿去，他大声回答说：“去楚国！”路人告诉他说：“到楚国去应往南方走，你这是在往北走，方向不对。”那人满不在乎地说：“没关系，我的马快着呢！”路人替他着急，拉住他的马，阻止他说：“方向错了，你的马再快，也到不了楚国呀！”那人依然毫不醒悟地说：“不要紧，我带的路费多着呢！”路人极力劝阻他说：“虽说你路费多，可是你走的不是那个方向，你路费多也只能白花呀！”那个一心只想着要到楚国去的人有些不耐烦地说：“这有什么难的，我的车夫赶车的本领高着呢！”路人无奈，只好松开了拉住车把子的手，眼睁睁看着那个盲目上路的魏人走了。

那个魏国人，不听别人的指点劝告，仗着自己的马快、钱多、车夫好等优越条件，朝着相反方向一意孤行。那么，他条件越好，他就只会离要去的地方越远，因为他的大方向错了。

这个故事告诉我们，无论做什么事，都要首先看准方向，才能充分发挥自己的有利条件；如果方向错了，那么有利条件只会起到相反的作用。

一鸣惊人 14

In the Warring States Period, Duke Wei of Qi neglected state affairs, for the first three years of his reign, giving himself over to dissipation. One of his ministers, Chun Yukun who had a good sense of humour, said to him: 'There is a big bird which has neither taken wing nor sung for three years.' The duke answered, 'Once that bird starts to fly and sing, it will astonish the world.' The duke thereupon devoted himself to his duties and built his state up into a powerful one.

战国时代，齐威王即位后做了三年国君，只顾享乐，不理政事。有个善于说笑话的人叫淳于髡，一天对齐威王说：“城里有一只大鸟，三年不飞也不叫，你知道这是什么道理？”齐威王说：“这鸟不飞则罢，一飞就冲天；不鸣则罢，一鸣就惊人。”在淳于髡的激发下，齐威王开始治理国家，取得很大成绩，齐国的声威一直保持了几十年。

成语故事英语版短篇 15

同舟共济

In the Spring and Autumn period, the State of Wu and the State of Yue didn’t get along well. They had been fighting against each other for years.

People in each country also didn’t have a good relationship. One day, the people of Wu and the people of Yue happened to be on the same boat to cross a river.

At the beginning, they didn’t say a word with each other. When the boat sailed to the center of the river, a strong wind came. In no time, huge waves hit people’s faces.

It seemed that the boat would sink at any time. Just then, they forgot all the hatred between two countries and began to help each other just like they were family. In the end, they safely got to the river bank under everyone’s effort.

春秋战国时，吴、越两国连年交兵，两国百姓彼此在感情上也很难共容。

有一次，吴国人和越国人碰巧共乘一条船渡河。开始时，他们都不理睬对方。

船至河心，狂风骤起，霎时惊涛骇浪迎面扑来，船随时有可能覆没。

此时，他们忘记了仇恨，相互救济，好像一家人一样。由于全船人的齐心协力，终于安全到达对岸。

有趣的英语成语故事 16

精卫填海

Once upon a time, the youngest daughter of Emperor Yan, legendary ruler of primitive China, went boating on the Eastern Sea. While she was enjoying herself, a strong wind rose on the sea and her boat capsized. Just before she was buried by the surging waves, her spirit turned into a beautiful bird. As it flew over the roaring sea, it cried sadly in the sound "jinwei, jingwei"。 That was why people called it "Jingwei"。

The bird lived on a mountain near the sea. It hated the sea so much that it decided to fill it up. Every day, it flew to and fro between the mountain and the sea, carrying in a twig or a pebble from the mountain and dropping it into the sea.

One day, the roaring sea said to Jingwei, "Poor little bird, stop doing that meaningless thing! You'll never fill me up." Jingwei replied, "I'll fill you up no doubt! I will, even if it'll take me thousands of years! I'll fight on until doomsday!"

The brave little bird kept carrying twigs and pebbles from the mountain to the Eastern Sea without taking a rest.

From this fable comes the idiom "The bird Jingwei trying to fill the sea"。 We use it to describe people who are firm and indomitable and will not stop until they reach their goal.

