按图索骥
文章来源:未知 文章作者:enread 发布时间:2013-09-25 06:12 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
During the spring and autumn period, there was a man in the state of Qin whose name was Sun Yang. Sun Yang was very expert in looking at horses and judging their worth, whatever the horse might be, he could tell whether it was good or bad at first sight. People called him Bo Le (Bo Le was the name of one of the celestial1 bodies and was fabled2 to be in charge of heavenly steeds骏马), and he was often asked to appraise3 and select horses.
 
One day, when Sun Yang was passing a place, an old horse pulling a cart loaded with salt suddenly neighed to him without stopping. He came near, and saw that it was a horse that really could cover a thousand li a day, and that the only problem with it was that it was a little too old. The old horse was pulling the heavy cart with difficulties and hardships. Sun Yang felt acutely that the horse was really unjustly treated, for it might have been a fine steed galloping4 on the battlefield. It was a great pity that it was pulling the cart loaded with salt without attracting public attention, which had taken the edge off its spirit and consumed its energy. When he thought of this, he was so grieved that he shed tears.
 
In order to help more people learn how to appraise horses so that fine horses which could cover a thousand li a day would no longer fall into oblivion, and also in order to ensure that his unique skill in judging horses would not be lost, Sun yang wrote a book entitled the art of looking at horses and judging their worth, based on his experiences and knowledge accumulated over the years. The book was also illustrated5 with the pictures of various horses.
 
Sun Yang had a son who, after reading his father's the art of looking at horses and judging their worth, thought it was very easy to appraise horses. So he took the book with him to look for fine horses everywhere.
 
At first he searched according to the pictures in the book, and accomplished6 nothing. Then he searched according to the characteristics of a toad7 fit very well the characteristics described in the book. So he happily took the toad back home, and said to his father, "father, I have found a horse that can cover a thousand li a day, only its hoofs8(蹄) are not good enough." Looking at the toad(讨厌的家伙), Sun Yang did not know whether he should laugh or cry. Knowing that his son was stupid, Sun Yang said humorously. "It's a pity that this horse is too fond of jumping to pull a cart." Then he sighed, "That is just what we call looking for a steed with the aid of its picture."
 
Later, people have used the set phrase "look for a steed with the aid of its picture" to refer to handling affairs mechanically in the outmoded ways without being flexible. Sometimes it is also used to refer to trying to locate something by following up a clue. this set phrase originates in lumbering9 in the forest of art written by Yang shen in the ming dynasty .


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1 celestial 4rUz8     
adj.天体的;天上的
参考例句:
  • The rosy light yet beamed like a celestial dawn.玫瑰色的红光依然象天上的朝霞一样绚丽。
  • Gravity governs the motions of celestial bodies.万有引力控制着天体的运动。
2 fabled wt7zCV     
adj.寓言中的,虚构的
参考例句:
  • For the first week he never actually saw the fabled Jack. 第一周他实际上从没见到传说中的杰克。
  • Aphrodite, the Greek goddness of love, is fabled to have been born of the foam of the sea. 希腊爱神阿美罗狄蒂据说是诞生于海浪泡沫之中。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
3 appraise JvLzt     
v.估价,评价,鉴定
参考例句:
  • An expert came to appraise the value of my antiques.一位专家来对我的古玩作了估价。
  • It is very high that people appraise to his thesis.人们对他的论文评价很高。
4 galloping galloping     
adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式
参考例句:
  • The horse started galloping the moment I gave it a good dig. 我猛戳了马一下,它就奔驰起来了。
  • Japan is galloping ahead in the race to develop new technology. 日本在发展新技术的竞争中进展迅速,日新月异。
5 illustrated 2a891807ad5907f0499171bb879a36aa     
adj. 有插图的,列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
  • The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。
6 accomplished UzwztZ     
adj.有才艺的;有造诣的;达到了的
参考例句:
  • Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
  • Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。
7 toad oJezr     
n.蟾蜍,癞蛤蟆
参考例句:
  • Both the toad and frog are amphibian.蟾蜍和青蛙都是两栖动物。
  • Many kinds of toad hibernate in winter.许多种蟾蜍在冬天都会冬眠。
8 hoofs ffcc3c14b1369cfeb4617ce36882c891     
n.(兽的)蹄,马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.(兽的)蹄,马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • The stamp of the horse's hoofs on the wooden floor was loud. 马蹄踏在木头地板上的声音很响。 来自辞典例句
  • The noise of hoofs called him back to the other window. 马蹄声把他又唤回那扇窗子口。 来自辞典例句
9 lumbering FA7xm     
n.采伐林木
参考例句:
  • Lumbering and, later, paper-making were carried out in smaller cities. 木材业和后来的造纸都由较小的城市经营。
  • Lumbering is very important in some underdeveloped countries. 在一些不发达的国家,伐木业十分重要。
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TAG标签: cart horses steed
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