成语故事英文翻译

成语故事英文翻译 功亏一篑

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。

成语故事英文翻译 草木皆兵

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。

成语故事英文翻译 九牛一毛

a drop in the bucket九牛一毛

Li Ling was a great general during the time of emperor Han Wu-di (hàn wǔ dì汉武帝). He was a very good fighter, and he won every battle.

西汉时代有个很有名的大将军名叫李陵，他骁勇善战，百战百赢。

One time, however, Li Ling's troops were so hopelessly outnumbered by the Huns that although they fought bravely, the whole army was soon taken captive.

有一次，虽然李陵的军队奋勇杀敌，因为兵力不足而战败投降。

Li Ling shamefully surrendered for the moment, planning to wait for an opportunity to strike back.

李陵打算暂时先忍辱投降，以便伺机等待机会反击。

But when news of the surrender reached the capital, the emperor's jealous ministers began to degrade Li Ling in front of the emperor.

但当李陵投降的消息传到首都，皇上身边嫉妒的大臣们都开始指责李陵。

What he heard made the emperor so angry that he had Li Ling's wife and mother put to death.

皇上十分气愤，他将李陵的妻子与母亲都赐死了。

Ze-ma Chian, who had always respected Li Ling, believed that he wouldn't surrender without a reason, and urged the emperor not to believe rumors.

司马迁一直很敬重李陵，他不信李陵会无缘无故投降，便谏言皇上不要听信谣言。

This time, the emperor grew angry at Sz-ma Chian, and locking him up, punished him severely.

但就因为这样，皇上便迁怒司马迁，并将他囚禁，进行严惩。

Sz-ma Chian then wrote a long letter to a friend, saying, "I am now in the middle of writing a history book. If I die, it will be as if one ox in a group on nine were to lose a single hair. I am willing to withstand punishment in order to complete this book." Sz-ma Chian finally did finish his book - the very famous Shr-Ji.

司马迁随后写了一封长信给他的朋友，说道：“我现在在写一部历史长篇，如果我死了，就如同九牛一毛般微不足道，但我愿意承受住这般的惩罚，来完成这部书。”最终，司马迁完成了这部名流千古的史学著作——《史记》。