从前，炎帝（传说中中国原始社会的统治者）的小女儿在东海上划船。正当她划得高兴时，海面上突然升起一阵大风，把她的小船弄翻了。就在她要被汹涌的波浪吞 没时，她的灵魂变成了一只美丽的小鸟。它飞过那咆哮的海面，伤心的叫着"精卫，精卫"的声音。所以人们就叫她"精卫"。

精卫鸟住在靠海的一座山上。它非常恨大海，所以决心要把它填平。它每天来回于山海之间，把从山上衔来的小树枝和小石子扔在大海里。

一天，咆哮的大海对精卫说："可怜的小鸟，停止你那无谓的举动吧！你是永远都填不平我的。" 精卫回答说："我当然会把你填平的！即使这需要千千万万年的时间，我也一定会斗争到底，直到你的末日来临！"

这只勇敢的小鸟继续从山上衔来小树枝和小石子，扔到东海中，从未有片刻休息。

"精卫填海"这个成语就是由这个传说而来的，形容那些坚定不移，不屈不挠，不到目的决不罢休的人。

有趣的英语成语故事 17

天衣无缝

one summer night, when the moon was very bright he suddenly saw a girl descending（下降） slowly from the sky. he observed the girl closely, and found that the dress she was wearing was seamless（无缝的） 。 he was puzzled, and asked why. the girl answered,"heavenly clothes are not sewn with needle and thread."

传说古代太原人郭翰在夏夜里乘凉，见一个仙女从天上下来，她身穿白衣，美丽绝伦。她告诉他她名叫织女。郭翰仔细欣赏织女的衣裳浑然一体，竟看不出一丝线缝，好奇问织女。织女答道：“天衣本非针线为也。”

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.

神话传说，仙女的衣服没有衣缝。比喻事物周密完善，找不出什么毛病。

英语成语故事：南辕北辙 18

Once a man wanted to go to the south, but his carriage was heading north. A passer-by asked him:"If you are going to south, why is your chariot heading north?" The ma answered, "My horse is good at running, My driver is highly skilled at driving a carriage, ad I have enough money."The man didint consider that the direction might be wrong; the better his conditions were, ther further he was away from his destination.

The idiom derived froim this story indicates that one's action was the opposite effect to one's intention.

成语故事英文版简短一分钟 19

南辕北辙

Once a man wanted to go to the south, but his carriage was heading north. A passer-by asked him: “If you are going to the south, why is your chariot heading north? ” The man answered, “My horse is good at running, my driver is highly skilled at driving a carriage, and I have enough money. ” The man didn't consider that the direction might be wrong; the better his conditions were, the further he was away from his destination.

从前有个人要到南方去，他坐的车子却向北方行驶。过路人说：“你去南方，车子怎么向北行驶呢？”他回答说：“我的马很能跑路，我的车夫驾车的技术也很高明，加上我又带了充足的路费。”这个人没有考虑到，方向弄反了，他的条件越好，离他要去的地方就越远。

The idiom derived from this story indicates that one's action was the opposite effect to one's intention.

后来人们就把这个故事概括为“南辕北辙”，比喻一个人的行为和他的目的正好相反。

后来居上 20

Ji Anlived at the time of Emperor Wudi of the Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D.24)。 He was respected for being upright and just and for daring to speak the truth. He did not bother about amall matters in personal behaviour and in being an official. He was particular about actual effects and ，although he did not cause a stir ，he could keep the prefecture he governed in perfect order. Because of this. the imperial court transferred him to the central government from being the perfect of the Donghai Prefecture to being a commander in charge of the appointment and dismissal of the local officals.

汲黯是西汉武帝时代人，以刚直正义、敢讲真话而受人尊重。他为人和做官都不拘小节，讲求实效。虽然表面上不那么轰轰烈烈，却能把一个郡治理得井井有条，因此，朝廷把他从东海太守调到朝廷当主爵都尉——一种主管地方吏任免的官职。

Once,Emperor Wudi said that he would implement the policy of benevolence and justice of Confucianism and would do good turns to the Wudi Had hardly finished his remards when Ji An said that there was no need for the emperor to say so.Why should the emperor bother,Ji An said, about pretending to implement the policy of benevolence and justice since he was so greedy and avaricious within himself? This choked the emperor off. The emperor suddenly Changed his countenance and declared the meeting over. All the civilian and military officers at court were breathless with anxiety for fear that Ji An might bring disaster upon himself because of this. After returning, Emperor Wudi said to the people around him that Ji An was a little too rude and too straightforward.

