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Mencius’s mother is a great mother of Zou State. To make her son get a good education, she moved her family three times.
When Mencius was a child, he lived near a graveyard. Therefore, he often played near the grave and imitated people’s crying or digging the tombs. When his mother saw this, she said: “It’s not a good place for a child to live in.”
Then she moved the family to a house near a market. Soon Mencius began imitating people’s hawking and bargaining. He found it interesting and played again and again. His mother found this place still not good for a child to live in. She decided to move away again.
At last they settled down near a school. Before long, Mencius began imitating the students’ reading and writing. He became more polite and hardworking. Then his mother said: this is a good place for a child to live in.
When Mencius grew up, he was well-known for his politeness and talent.
This story tells us a good educational environment is very important for children.
孟母是战国时期邹县一位伟大的妈妈。他为了孩子得到好的教育，搬了三次家。孟子小的时候住的地方与墓地离得很近，因此，他经常在墓地附近玩。孟子就学人哭嚎或者挖墓。孟子的妈妈看到了这个现象之后，就说道：“这个地方不适合孩子居住。”
于是，孟子的妈妈带着孟子搬到市集旁边去住。很快，孟子学人吆喝、讨价还价。他觉得很有意思，就反反复复玩。孟子的妈妈发现这个地方还是不适合孩子居住，于是，她决定再次搬家。
最后，他们在学堂附近定居下来。不久，孟子开始模仿学生读、写。他变得更有礼貌和勤奋。并且跟着先生一起学习。这个时候，孟子的妈妈说：“这才是孩子应该居住的地方呀!” 当孟子长大后，因谦逊和才华而闻名。
这个故事告诉我们好的教育环境对孩子是非常重要的!
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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.
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When Lv Meng was young, he was so poor that he had no chance to read books. Later, Lv Meng followed Sun Quan, and joined the army. In his opinion, he thought he could win if he was brave enough.
One day, Sun Quan told Lv Meng: “You should pay more attention to reading books.” After hearing this, Lv Meng laughed and said: “But, as you know, I am too busy to read books.”
Sun Quan said seriously: “Reading books is helpful for you. I am busy, too, and I must read books if I have any time.”
Lv Meng adopted Sun Quan’s advice and made up his mind to read.
Once, Lu Su came over and discussed the issue with Lv Meng and was shocked by Lv Meng. Lu Su said: “Now, you are totally different and not the man before at all !”
Lv Meng laughed: “Now, you should look at me with new eyes !”
当吕蒙年轻的时候，他太穷了以致于没有机会读书。后来，吕蒙跟随了孙权，并参了军。在他看来，只要他足够勇敢，打仗就会赢。
一天，孙权对吕蒙说：“你应该注意多读书。“听到这个，吕蒙笑笑说：“但是，我太忙了没有时间读书。” 孙权严肃地说；“读书对你大有益处！我也很忙，但我一有时间就必须读书。”吕蒙听取了孙权的建议并决心读书。
一次，当鲁肃来和吕蒙一起议事，被吕蒙震惊到了。鲁肃说：“你现在完全不同了，不再是吴下时的没有才学的阿蒙了!” 吕蒙笑道：“士别三日，当刮目相看。”
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Once there lived a young boy named Ma Liang. He was very poor but very kind. Ma Liana loved drawing and drew pictures everwhere. One night, when Ma Liang was asleep in bed, he dreamt that an old man gave him a magic paintbrush. In his dream the old man asked Ma Liang to use the magic paintbrush to help poor people.
When Ma Liang woke the next morning, he found the magic paintbrush on his desk. Ma Liang did as the old man had asked and used the paintbrush to help poor people. Ma Liang spotted a dry field with no water for the crops to grow, so he used his paintbrush to paint a river. The river came to life! The poor people collected water from the river and used it to help the crops in their fields to grow.
Ma Liang saw some farmers. He noticed that they worked really hard but they still struggled to feed their families. He used his magic paintbrush to paint more food for them to eat. Everyone he helped was very grateful to Ma Liang.
Everyone except for a mean rich man who lived in the village.This man was very greedy and he thought that owning the magic paintbrush would make him even richer. He made a plan and sent his servants to steal the maic paintbrush from Ma Liang's home.
