英語口語吉米老師說。

每一句成語背后都蘊含著前人的智慧和生活哲理。這10個常用語的典故你都知道嗎？今天老師分享雙語版本，一起學(xué)習(xí)吧~

英語成語故事

內(nèi)容源網(wǎng)絡(luò)、英語口語(kouyu8)編輯整理

01潔癖消光

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.

One 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

霍華德，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 paymentKuang 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。

哥哥勤奮好學(xué)，但家里沒有蠟燭。鄰居有蠟燭，但燈不照在他家，廣恒在墻上挖了個洞，引來鄰居的光，所以光可以看書。

縣里有大房子，不太識字，但家里很有錢，有很多書。哥哥去他家做雇工，但不收報酬。

主人很奇怪，問他為什么，他說：“我想讀完主人家的書?！闭f。主人聽了，深深地感嘆，借給了原型書。所以哥哥成為了偉大的學(xué)者。

重點詞匯和短語：

康德：蠟燭

Go through:通過

Dug:dig的過去式、法戈、奇茲爾

So that:所以

Go out:關(guān)閉

付款：報酬

Scholar:學(xué)者

02掩耳盜鈴

Once upon a time，there was a thief saw a door bell hanging on the neighbour ' s door . he wanted to steal it .

but he knew that bell would ring as soon as he touched it。and then he would be discovered .

he thought : only using ears can hear the sound . what if I cover my ears？then the sound would not be heard any more .

whereupon he covered his own ears and tried to steal the bell . however

, he was discovered immediately when he touched the bell.

從前有一個人，看見人家大門上掛著一個鈴鐺，想把它偷走。

他知道，那個鈴鐺只要用手一碰，就會丁零丁零地響起來，被人發(fā)覺。他想：“響聲要用耳朵才能聽見，如果把耳朵掩起來，不是就聽不見了嗎？”

于是，他掩住了自己的耳朵，伸手去偷那個鈴鐺。誰知手剛碰到鈴鐺，他就被人發(fā)覺了。

重點詞匯及短語：

thief 小偷

hang 懸掛

as soon as 一......就

discover 發(fā)現(xiàn)

be done 被動語態(tài)，被......

（be discovered 被發(fā)現(xiàn)）

what if 如果，假使

cover 掩蓋

whereupon 于是

steal 偷

immediately 立即，馬上

03 邯鄲學(xué)步

During the Warring States period, a young man lived in Shouling. He always felt that he was not so perfect as he thought. One day, he heard that people in Handan walked in a gracefully way, so he decided to learn to walk there.

One morning, he set off for Handan without telling anyone. Upon arrival at Handan, he was surprised when he saw the situation. Everyone walked in a different but gracefully way, children walking actively, the old walking steady and women walking charmingly. So he made up his mind to learn how the people of the State of Zhao walked in Handan.

No matter how hard he tried, he was unable to learn the gait of the people there. On the contrary, he even forgot completely how he walked in Shouling. In the end, he had no choice but to crawl back to his hometown.

戰(zhàn)國時期，燕國壽陵地方有一位少年。這位壽陵少年不愁吃不愁穿，論長相也算得上中等人材，可他就是缺乏自信心，經(jīng)常無緣無故地感到事事不如人，低人一等——衣服是人家的好，飯菜是人家的香，站相坐相也是人家高雅。他見什么學(xué)什么，學(xué)一樣丟一樣，雖然花樣翻新，卻始終不能做好一件事，不知道自己該是什么模樣。

家里的人勸他改一改這個毛病，他以為是家里人管得太多。親戚、鄰居們，說他是狗熊掰棒子，他也根本聽不進去。日久天長，他竟懷疑自己該不該這樣走路，越看越覺得自己走路的姿勢太笨，太丑了。

有一天，他在路上碰到幾個人說說笑笑，只聽得有人說邯鄲人走路姿勢那叫美。他一聽，對上了心病，急忙走上前去，想打聽個明白。不料想，那幾個人看見他，一陣大笑之后揚長而去。

邯鄲人走路的姿勢究竟怎樣美呢？于是有一天，他瞞著家人，跑到遙遠的邯鄲學(xué)走路去了。

一到邯鄲，他感到處處新鮮，簡直令人眼花繚亂?？吹叫『⒆呗罚X得活潑、美，學(xué)；看見老人走路，他覺得穩(wěn)重，學(xué)；看到婦女走路，搖擺多姿，學(xué)。就這樣，不過半月光景，他連走路也不會了，路費也花光了，只好爬著回去了。

重點詞匯及短語：

gracefully 優(yōu)雅地

set off for 出發(fā)前往某地

arrival （名詞）到達

actively 活潑地

steady 沉穩(wěn)地

charmingly 迷人地

made up one’s mind下定決心做某事

gait 步伐，步態(tài)

on the contrary相反

crawl爬

04 囫圇吞棗

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.