有一次，汉武帝说要实行儒家的仁义之政，为老百姓办好事了。没等皇帝把话说完，汲黯就说：“陛下内心里那么贪婪多欲，表面上却要装得实行仁政，这是何苦呢？”一句话把皇帝噎了回去。汉武帝登时脸色大变，宣布罢朝，满朝文武都为汲黯捏着一把汗，担心他会因此招来大祸。武帝回到宫里以后，对身边的人说，汲黯这个人也未免太粗太直了。

For this reason ，Ji An was never promoted again. When he was the commander in charge of the appointment and dismissal of the local officials, both Gongsun Hong and Zhang Tang were low -ranking lfficials of little importance. Later ，they were promoted continuously. Gongsun Hong became the prime minister and Zhang Tang became the imperial censor. However, JiAn's post remained thesame. One day, Ji An said to Emperor Wudi that the way the emperor used his ministers was just like piling up firewood, which meant that the latecomers surpassed the old-timers. Of course, Emperor Wudi could see that Ji An was complaining. So,turning to his ministers, Emperor Wudi said, "It is true that no one can stop learning.You see, Ji An is making more and more indiscreet remarks."

从此以后，汲黯的官职再也没有提升。他当主爵都尉的时候，公孙弘、张汤都还是不起眼的小官，后来，他们一个劲儿住上升，公孙弘当上了丞相，张汤做上了御史大夫，可他汲黯还蹲在原地没动窝。有一天，汲黯对武帝说，陛下使用群臣，跟码劈柴一样，是“后来者居上”啊！汉武帝当然听得出这是发牢骚。于是，转脸对臣下们说：“人真是不能不学习啊！你们听汲黯说话，越来越离谱了！”

This story comes from The Historical Records. Later generations use the set phrase "the latecomers surpass the old-timers " to indicate that successors can cxcel the predecessors, which is quite different from the original idea when Ji An said that the latecomers surpassed the old-timers.

故事出自《史记·汲郑列传》。成语“后来居上”，往往指后起的可以胜过先前的。和汲黯说这话的原意，大不相同。

英语成语故事：highly talented才高八斗 21

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。”

画蛇添足 22

An official of the ancient State of Chu awarded a pot of wine to his men after the ceremony of Spring Sacrifice. One man said， “We have only one pot of wine. It's not enough for all of us but sufficient for one. Let's determine who'll have the wine by drawing a snake on the ground. He who finishes first will have the wine.”

The others agreed. Very soon， one man finished his snake. He was about to drink the wine when he saw the others were still busy drawing. He said complacently，“How slowly you are! I still have enough time to add feet to my snke.” But before he finished the feet， another man finished his snke and grabbed the pot from him， saying，“Whoever has seen a snake with feet? Yours is not a snke. So the wine should be mine!” He drank the wine. The man adding the feet to the snake had to give in and could only regret his foolishness.

楚国有一个官员，在春天祭过了祖宗之后，便将一壶酒赏给他的办事人员喝。有人提议：“我们只有一壶酒，肯定不够我们大家喝的，一个人喝倒是绰绰有余。我们每人在地上画一条蛇，谁画得最快，就把这壶酒给他。” 大家都同意了。

有一个人很快就把蛇画好了。他正打算喝这壶酒时，看见别人都还忙着画呢。他就得意扬扬地说：“你们画得好慢呀，等我再画上几只脚吧！” 他的蛇脚还没画完，另一个人已经把蛇画好了。那人把酒壶夺了过去说：“有谁见过长脚的蛇？你画的不是蛇，这壶酒应该是我的了。”说罢，就喝起酒来。那个给蛇画脚的人没办法，只能懊悔自己的愚蠢。

英语成语故事简短 23

In the reign of Emperor the Second of the Qin Dynasty (221-207 B.C.), the prime minister Zhao Gao, obsessed with ambitions, was planning to usurp the throne day and night. But he did not know how many of the ministers in the court were allowed to be ordered about by him and how many of them were his opponents. So he thought out a way to test how high his prestige among the ministers was and also to find out who dared to oppose him.

