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春秋战国时期，吴国国君准备攻打楚国，左右大臣虽觉不妥，却又不敢直言劝阻。这时，国王的儿子想了个好方法，他以花园中鸣叫的蝉，捕食的螳螂，与其身后的鸟儿做类比，成功劝说了他的父王，取消了攻打楚国的打算。这位儿子是如何做到的呢？During the Spring and Autumn Period (770 – 476 BCE), the ruler of the Wu state wanted to attack the Chu state.His advisors warned him not to do it. They believed Wu was not strong enough. They worried that Wu would be beaten by Chu. The Wu king got angry when he heard the warnings. He told his advisors that if they kept talking this way, he would punish them.The king’s son, Prince You, did not agree with his father. He thought the advisors were right. But he did not dare to speak up against the king either. He came up with a plan to offer advice to the king.One day, Prince You walked into the royal court soaking wet. He held a slingshot in one hand.“Ha ha!” laughed the king. “What happened, Son?”“Forgive me, Father,” replied Prince You. “I fell into a pond.”“How did you do that?” asked the king, still chuckling.“I went to the garden this morning to practice using my slingshot,” the prince explained.Prince You stepped back with one leg and held the slingshot up toward the sky. He closed one eye and pulled the cord back as if he were going to shoot. He looked just like a sharp-shooter.“I look strong and fierce, right, Father?” the prince joked.“Yes, you do,” the king laughed. “Unbeatable.”“Yes, I was feeling very confident,” replied the prince. “I looked up in the trees, looking for a target. I saw a cicada chirping happily on a branch. But despite his happiness, there was something wrong with the cicada. Do you know what it was, Father?” asked the prince.“No, what?” asked the king, curious to find out.“The cicada had no idea,” the prince explained, “that a preying mantis was sneaking up behind him!’“Oh!” said the king. “Another hunter!”“Yes,” the prince replied. “The mantis raised his two arms, ready to strike. But there was something wrong with the praying mantis. Do you know what it was, Father?”“No, what?” asked the king, curious to find out.“The mantis was ready to strike the cicada. He was so focused on his prey that he did not know a bird was lurking nearby. The bird was ready to pounce on his meal—the mantis!”“Ha ha!” laughed the king. “Yet another hunter!”“And there I was, with my slingshot aimed at the bird!” the prince continued.The prince moved his slingshot as if he was focusing on a target. With one eye closed, he drew the cord back, preparing to shoot.“Oh my! You’re going to shoot the bird! He is your target!” the king cheered.“Yes, I was very confident. I thought the bird was unaware that I was hunting him,” the prince replied. “I knew I only had one shot to get it, so I moved back to get better aim. I stepped back, and back, and back...”“And that’s when I fell right into the pond!” the prince laughed.The king burst into laughter. “You were foolish! You thought only about the gains in front of you. You forgot about the dangers behind you!” cried the king.Suddenly, realization dawned on the king. He thought about his plans to strike the state of Chu. He understood what his son was trying to tell him.“I understand your point, my son,” said the king. Then he called off his plans to attack Chu.Question: Why do you think it was easier for Prince You to tell his father a story than to tell him how he really felt about the attack on the Chu state? 核心词汇 speak up 大胆地说，自由发表意见 royal court 宫廷 soak v. 湿透，浸湿 slingshot n. 弹弓 chuckle v. 咯咯地轻声笑 cord n. （细）绳，（琴弦等）绳索状物 sharp-shooter n. 神枪手 fierce adj. 凶猛的，猛烈的 unbeatable adj. 难以战胜的，无法打败的 target n. （攻击、轰炸等的）目标 cicada n. 蝉 chirp v. （昆虫等的）唧唧声 despite prep. 不管，尽管 sneak up 偷偷地走近 strike v. 打，击，击中 prey n. 猎物 lurk v. 暗藏，埋伏 pounce v. 猛扑，突然袭击 unaware adj 未认识到的，未觉察到的 dawn v. 被理解，被领悟，被想到 call off 取消（活动），停止做 soaking wet 全身湿透的状态，此处是现在分词做伴随状语，表示伴随的状态。 despite his happiness 尽管他很高兴，despite介词，尽管，后接名词性质的宾语。 so focused on his prey that he did not know 如此专注于他的猎物以至于他不知道…… with my slingshot aimed at the bird当我的弹弓瞄准在鸟身上时，with sth done表示伴随着某物被完成的状态。 fell right into the pound 恰恰掉入池塘，right此处为副词，恰巧地。 I understand your point. 我理解了你的观点，point名词，观点。 以下翻译来自百度翻译： 春秋时期（公元前770-476年），吴国统治者想攻打楚国。他的顾问警告他不要这样做。他们认为吴不够强壮。他们担心吴会被楚打败。吴王听到警告后很生气。他告诉他的顾问，如果他们继续这样说话，他会惩罚他们。国王的儿子游王子不同意他父亲的意见。他认为顾问们是对的。但他也不敢站出来反对国王。他想出了一个向国王提供建议的计划。有一天，王子，你浑身湿透走进皇宫。他一只手拿着弹弓。“原谅我，父亲，”王子回答说。“我掉进池塘里了。”王子你用一条腿往后退，把弹弓举向天空。他闭上一只眼睛，把绳子拉了回来，好像要开枪似的。他看起来就像一个狙击手。“我看起来又强壮又凶猛，对吧，父亲？”王子开玩笑说。王子问：“我抬头在树上寻找目标。我看到一只蝉在树枝上快乐地唧唧喳喳。尽管他很快乐，但蝉还是有点不对劲。你知道是什么吗，父亲？”。“蝉不知道，”王子解释道，“一只正在捕食的螳螂正悄悄地从他身后爬上来！”“是的，”王子回答。“螳螂举起双臂准备攻击。但是螳螂有点不对劲。你知道是什么吗，父亲？”“螳螂准备攻击蝉。他如此专注于他的猎物，以至于他不知道附近潜伏着一只鸟。这只鸟准备扑向螳螂！”“我就在那儿，我的弹弓对准了那只鸟！”王子继续说。王子移动他的弹弓，好像他正专注于一个目标。闭上一只眼睛，他把绳子拉回来，准备射击。“哦，天哪！你要射杀那只鸟！它是你的目标！”国王欢呼道。“是的，我非常自信。我以为那只鸟不知道我在猎杀它，”王子回答。“我知道我只有一次机会，所以我后退以获得更好的瞄准。我后退，后退，后退……”国王突然大笑起来。“你太愚蠢了！你只想着眼前的收获。你忘记了身后的危险！”国王喊道。突然，国王意识到了这一点。他想到了自己攻打楚国的计划。他明白儿子想告诉他什么。“我明白你的意思，我的儿子，”国王说。然后他取消了进攻楚国的计划。
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