中國故事23 The Spear and the Shield

中國故事23 The Spear and the Shield自相矛盾

In one town in old China, there lived a proud merchant. He owned a small store in the busy market. On one side of his store were beautiful, straight spears. On the other side, were hard, strong shields. At this  time, China was often at war with itself. The merchant knew soldiers needed spears for fighting and shields for protecting themselves. The market was filled with shops and shoppers. There were restaurants, fruit stands, clothing stores, and more. There was even another store that also sold spears and shields. The owner of that store was the proud merchant’s rival. Every week, the merchant sold a few spears and a few shields. But he was not happy. All the other stores were busier than his store. Even worse, his rival’s store had more customers. The merchant thought long and hard about how to get more customers to his store.Like a soldier, the merchant knew he had to be stronger than his rival. He stared at his spears and shields, thinking. Suddenly, he had an idea. He picked up a spear and a shield and marched out into the street. He held up the spear and danced around. “Look at this spear!” he yelled. “My spear is the best in China! It is made from the best wood in the world! The metal is so strong that it can pierce anything!” A crowd soon gathered around him. Even his rival came over to see what was happening. “Look at this shield!” the proud merchant continued. He lifted it up to catch the sunlight. “My shield is the best in China! It is made from the strongest metal in the world! It is so solid that nothing can pierce it!” The crowd grew bigger. “Ooh! Aah!” they said, admiring the merchant’s spear and shield. The merchant’s rival walked up to him. “You say that your spear can pierce anything,and that nothing can pierce your shield,” said his rival. “That is correct,” replied the merchant confidently. “What will happen if I stab your shield with your spear?” asked his rival. The question surprised the merchant. He stopped dancing. He lowered his spear. He lowered his shield. He knew that the claims were untrue. There could not be both a spear that can pierce anything and a shield that cannot be pierced by anything. The merchant didn’t know what to say. So, he hung his head in shame, closed his store, and went home.

The End

Question: Why did the merchant lie about his spears and shields?

核心詞匯

merchant n. 商人spear n. 矛shield n.盾stand n. 攤rival n. 對手customer n. 顧客march v. （快步）行走pierce v. 刺穿，刺破crowd n. 人群solid adj. 堅固的admire v. 欽佩stab v. 刺，戳claim n. 聲稱，斷言

以下翻譯來自百度翻譯：在舊中國的一個城鎮(zhèn)里，住著一位驕傲的商人。他在繁忙的市場上開了一家小店。在他的商店的一邊是漂亮的直矛。另一邊是堅固的盾牌。在這個時候，中國經(jīng)常與自己交戰(zhàn)。商人知道士兵們需要長矛作戰(zhàn)，需要盾牌保護自己。市場上擠滿了商店和購物者。那里有餐館、水果攤、服裝店等等。甚至還有另外一家商店也出售長矛和盾牌。那家商店的老板是驕傲商人的對手。每個星期，商人都會賣幾支矛和幾塊盾牌。但他并不快樂。其他所有的商店都比他的商店忙。更糟糕的是，他的競爭對手的商店有更多的顧客。這位商人花了很長時間和精力思考如何讓更多的顧客進入他的商店。就像一名士兵一樣，他知道他必須比他的對手更強大。他盯著自己的矛和盾思考。突然，他有了一個主意。他拿起長矛和盾牌，大步走到街上。他舉起長矛，跳起舞來?！翱催@把矛！”他喊道?！拔业拿侵袊詈玫模∷怯檬澜缟献詈玫哪静闹瞥傻?！這種金屬非常堅固，可以穿透任何東西！”人群很快聚集在他周圍。甚至他的對手也過來看看發(fā)生了什么?！翱催@個盾牌！”驕傲的商人繼續(xù)說。他把它舉起來曬太陽?！拔业亩苁侵袊詈玫?！它是由世界上最堅固的金屬制成的！它是如此堅固，沒有任何東西能穿透它！”人群越來越大?！芭叮“。　彼麄冋f，欣賞著商人的矛和盾。商人的對手向他走來。他的對手說：“你說你的矛可以刺穿任何東西，任何東西都不能刺穿你的盾牌。”?！皼]錯，”商人自信地回答。“如果我用你的長矛刺穿你的盾牌會怎么樣？”他的對手問道。這個問題使商人大吃一驚。他停止了跳舞。他放下長矛。他放下盾牌。他知道這些說法是不真實的。不可能既有能刺穿任何東西的矛，也有不能被任何東西刺穿的盾。商人不知道該說什么。于是，他羞愧地低下頭，關(guān)了店，回家了。