One day when court was held, Zhao Gao let someone bring a stag to the court and, with a broad smile on his face, he said to Emperor the Second of the Qin Dynasty:"Your Majesty, here is a fine horse Im presenting to you." Looking at the animal, Emperor the Second thought that it was obviously a stag and that it couldnt be a horse. So he said smilingly to Zhao Gao:"Mister Prime Minister, you are wrong. This is a stay. Why do you say it is a horse?" Remaining calm, Zhao Gao said:"Will your Majesty please see more clearly? This really is a horse that covers a thousand li a day." Filled with suspicion, Emperor the Second looked at the stag again and said:"How can the antlers be grown on the head of a horse?" Turning around and pointing his finger at the ministers, Zhao Gao said in a loud voice:"if our Majesty do not believe me, you can ask the ministers."

The nonsense of Zhao Gao made the ministers totally at a lose, and they whispered to themselves: What tricks was Zhao Gao playing? Was it not obvious whether it was a stag or a horse? But when they saw the sinister smile on Zhao Gaos face and his two rolling eyes which were gazing at each of them, they suddenly understood his evil intentions.

Some of the ministers who were timid and yet had a sense of right eousness did not dare to say anything, because to tell lies would make their conscience uneasy and to tell the truth would mean that they would be persecuted by Zhao Gao later. Some ministers with a sense of justice persisted that it was a stag and not a horse. There were still some crafty and fawning ministers who followed Zhao Gao closely in ordinary times. They immediately voiced their support to Zhao Gao, saying to the emperor:"This really in a horse that covers a thousand li a day."

After the event, Zhao Gao punished by various means those ministers with a sense of justice who were not obedient to him, even with whole families of some of those ministers executed.

This story appears in "The Life of the First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty" in The Historical Records written by Sima Qian. From this story people have derived the set phrase "calling a stag a horse" to mean deliberately misrepresenting some thing and misleading the public.

秦二世时，丞相赵高野心勃勃，日夜盘算着要篡夺皇位。可朝中大臣有多少人能听他摆布，有多少人反对他，他心中没底。于是，他想了一个办法，准备试一试自己的威信，同时也可以摸清敢于反对他的人。

一天上朝时，赵高让人牵来一只鹿，满脸堆笑地对秦二世说：“陛下，我献给您一匹好马。”秦二世一看，心想：这哪里是马，这分明是一只鹿嘛！便笑着对赵高说：“丞相搞错了，这里一只鹿，你怎么说是马呢？”赵高面不改色心不跳地说：“请陛下看清楚，这的确是一匹千里马。”秦二世又看了看那只鹿，将信将疑地说：“马的头上怎么会长角呢？”赵高一转身，用手指着众大臣，大声说：“陛下如果不信我的话，可以问问众位大臣。”

大臣们都被赵高的一派胡言搞得不知所措，私下里嘀咕：这个赵高搞什么名堂？是鹿是马这不是明摆着吗！当看到赵高脸上露出阴险的笑容，两只眼睛骨碌碌轮流地盯着赵高脸上露出阴险的笑容，两只眼睛骨碌碌轮流地盯着每个人的时候，大臣们忽然明白了他的用意。

一些胆小又有正义感的人都低下头，不敢说话，因为说假话，对不起自己的良心，说真话又怕日后被赵高所害。有些正直的人，坚持认为是说明书而不是马。还有一些平时就紧跟赵高的*佞之人立刻表示拥护赵高的说法，对皇上说，“这确是一匹千里马！”

事后，赵高通过各种手段把那些不顺从自己的正直大臣纷纷治罪，甚至满门抄斩。

故事出自《史记秦始皇本纪》。成语“指鹿为马”比喻故意颠倒是非，混淆黑白。

子罕拒玉 24

A farmer in the state of Song once got a piece of stone with jade init.

宋国人有个农夫得到一块含宝玉的石头后，将它献给了相国子罕。

He presented this stone to Prime Minister Zi Han. But Zi Han refused toaccept it. The farmer explained, “It looks like just a stone, butthere is jade inside. It actually is a piece of treasure and suitable forhonorable men like you, not for us common people.”

