英文谚语小故事

画蛇添足Draw a snake and add feet to itAn official官员 of the ancient远古的 State of Chu楚 awarded奖 a pot of wine to his men after the ceremony仪式 of Spring Sacrifice祭. One man said, “We have only one pot of wine. It‘s not enough for all of us but enough for one. Let’s decide 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 happily, “How slowly you are! I still have enough time to add feet to my snake.” But before he finished the feet, another man finished his snake and grabbed夺取 the pot from him, saying, “Whoever has seen a snake with feet? Yours is not a snake. 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愚蠢的From that story comes the idiom "Draw a snake and add feet to it". Now people use this idiom to illustrate the truth that going too far is as bad as not going far enough.

A bad beginning makes a bad ending. 恶其始者必恶其终。 A bad bush is better than the open field. 有胜于无。 A bad compromise is better than a good lawsuit. 吃亏的和解也比胜诉强。 A bad conscience is a snake in one's heart. 做贼心虚。 A bad custom is like a good cake, better broken than kept. 坏习惯像鲜馅饼，分食要比保存好。 A bad padlock invites a picklock. 开门揖盗。 A bad penny always turns up.烂钱总是会再回笼A bad thing never dies. 坏事传千年。 A bad workman quarrels with his tools. 拙匠常怨工具差(人笨怨刀钝)。 A bargain is a bargain. 达成的协议不可撕毁。 A beggar's purse is bottomless. 乞丐的钱袋是无底洞。 A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. 双鸟在林不如一鸟在手。 A bird is known by its note, and a man by his talk. 闻其歌知其鸟，听其言知其人。 A bird may be known by its song. 什么鸟唱什么歌。 A bit in the morning is better than nothing all day. 略有胜于全无。 A blind man who leans against a wall imagines that it's the boundary of the world. 坐井观天。 A blind man will not thank you for a looking-glass. 秋波送盲，白费痴情。 A book is the same today as it always was and it will never change. 一本好书今天如此，将来也如此，永不改变。 A book that remains shut is but a block. 有书闭卷不阅读，无异是一块木头。 A borrowed cloak does not keep one warm. 借来的斗篷不暖身。 Absence sharpens love, presence strengthens it. 相聚爱益切，离别情更深。 A burden of one's choice is not felt. 自己选的担子不嫌重。 A burnt child dreads the fire. 一朝被蛇咬，十年怕井绳。 A candle lights others and consumes itself. 蜡烛焚自身，光亮照别人。 A cat may look at a king. 猫也有权晋见国王。 A cat has nine lives. 猫有九条命。 Accidents will happen. 天有不测风云。 A chain is no stronger than its weakest link. 链条的坚固程度取决于它最薄弱的环节。 A change of work is as good as a rest. 调换一下工作是很好的休息。 A cheerful wife is the joy of life. 快乐的妻子是生活的乐事。 A clean hand wants no washing. 身正不怕影子斜。 A clear conscience is a soft pillow. 问心无愧，高枕无忧。 A clear conscience is a sure card. 光明磊落，胜券在握。 A clear conscience laughs at false accusations. 白日不做亏心事，夜半敲门心不惊。 A clear fast is better than a dirty breakfast. 宁为清贫，不为浊富。 A close mouth catches no flies. 病从口入，祸从口出。 A cock is valiant on his own dunghill. 夜郎自大。 A common danger causes common action. 同仇敌忾。 A constant guest is never welcome. 久住非佳宾，常来不欢迎。 A contented mind is perpetual feast. 知足常乐。 A covetous man is good to none but worse to himself. 贪婪的人对别人毫无好处，对自己却坏处更大。 A crafty knave needs no broker. 狡猾的流氓，不需居间人。 A creaking door hangs long on its hinges. 户枢不蠹。 Action is the proper fruit of knowledge. 行动是知识的巧果。 Actions speak louder than words. 事实胜于雄辩。 A discontented man knows not where to sit easy. 不满足者坐无宁时。 A disease known is half cured. 病情确诊断，治病好一半。 Admonish your friends in private, praise them in public. 在私底下要忠告你的朋友，在公开场合又表扬你的朋友。 A dog will not howl if you beat him with a bone. 骨头打狗狗不叫

