成语是古代语和事的高度凝练和浓缩，往往文言色彩浓厚，保留着许多古汉语词汇的痕迹，现代人可以借以了解当时的社会、文化、语言等面貌。书读百遍，其义自见，本文是漂亮的编辑为大家收集整理的英语成语故事精选4篇，仅供借鉴。

In Qin dynasty, there was a powerful and evil counselor named Zhao Gao。

在秦朝，有个很得势的奸臣叫赵高。

Zhao Gao wanted to rebel, but he didn't know how many people in the court would stand by his side。

赵高想造反，但是又不知道群臣中有多少人会支持他。

So he worked out a way to test the people。

于是他想了个办法来测试。

He presented a deer as a tribute to the emperor in front of the court, and said that it was a swift horse。

他在群臣面前送了一头鹿给皇上，并说这是一匹千里马。

The emperor not accepting his statement said, "This is obviously a deer."

皇上不信，说“这明明是鹿啊。”

Then, Zhao Gao took this opportunity to ask the court, "Is this a deer or a horse?"

然后赵高借机问各位大臣，“这是鹿还是马？”

In the court, those who didn't dare to go against Zhao Gao agreed with him and said that it was a horse, those who dared to go against Zhao Gao said that it was a deer。

在大臣中，不敢反抗赵高的都赞同说是马，敢于反对赵高的说是鹿。

Later, Zhao Gao remembered the counselors who didn't agree with him and persecuted them to solidify his power。

后来，赵高记住了这些反对他的人并加以迫害，以巩固自己的势力。

This story is still popular even today. People use this idiom to describe someone who calls white black。

这个故事流传至今，人们用这个成语来形容一个人颠倒黑白。

During the Han Dynasty, there was a county magistrate called Ying Bin. One summer day, he invited his secretary Du Xuan to his house and treated him with wine. On the north wall of the room hung a red bow. It was reflected in Du Xuan's cup. Du Xuan took the reflection for a squirming snake. He was very frightened but he dared not turn down Ying Bin's offer because he was his superior. He had to swallow the wine with his eyes closed.

When he was back at home he felt so painful in his chest and stomach that he could hardly eat and drink any more.

He sent for the doctor and tried much medicine but nothing could cure him.

When Ying Bin asked Du Xuan how he got so seriously ill, Du told him he drank the wine with a snake in his cup the other day. Ying Bin found something strange about that. He turned home, thought hard, but he couldn't find an answer. Suddenly the bow on the north wall caught his eye. "That's it!" he shouted. He immediately sent his man to fetch Du Xuan. He seated him where he sat before and offered him a cup of wine.

Du Xuan saw the snake-like shadow again. Before Du was scared out of his wits again, Ying Bin said, pointing at the shadow, "The 'snake'in the cup is nothing but a reflection of the bow on the north wall!"

Now that Du Xuan knew what it was, he felt much easier. his illness disappeared the next moment!

This story was later contracted into the idiom-mistake the reflection of a bow in the cup for a snake. We use it to describe someone who is very suspicious.

Ban is the surname of a master carpenter in ancient China. His first name was long forgotten, so people called him Lu Ban because he lived in the State of Lu. The name Lu Ban is often used to describe expert artizans.

Lu Ban was especially good at using the ax, and he was nicknamed the expert ax-handler. One day there was a young man who came in front of Ban's door and started using his ax, waving it in the air. People asked: "What are you doing here?" The young man replied: "I'm an expert ax-handler!" Then people asked him: "You say you're an expert, but can you make a door as exquisite as the one behind you?" and they pointed to Ban's door. The young man turned back said: "Why not? Let me tell you, I'm the student of Lu Ban, so I can make a door 50 times better than that." And then the people laughed and told him: "This is the front door of Ban. You're standing in front of it and you claim to be his student? Obviously you're not." The young man was quite embarrassed and left quickly.

So later the phrase 班门弄斧 was used to describe the silliness of a person to display their skills with an ax in front of Ban's door. Later it was expanded to refer to anyone who show off their slight skills in the presence of an expert.

meaning to give up halfway, to quit before finishing something.

During the Warring States Period (475-221BC), there was a man called Yue Yangzi in State Yue. One day he saw a piece of gold on the road and picked it up. He took it home and gave it to his wife. But his wife was not happy. The virtuous woman said, "I hear that a man of morality doesn't drink a thief's water and a man of probity refuses to accept alms. What do you think of the action of picking up another's lost valuable and possessing it for one's own?"

Yue Yangzi, feeling ashamed, sent the gold back to where he found it.

The next year, Yue Yangzi felt that he should go out and visit scholars to enrich his knowledge. So he set off.

A year later, he came back home suddenly.

"Why have you returned?" asked his wife in surprise, "You've only spent one year studying with scholars."

"I come back because I missed you very much."

Without saying anything, his wife took a pair of scissors and went to the loom at which she had worked. Pointing at the half done brocade, she proclaimed : "This brocade is woven from the finest silk. I wove one strand after another to produce the brocade. Now if I cut it, all my previous work will be wasted. It's the same with your studies. You can acquire knowledge only through diligence. Now, you've stopped halfway. Isn't it the same as cutting the brocade on the loom?"

Yue Yangzi was moved by what she said. He again left home to visit scholars. Several years later he became a learned man.

战国时期，魏国有个叫乐羊子的人。有一天，乐羊子在路上看到一块金子，他就捡起金子，带回了家并把它拿给妻子看。可他妻子一点儿也不高兴。这个贤惠的女人对他说："我听人说'壮士不饮盗泉之水；廉洁的人不食嗟来之食'。把别人遗失的贵重之物捡起来据为己有，你怎么看待这种行为呢？"

乐羊子听了妻子的`话，觉得很惭愧，就把那块金子又扔到原来的地方。

第二年，乐羊子离开家到了一个很远的地方，去拜师求学。

一年后，乐羊子突然回到家中，他的妻子很惊讶地问："你怎么回来了？你才和那些学者学了一年呀。"乐羊子说："我太想你了，所以回来看看。"

他的妻子听了以后，二话不说，拿起把剪刀走到她的织布机前。她指着那块已经完成了一半的锦缎说："这块锦缎用的是最好的丝。我一丝丝的累积来织成这锦缎。如果我现在把它剪断，就等于前功尽弃。你求学也是这样。如果现在停止，和剪断织布机上的锦缎有什么区别？"

乐羊子被妻子的话所感动，于是立刻离开家，继续拜师求学。

几年后，乐羊子终于完成学业，成为一个博学的人。