Once, the King of the State of Wu wanted to invade the State of Chu.
The King of Wu warned his ministers: "If anyone should dare to dissuade1 me from invading Chu again, I will put him to death."
One young hanger-on of his wanted to dissuade him but didn't dare. He carried a slingshot, and for three consecutive2 days paced up and down in the King's back garden. The dew wetted his clothes all through.
One day, the King of Wu called him: "The dew has wetted your clothes to such a state. Why should you bear such hardship?"
The young man replied: "There is a cicada on a tree in this garden. The cicada is high above, chirping3 leisurely4 and taking in the dew freely, not knowing that a mantis5 is right behind it. The mantis, pressing its body close in a concealed6 place, is intent on catching7 the cicada, not knowing that a siskin is hiding right behind it. The siskin is stretching out its neck to peck at the mantis, not knowing that a man carrying a slingshot is under it. These three small creatures make every effort only to get the benefit before them but ignore entirely8 the disaster behind." 蘇州易優(yōu)中考語(yǔ)文培訓(xùn),吳老師語(yǔ)文課（Tel:181-1815-9898）
Having heard the young man's words, the King of Wu suddenly saw the light and said: "What you said is right!"
Consequently, the King of Wu dropped his plan to invade the State of Chu.
一次，吳王要進(jìn)攻楚國(guó)。
吳王警告他的大臣們說(shuō)：“有誰(shuí)再敢來(lái)勸阻我進(jìn)攻楚國(guó)，我就處死他?！?
吳王的門(mén)客中有一個(gè)年青人，想去勸阻但又不敢。他懷里揣著彈弓，一連三個(gè)早晨在吳工的后花園里徘徊，露水濕透了他的衣服。
一天，吳王叫住他：“露水把你的衣服濕成這個(gè)樣子，你何必吃這個(gè)苦呢？”
年青人回答說(shuō)：“這個(gè)園子里，有一棵樹(shù)，樹(shù)上有一只蟬。蟬高高在上，悠閑地叫著，自由自在地吸著露水，卻不知道有一只蝗螂在它身后呢！蝗螂把身子緊緊地貼在隱蔽的地方，只想去捕蟬，卻不知道有一只黃雀早已躲在它的身后呢！黃雀正伸長(zhǎng)了脖子想去啄蝗螂，卻不知道在它下面正有人拿著彈弓呢！這三只小生物，只是力求得到它們眼前的利益，卻全不管它們身后隱伏著禍患啊！”
蘇州易優(yōu)閱讀寫(xiě)作精華課，（tel:181-1815-9898）有趣、有用、提分快
吳王聽(tīng)了年青人的話后，恍然大悟說(shuō)：“你說(shuō)得好啊！”
于是，吳王就不再進(jìn)攻楚國(guó)了。
1 dissuade
v.勸阻，阻止
參考例句：
You'd better dissuade him from doing that.你最好勸阻他別那樣干。 I tried to dissuade her from investing her money in stocks and shares.我曾設(shè)法勸她不要投資于股票交易。
2 consecutive
adj.連續(xù)的，聯(lián)貫的，始終一貫的
參考例句：
It has rained for four consecutive days.已連續(xù)下了四天雨。 The policy of our Party is consecutive.我黨的政策始終如一。 蘇州易優(yōu)語(yǔ)文培訓(xùn)，中小學(xué)閱讀寫(xiě)作同步提升 http://www.zequeka.cn/miniform.html
3 chirping
鳥(niǎo)叫，蟲(chóng)鳴( chirp的現(xiàn)在分詞 )
參考例句：
The birds,chirping relentlessly,woke us up at daybreak. 破曉時(shí)鳥(niǎo)兒不斷吱吱地叫，把我們吵醒了。 The birds are chirping merrily. 鳥(niǎo)兒在歡快地鳴叫著。
4 leisurely
adj.悠閑的；從容的，慢慢的
參考例句：
We walked in a leisurely manner,looking in all the windows.我們慢悠悠地走著，看遍所有的櫥窗。 He had a leisurely breakfast and drove cheerfully to work.他從容的吃了早餐，高興的開(kāi)車(chē)去工作。
找中小學(xué)生語(yǔ)文題庫(kù)，就搜微信“易優(yōu)閱讀寶”
5 mantis
n.螳螂
參考例句：
Praying mantis has two powerful claws like sharp knives.螳螂有一對(duì)強(qiáng)壯的爪子，它們像鋒利的刀。 In her mind,it was a female mantis,devouring her mates.她的意識(shí)中，是一只雌螳螂正吞咽她的配偶。
6 concealed
a.隱藏的，隱蔽的
參考例句：
The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些畫(huà)被隱藏在厚厚的灰泥層下面。 I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我認(rèn)為他當(dāng)時(shí)身上藏有一支槍。
7 catching 蘇州吳中區(qū)小學(xué)生作文培訓(xùn)，就來(lái)易優(yōu)悅讀
adj.易傳染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住
參考例句：
There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是認(rèn)為濕疹會(huì)傳染。 Enthusiasm is very catching.熱情非常富有感染力。
8 entirely
ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，徹底地
參考例句：
The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那場(chǎng)火災(zāi)完全是由于他們失職而引起的。 His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生統(tǒng)統(tǒng)獻(xiàn)給了教育工作