子罕拒绝接受这块石头，农夫解释说：“表面上它是块石头，但里面含有宝玉，是个宝物，适合您这样的贵人使用，我们普通百姓用它就不合适了。”

“I know there is jade inside,” Zi Han said,” but I disagree with I think to have the virtue of declining things that do not belongto oneself is the real treasure. ”

子罕说：“我知道里面是宝玉。但我的观点和你不同，我认为具有不接受不应得的东西的品德才是真正的宝玉。”

A farmer in the state of Song once got a piece of stone with jade init.

宋国人有个农夫得到一块含宝玉的石头后，将它献给了相国子罕。

He presented this stone to Prime Minister Zi Han. But Zi Han refused toaccept it. The farmer explained, “It looks like just a stone, butthere is jade inside. It actually is a piece of treasure and suitable forhonorable men like you, not for us common people.”

子罕拒绝接受这块石头，农夫解释说：“表面上它是块石头，但里面含有宝玉，是个宝物，适合您这样的贵人使用，我们普通百姓用它就不合适了。”

“I know there is jade inside,” Zi Han said,” but I disagree with I think to have the virtue of declining things that do not belongto oneself is the real treasure. ”

子罕说：“我知道里面是宝玉。但我的观点和你不同，我认为具有不接受不应得的东西的品德才是真正的宝玉。”

英语成语故事：囫囵吞枣 25

Long ago, there was a young man who bought many fruits, like pears and dates.

He sat at the roadside to eat them. An old man saw him and said: “Eating too many pears is good for teeth, but bad for your body.”

The man asked: “How about dates?” The old man answered: “The dates are good for body but bad for teeth.”

The young man thought for a while and said: “I've got a good idea! I can eat pears with teeth and don't swallow them. And I can swallow dates without chewing.”

Then he put a date into his mouth and swallowed it immediately. Unluckily, he was choked by the date.

从前，有个人买了一堆水果，有梨儿，也有枣儿，坐在路边上吃。有个老头儿看见了，

对他说：“小伙子，梨儿可不能多吃呀。它虽然对牙齿有好处，可是吃多了对身体不好。”

青年人就问：“枣儿吃多了呢？”老头儿说：“枣儿对身体是好的，可吃多了对牙齿不好，也不能多吃。”

青年人看了看梨儿，又看了看枣儿，想了一会儿，说：“哈哈，我想出了个好办法！我吃梨儿就只用牙齿嚼，不吞到肚子里去。吃枣儿，我就把它整个儿吞下去，不用牙齿嚼。”

说完话，他就拿起一个枣儿放在嘴里，直接吞了下去。没想到，他一下子就被枣儿噎住了。

成语故事英语版短 26

凿壁偷光

Kuang Heng was born in a poor family. He liked reading books very much. He needed to work at daytime, so he had to read books during night. But he was too poor to buy a day, he found his neighbour had candles, but the light couldn’t go through his room. So he dug a small hole on the wall so that he could use the light to read books. From that day, he read books every night until the light went out.

However, he finished reading all his books and there were no books for him to read. Then he went to a rich man’s house and worked for him without payment.

The rich man asked: “ Why don’t you want the money?” Kuang Heng said: “ Because I only want to borrow your books.” The rich man agreed. Kuang Heng read the books one by one.

Finally, he became a great scholar.

【故事翻译】

匡衡勤奋好学，但家中没有蜡烛。邻家有蜡烛，但光亮照不到他家，匡衡就在墙壁上凿了洞引来邻家的光亮，让光亮照在书上读书。

但很快，匡衡就把他仅有的书看完了，他无书可看了。县里有个大户人家不怎么识字，但家中富有，有很多书。匡衡就到他家去做雇工，但不要报酬。

主人感到很奇怪，问他为什么这样，他说：“我希望读遍主人家的书。”主人听了，深为感叹，就借给匡衡书。

最终，匡衡成了一位伟大的学者。

有趣的英语成语故事 27

疑人偷斧

Once upon a time, there was a villager who lost a hatchet. He suspected that his neighbour's son had stolen it.

古时候，有个乡下人，丢失了一把斧头。他怀疑是邻居的儿子偷的。

Thereupon, he watched every move of the neighbour's son. He felt that his gait, his voice, and his facial expressions were all not the same as usual. It really seemed that the hatchet had been stolen by him.