從前，有個人買了一堆水果，有梨兒，也有棗兒，坐在路邊上吃。有個老頭兒看見了，

對他說：“小伙子，梨兒可不能多吃呀。它雖然對牙齒有好處，可是吃多了對身體不好?！?/p>

青年人就問：“棗兒吃多了呢？”老頭兒說：“棗兒對身體是好的，可吃多了對牙齒不好，也不能多吃?！?/p>

青年人看了看梨兒，又看了看棗兒，想了一會兒，說：“哈哈，我想出了個好辦法！我吃梨兒就只用牙齒嚼，不吞到肚子里去。吃棗兒，我就把它整個兒吞下去，不用牙齒嚼?！?/p>

說完話，他就拿起一個棗兒放在嘴里，直接吞了下去。沒想到，他一下子就被棗兒噎住了。

重點詞匯及短語：

date：棗

swallow：吞，咽

chew：咀嚼，嚼

immediately：直接地

choke on sth.：被……噎住

05 杞人憂天

In the State of Qi, there was a man who was haunted by the fear that the sky might fall.

He was so worried that he could neither eat nor sleep well. His friend said to him: “ The sky is gathered by gas. We are living in the air. It is impossible to fall.”

After hearing this, the man set his fear at ease instantly. His friend was also delightful.

一個杞國人，每天都擔(dān)心天會掉下來，為此焦慮的吃不好睡不好。他的朋友開導(dǎo)他說：“天是由氣聚集而成的，我們就生活在空氣中。天是不可能掉下來的?！?/p>

杞國人聽后，頓感放心。他的朋友見狀也如釋重負，開心異常。

重點詞匯及短語：

haunt：纏繞，縈繞在心頭

neither...nor...：既不......也不......

gather：聚集

impossible：不可能的

set one’s heart at ease：放心

instantly：立即地，馬上地

delightful：開心的，愉快的

06 同舟共濟

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.

春秋戰(zhàn)國時，吳、越兩國連年交兵，兩國百姓彼此在感情上也很難共容。

有一次，吳國人和越國人碰巧共乘一條船渡河。開始時，他們都不理睬對方。

船至河心，狂風(fēng)驟起，霎時驚濤駭浪迎面撲來，船隨時有可能覆沒。

此時，他們忘記了仇恨，相互救濟，好像一家人一樣。由于全船人的齊心協(xié)力，終于安全到達對岸。

重點詞匯及短語：

relationship：關(guān)系

happened to do sth.：碰巧做某事

sail：航行，行駛

huge wave：巨浪

sink：沉沒

hatred：仇恨，憎惡

river bank：岸邊

07 班門弄斧

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.

魯班是戰(zhàn)國時代的魯國人。他是一個善于制作精巧器具的能手，人們叫他“巧人”，民間歷來把他奉為木匠的始祖。

有一天，一個年輕的木匠漫不經(jīng)心地走到一個大紅門的房子前，舉起自己手里的斧子，說：“我這把斧子，別看它不起眼，可不管是什么木料，只要到了我的手里，用我的斧頭這么一弄，就會做出漂亮無比的東西來?！?/p>

旁邊的人聽了，覺得他太夸口，就指著身后的大紅門說：“小師傅，那你能做出比這扇還好的門嗎？”年輕的木匠傲慢地說：“不是我吹牛，告訴你們，我曾經(jīng)當(dāng)過魯班的學(xué)生，難道還做不出這樣一扇簡單的大門來，簡直是笑話。”

眾人聽了，忍不住大笑起來，說：“這就是魯班先生的家，這扇就是他親手做的，你真的能做出比這扇還好的門嗎？”那位年輕的木匠不好意思地跑掉了。

重點詞匯及短語：

carpenter 木匠

be good at doing sth. 擅長做某事

pass by路過

hold up舉起

axe 斧頭

similar 相似的

a piece of cake 小菜一碟

arrogantly 傲慢地

08 杯水車薪

One evening, Zhao Da passed by a tea house when he came back from cutting firewood.