The greedy rich man had the paintbrush and was very happy. He invited all of his friends to come and look at his new magic paintbrush and show them what it could do. He drew painting after painting but none of them came to life. This made the man very angry and he sent for Ma Liang.
Later that day, Ma Liang arrived at the rich man'shouse. The rich man said “lf you paint me some magic pictures that come to life, I will set you free." Ma Liang didn't want to help the greedy rich man but he wanted to escape. Ma Liang thought up a clever plan...
Ma Liang asked the greedy, rich man “What would you like me to paint for you?" The greedy rich man said “I want a picture of a golden mountain. I will go there to collect gold." But Ma Liang did not paint a golden mountain. Instead he drew the sea. This made the greedy, rich man even angrier “Why have you drawn the sea? I want a golden mountain .Draw it for me now! He demanded. So Ma Liang painted the golden mountain far away
from the sea.
The greedy, rich man still wasn’t happy with the painting “Draw me a large ship. I want to go there now and get the gold!" he said. Ma Liang painted a large ship and smiled to himself as the greedy rich man jumped into it.
The greedy, rich man started sailing towards the golden mountain to find the gold. When the ship reached the middle of the sea, Ma Liang painted a huge wave which destroved the ship. The greedy rich man wasn't seen in the village ever again.
Ma Liang lived a long and happy life with his family. He continued to use the magic paintbrush to help poor people just as the old man had asked him to in his dream. Ma Liang and his magic paintbrush was loved by everyone.
从前有个男孩，名叫马良。尽管他的生活非常穷苦，但是他很善良。马良很喜欢画画，在任何可以画画的地方画。一天晚上，熟睡中的马良做了一个梦，一位老人给了他一支神奇的画笔。在梦中，老人告诉马良，要使用这支神笔帮助穷人。
第二天早上，当马良醒来的时候，他在桌子上发现了梦中的神笔。马良按照老人的指示，使用这支神笔画画以帮助穷人。当他看到农田干涸，因缺水灌溉导致农作物无法生长时，他使用画笔画出一条河流。结果，河流变成了真的! 穷人可以从河流中取水，用于灌溉庄稼，最终使得农作物生长。
马良见到了很多的农民。他看到尽管农民的生活非常艰辛，却仍旧努力的生活，以养活全家。于是他使用神笔画出了食物，供穷人们食用。他帮助过的每个人都非常感激马良。
村里住着一个卑鄙的富人。这个人很贪婪，当他知道马良有神笔后，他就希望将神笔据为己有，这样就可以使他更富有。于是他制定了一个计划，派遣他的仆人从马良的家中偷走了马良的神笔。
这个贪婪的富人得到了神笔后非常开心。他邀请了他的朋友来看这支神笔，并且希望给朋友们展示神笔的魔力。他画了一幅又一幅画，但没有任何一幅画变成真的。这使富人很生气，然后派人抓来了马良。
随后，马良到了富人的家。富人对他说:“如果你能画出变成真的画，我就放了你。”马良不想帮助这个贪婪的富人，但他又想逃跑。于是，马良想出了一个相当
聪明的计划...
马良问贪婪的富人，“你希望我帮你画什么呢? ”贪婪的富人说“我想要画出一座金山。我就可以去那里采金子了。” 然而马良并没有画出金山。反而他画了一片海。这让贪婪的富人更加生气了。“为什么你要画一片海呢?我要的是一座金山。现在就画给我!"他命令到。所以马良在海的远处画出一座金山。
贪婪的富人依然对画不是很满意。“给我画一艘大船。我希望乘船到金山那里去采金子!”他说。于是马良画了一艘大船，看着贪婪的富人跳上船，他笑了笑。
贪婪的富人开始朝着金山的方向航行，去寻找金子。当他的船逐渐到达海洋的中心时，马良画出了巨大的海浪，这海浪足以摧毁大船。最终人们再也没有在村子中看到过这个贪婪的富人。
从此马良和他的家人幸福的生活在一起。他继续听从老人在梦中告诉他的，使用神笔为穷人作画，帮助更多的穷人。人们都爱马良和他的神笔。
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In Spring and Autumn Period, there was a man named Kong Yu, who was a senior official of the State of Wei. He was clever and diligent in study. He had a good habit of asking questions. Whenever there was something he didn’t understand, he would ask others about it.