一只猫的生命哲学:The Zen of Cat原来很大的道理不一定需要很难的语言去解释，本文简单地一问一答告诉我们，当身边的人离去时，他们其实活在我们的心里；告诉我们，生命原本是一个无所谓开始更无所谓结束的圆圈；告诉我们，每一段生命的结束都意味着新生命的开始。只要心中还有爱，有思念，我们就可以笑对生死，珍惜人生。——题记 The Man was very sad. He knew that the Cat’s days were numbered.The doctor had said there wasn’t anything more that could be done,that he should take the Cat home and make him as comfortable as possible.The man stroked the Cat on his lap and sighed.The Cat opened his eyes, purred and looked up at the Man. A tear rolled down the Man’s cheek and landed on the Cat’s forehead.The Cat gave him a slightly annoyed look.“Why do you cry, Man？”the Cat asded.“Because you can’t bear the thought of losing me？ Because you think you can never replace me？”The Man nodded “yes.”“And where do you think I’ll be when I leave you？”the Cat asked. The Man shrugged helplessly. “Close your eyes, Man,” the Cat said. The Man gave him a questioning look, but did as he was told.“What color are my eyes and fur？” the Cat asked. “Your eyes are gold and your fur is a rich, warm brown,” the Man replied.“And where is it that you most often see me？”asked the Cat. “I see you…on the kitchen windowsill watching the birds…on my favorite chair…on my desk lying on the papers I need…on the pillow next to my head at night.” “Then, whenever you wish to see me, all you must do is close your eyes,” said the Cat.“Pick up that piece of string from the floor——there, my ‘toy.’” The Man opened his eyes, then reached over and picked up the string. It was about two feet long and the Cat had been able to entertain himself for hours with it. “Now take each end of the string in one hand,” the Cat ordered. The Man did so.“The end in your left hand is my birth and the end in your right hand is my death. Now bring the two ends together,” the Cat said. The Man complied.“You have made a continuous circle,” said the cat.“Does any point along the string appear to be different, worse or better than any other part of the string？” The Man inspected the string and then shook his head “no.”“Close your eyes again,” the Cat said.“Now lick your hand.” The Man widened his eyes in surprise.“Just do it,” the Cat said.“Lick your hand,think of me in all my familiar places, think about all the pieces of string.”The Man felt foolish, licking his hand, but he did as he was told. He discovered what a cat must know, that licking a paw is very calming and allows one to think more clearly. He continued licking and the corners of his mouth turned upward into the first smile he had shown in days. He waited for the Cat to tell him to stop,and when he didn’t, he opened his eyes. The Cat’s eyes were closed.The Man stroked the warm, brown fur, but the Cat was gone.The Man shut his eyes hard as the tears poured down his face. He saw the Cat on the windowsill, then in his bed, then lying across his important papers. He saw him on the pillow next to his head, saw his bright gold eyes and darkest brown on his nose and ears. He opened his eyes and through his tears looked over at the circle of string he still held clutched in his hand.One day, not long after, there was a new Cat on his lap. She was a lovely calico and white…very different from his earlier beloved Cat and very much the same. 男人非常伤心。他知道猫余下的日子不多了。医生说已经没得治了，他只能把猫带回家，并尽可能地让他在剩下的时间里过得舒服些。男人把猫放在腿上，叹了口气。猫睁开眼睛，呼噜呼噜地叫着，抬眼看了看男人。一滴眼泪从男人的脸颊边滑落，落在了猫的额头上。猫有点不高兴地看了他一眼。“你哭个什么啊，伙计？”猫问道，“因为你无法承受将要失去我的念头？因为你认为永远都没有什么能代替我？”男人点了点头。“是啊。”“那么你认为我离开你以后，会到什么地方去了呢？”猫问道。男人无望地耸了耸肩。“闭上眼睛吧，伙计，”猫说。男人疑惑地看了他一眼，但还是听话地闭上了眼睛。“我的眼睛和毛皮是什么颜色的？”猫问。“你的眼睛是金色的，你的毛皮是浓郁而温暖的褐色的。”男人回答道。“那你最常在什么地方见到我呢？”猫问。“我经常见到你……在厨房地窗台上看鸟……在我最喜欢的椅子上……躺在桌子上我需要用的文件上……晚上睡在我脑袋边的枕头上。”“那么，无论什么时候你想见我，你只要闭上你的眼睛就可以了。”猫说。“把地上的那段绳子捡起来——那里，我的‘玩具’。”男人睁开眼睛，伸手捡起了绳子。绳子大约有两英尺（约0.6米）长，猫曾经能够玩着绳子自娱自乐一玩就是几个小时。“现在用两只手捏住绳子的两端。”猫命令道。男人照做了。“你左手捏着的那端就是我的出生，而右手的那端就是我的死亡。现在把两端连在一起。”猫说道。男人又照做了。“你做出了一个连贯的圆圈，”猫说，“这个绳子上的任意一点同其他点有什么不同吗？比绳子的其他部分更好或者更差吗？”男人审视着那根绳子，然后摇了摇头。“没有。”“再次闭上你的眼睛，”猫说，“现在舔舔你的手。”男人惊讶地睁大了眼睛。“照我说的做吧，”猫说。“舔舔你的手，想想我在所有我熟悉的地方，想想所有的绳子。”要舔自己的手，男人觉得很蠢，不过他还是照做了。他发现了猫所知道的秘密——舔爪子能让你平静下来，并让你能够思考得更加清楚。他继续舔着，他的嘴角开始上翘，好多天来第一次露出了微笑。他等待着猫叫停，可是没等到，于是他睁开了眼睛。猫的眼睛已经闭上了。他摸了摸猫温暖的褐色皮毛，可是猫已经去了。男人用力地闭上了眼睛，泪如泉涌。他看到猫蹲在窗台上，然后是他的床上，然后躺在他的重要文件上。他看到猫在他脑袋边的枕头上，看到他明亮的金黄色的眼睛还有鼻子和耳朵上深褐色的毛发。他睁开眼睛，透过泪水看向他依然捏在手里的绳圈。不久以后的某一天，他的膝上有了一只新的猫咪。她是一只可爱的白色花斑猫——与之前那只他深爱的猫是那么的不同，然而又是那么的相同。