There were a lot of people drinking tea there. He put the firewood outside and walked into the tea house.

When he finished a cup of tea, he found his firewood on fire. Zhao Da shouted: “Oh no! It’s on fire!”

He took a cup of water, ran out of the door and splashed the water on the fire. Other people in the tea house also took their own cups to fight the fire.

However, instead of being put out, the fire burned even harder.

一天傍晚，趙大砍柴回來，路過一個茶館，里面坐了很多人，有的在喝茶，有的在乘涼。他就把柴車停放在外面，也走進茶館。

趙大坐在那剛剛喝完一杯茶，只見茶館外面一片紅光，趙大放下茶杯，走到門口一看：原來是自己的一車柴草著火了，忽忽的光苗直往上竄。

趙大喊起來："不好了，著火啦!"邊喊邊跑進茶館，端起桌子上的一杯水，跑到門外往車上的柴草上潑去。茶館里的人，一聽趙大的叫喊聲，也都忙著端起自己的茶杯，往車上潑去。

可是，劈里叭啦一陣響聲之后，火不但沒滅，反而燃燒得更猛烈了。趙大心疼地連聲喊道："完了，完了!"

重點詞匯及短語：

pass by：經(jīng)過

firewood：柴火，木柴

splash：潑

instead of：而不是

put out：撲滅

09 自相矛盾

A young man ran a business in the market.

One day, he held up a shield and said proudly: “My shield is very strong.

It can stop any spear in the world.” Then he held up his spear and bragged: “My spear is very sharp. No matter how strong a shield is, my spear can pierce it.”

People all around here laughed when they heard the words of the young man.

One of them asked: “So, according to what you said, your spear is the sharpest. No matter how strong a shield is, your spear can pierce it. And your shield is also the strongest.

No matter how sharp a spear is, it can’t pierce your shield. Well, what will happen if I pierce your shield with your spear?"

The young man was too embarrassed to say anything.

古時候，有一個人，他既賣矛又賣盾。一天，他在集市上叫賣，非常得意。他舉起他的盾說：“我的盾非常堅固。無論怎樣好的矛，都戳不穿它！”說完，他又舉起他的矛夸口說：“我的矛非常鋒利。無論怎樣堅固的盾都能戳進去！”

站在旁邊的人聽了，都暗暗地發(fā)笑。

有人問他：“照你這樣說，你的矛是最鋒利的。無論怎樣硬的盾都戳得進去。你的盾又是最堅固的。無論怎樣鋒利的矛，也別想戳進去。

那么，現(xiàn)在我用你的矛來戳你的盾，看看結(jié)果會怎樣呢？”

那個人窘得連一句話也答不上來。

重點詞匯及短語：

run a business經(jīng)營生意，做買賣

shield 盾

spear 矛

brag 夸耀，吹牛

pierce 刺穿

embarrassed 尷尬的，窘迫的

10 按圖索驥

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. ”

春秋時期，有個人叫伯樂，他非常善于鑒別馬匹，他將自己這方面的經(jīng)驗寫成了一本書《相馬經(jīng)》，書中圖文并茂地介紹了各類馬匹。

他的兒子想學(xué)到識馬的本領(lǐng)。于是就把父親的這本書反復(fù)誦讀，之后，他就以為自己已經(jīng)掌握了這個本領(lǐng)。

有一次他在路上看到了一只癩蛤蟆，前額剛好與《相馬經(jīng)》上的好馬特征相符，便以為找到了一匹千里馬，馬上跑去告訴父親。

伯樂被兒子弄得哭笑不得，就開玩笑的回答說：“這匹馬太會跳了，不好駕馭?！?/p>

重點詞匯及短語：

recognize: 識別

expert: 專家，行家

identify：辨別，鑒別

experience: 經(jīng)驗

physiognomy: 相面術(shù)，相貌

illustrated: 描繪

master: 掌握

toad: 癩蛤蟆

forehead: 前額

in accord with: 與……一致

feature: 特征

rush：奔，沖

steed：駿馬

jokingly：開玩笑地

rein：駕馭

點個“贊”

學(xué)習(xí)先人智慧，鞏固英語詞匯~