于是，他处处注意邻居儿子的一举一动，总觉得他走路的样子、说话的声音、面部的表情，都跟往常不一样，斧头很像是他偷的。

After a few days, the hatchet was found. It turned out to be that when he went up the hill to cut firewood a few days ago, he left his hatchet there.

过了几天，斧头找到了。原来，前几天，他上山砍柴的时候，把它掉在山里了。

The following day when he met the neighbour's son again, he noticed that his gait, his voice, and his facial expressions were not like those of a hatchet-stealer at all.

第二天，他又碰见邻居的儿子，再注意看他走路的样子、说话的声音、面部的表情，却都不像是一个偷斧头的人。

英语成语故事：塞翁失马 28

Near China's northern borders lived a man well versed in the practices of Taoism. His horse, for no reason at all, got into the territory of the northern tribes. Everyone commiserated with him.

"Perhaps this will soon turn out to be a blessing," said his father.

After a few months, his animal came back, leading a fine horse from the north. Everyone congratulated him.

"Perhaps this will soon turn out to be a cause of misfortune," said his father.

Since he was well-off and kept good horses his son became fond of riding and eventually broke his thigh bone falling from a horse. Everyone commiserated with him.

"Perhaps this will soon turn out to be a blessing," said his father.

One year later, the northern tribes started a big invasion of the border regions. All able-bodied young men took up arms and fought against the invaders, and as a result, around the border nine out of ten men died. This man's son did not join in the fighting because he was crippled and so both the boy and his father survived.

卧薪尝胆 29

During the Spring and Autumn period (770-476BC)， the State of Wu launched an attack against the State of Yue. The King of Wu was seriously wounded and soon died. His son Fu Chai became the new King. Fu was determined to get revenge. He drilled his army rigidly until it was a perfect fighting force. Three years later, he led his army against the State of Yue and caught its king Gou Jian. Fu took him to the State of Wu.

春秋时期，吴国和越国之间进行了一场战争，吴王不幸受了重伤，不久就死了。他的儿子夫差作了吴国的新国王，他发誓要替父亲报仇。于是，他严格的操练他的士兵，把他们训练成了一支非常厉害的军队。三年以后，他对越国发动了战争，抓住了越王勾践，把他带回了吴国。

In order to avenge his father's death, Fu let him live in a shabby stone house by his father's tomb and ordered him to raise horses for him. Gou pretended to be loyal to Fu but he never forgot his humiliation. Many years later, he was set free. Gou secretly accumulated a military force after he went back to his own state. In order to make himself tougher he slept on firewood and ate a gall-bladder before having dinner and going to bed every night. At the same time he administered his state carefully, developing agriculture and educating the people. After a few years, his country became strong. Then Gou seized a favorable opportunity to wipe out the State of Wu.

为了复仇，夫差让勾践住在他父亲墓旁的破石屋里天天看墓、喂马。勾践表面上服从，心里面却想着复仇。几年以后，勾践被放回越国。他立刻开始秘密聚集一支军队。为了提醒自己不要忘了报仇，他睡在柴上，还每天在吃饭睡觉前尝一尝苦胆。同时，他专心治理国家，大力发展农业，加强民众教育。几年后，越国又变得强大起来，然后，勾践抓住一个适当的机会消灭了吴国。

Later, people use it to describe one who endures self-imposed hardships to strengthen one's resolve to realize one's ambition.

后来，人们用它来形容人刻苦自励以达到自己定下的目标。

成语故事英语版短 30

Making His Mark

刻舟求剑

A man from the state of Chu was taking a boat across a river when he dropped his sword into the water carelessly. Immediately he made a mark on the side of the boat where the sword dropped, hoping to find it later. When the boat stopped moving, he went into the water to search for his sword at the place where he had marked the boat. As we know, the boat had moved but the sword had not. Isnt this a very foolish way to look for a sword?

楚国有个人坐船渡江时，他不小心把自己的一把宝剑掉落江中。他马上掏出一把小刀，在宝剑落水的船舷上刻上一个记号。船靠岸后，那楚人立即从船上刻记号的地方跳下水去捞取掉落的宝剑。他怎么找得到宝剑呢？船继续行驶，而宝剑却不会再移动。像他这样去找剑，真是太愚蠢可笑了。