Moreover, he often consulted someone who was less knowledgeable (well informed) than him or someone inferior to him. Every time he did this, he didn’t feel ashamed about it at all. After he died, the prince of State of Wei granted him a name “Wen”. Confucius later on also respected him very much and asked his students to learn from him.
春秋时期，有一个人叫孔圉（yŭ），他是卫国的大夫。他非常聪明而且勤奋好学。每当他遇到不懂的事情，他就会向他人询问。
而且，他经常请教那些比自己学问差或者地位比自己低下的人。他也从未为此感到羞耻或不好意思。在他死后，卫国国君赐他称号“文”。后来的孔子也非常尊重他，并且让自己的学生向他学习。
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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，赵大砍柴回来，路过一个茶馆，里面坐了很多人，有的在喝茶，有的在乘凉。他就把柴车停放在外面，也走进茶馆。
赵大坐在那刚刚喝完一杯茶，只见茶馆外面一片红光，赵大放下茶杯，走到门口一看：原来是自己的一车柴草着火了，忽忽的光苗直往上窜。赵大喊起来："不好了，着火啦!"
边喊边跑进茶馆，端起桌子上的一杯水，跑到门外往车上的柴草上泼去。茶馆里的人，一听赵大的叫喊声，也都忙着端起自己的茶杯，往车上泼去。可是，劈里叭啦一阵响声之后，火不但没灭，反而燃烧得更猛烈了。赵大心疼地连声喊道："完了，完了!"
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Zu Ti of the Jin Dynasty was very clever and talent. When he was young, he had a good friend named Liu Kun. They had a deep friendship. So they stayed together every day. Furthermore, they even slept on one bed every night and got up at the same time every morning.
One day, when they were sleeping, Zu Ti heard the rooster crowing, he woke up Liu Kun and said: How about getting up to play swords as soon as we heard the rooster crowing from now on? Liu Kun was still sleepy. But he agreed with him joyfully.
From then on, they got up and played swords once the rooster began crowing. They kept their words and never gave up no matter how cold in winter or hot in summer.
A few years later, they both grew up with great talent and wisdom. And they both did excellent job to their country.
晋朝的祖逖非常的聪明有才华。在他年幼的时候，他有一个好朋友刘琨。他们情感深厚，每天都待在一起。他们甚至每晚都睡在一张床上，每天早上一起起床。
有一天，祖逖在睡梦中听到公鸡打鸣的声音，他把刘琨叫醒对他说：从今天起，我们听到公鸡打鸣就起来舞剑如何？刘琨尚有困意，但他还是欣然答应了。
从那以后，他们就约定每天公鸡一打鸣就起来舞剑。他们信守承诺，无论寒冬酷暑，从未放弃。几年之后，他们都成长为才华和智慧兼备的人。尽忠尽责地报效祖国。
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Hua Tuo was a greatmedical scientist in China. He had excellent medical skills and always made a right judgement of the illness.
One day, two guys came to his home. Both of them said they had headache and fever. But, after diagnosing two of them, Hua Tuo gave them two kinds of different medicine.
These two men were confused and asked: “We have the same symptom, why should we take different medicine?” Hua Tuo smiled: “Although your symptom looks the same, it was caused by different causes. So you should take different medicine.” Soon after, these two men recovered.
华陀是东汉末年著名的医学家，他医术高明，诊断准确，在我国医学史上享有很高的地位。华陀给病人诊疗时，能够根据不同的情况，开出不同的处方。
有一次，两个人一同到华陀那儿看病，他们诉说的病症相同：头痛发热。华陀分别给两人诊了脉后，给其中一人开了泻药，而给另一人开了发汗的药。两人看了药方，感到非常奇怪，问：”我们两人的症状相同，病情一样，为什么吃的药却不一样呢？”
华陀解释说：“你俩只是病症的表象类似，实则病因却大不相同，我当然得对症下药，给你们用不同的药治疗了。”二人服药后，没过多久，病就全好了。
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During the Warring States period, there was a carpenter named Lu Ban. He was good at making woody tools. One day, a young man passed by a red gate. He held up an axe with his hand and said: “This axe is really good. I can make the greatest tools in the world with it.”
Hearing this, people around here all laughed. One person asked: “So, can you make a more 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!” All people 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。
来源丨 脑洞英语课堂，版权归原作者所有，如有侵权请联系删除
