中国故事21 Peach Paradise世外桃源

中国故事21 Peach Paradise世外桃源

The writer Tao Yuan Ming lived during the Eastern Jin Dynasty (365-427 AD). It was a time of war in China. Tao Yuan Ming wished everyone could stop fighting and live in peace. He dreamed of a fable. It went like this…Once upon a time, a fisherman set out to explore a river. He got in his small boat and began to row. The fisherman rowed and rowed and rowed. He got so caught up in the rhythm of the rowing, he lost track of where he was. Still, he kept on rowing.Along the way, the fisherman spotted some peach trees on the river bank covered with flowers. Farther down the river, he saw more blossoming peach trees.“There must be hundreds of trees!” the fisherman gasped.At the end of the river, the fisherman came upon a whole forest of blossoming peach trees. As he stepped off his boat, his feet sank in a carpet of peach petals. The sweet smell filled the air.“This is a peach paradise!” the fisherman cried. “I have never seen or smelled anything like it!”He walked through the forest to see what else there was to see. At the end of the forest he found a mountain. At the base of the mountain was a tiny cave. The small opening was just wide enough to fit one person.A beam of light shone out from the cave. The edges of the beam were laced with colors of the rainbow. It felt magical.“It’s like that rainbow light is calling me into the cave,” the fisherman whispered to himself.He crawled inside the tiny opening. It was difficult to see, but he kept crawling toward the light. The narrow tunnel started to get wider and wider. Finally, the fisherman was able to stand up. He walked out of the cave.The land was lush and green. The sun shone more brightly than the fisherman had ever seen. Birds chirped happy songs from the treetops.The fisherman walked through farmland. The crops were healthy and strong. Then he came to a small village. Pretty houses stood neatly in rows. Each house had a small, neat garden with colorful flowers.The fisherman walked up to some farmers. They greeted him warmly. “Hello. Where am I?” asked the fisherman.“Good day, sir,” said one farmer. “Welcome to our land.”“What is this place?” asked the fisherman. “Where am I?”“This is our land. Our ancestors came here a long time ago,” the farmer’s friend explained.“Your ancestors? Who or how long ago was that?” asked the fisherman.“Ancestors from the Qin Dynasty,” replied the farmer. “There was a lot of fighting during that time. So, our ancestors left and found this land. We have lived here ever since.”“We haven’t met anyone from the outside world,” said his friend.“What era is it now?”“Jin Dynasty,” replied the fisherman.“Oh, Jin Dynasty. A long time must have passed,” said the farmer. “Well, welcome to our land! Won’t you stay a bit?” he asked.The fisherman stayed for several days. He enjoyed every second of his time there. It was peaceful and filled with so much beauty.When it was time to leave, the fisherman crawled through the cave. He walked through the peach blossom forest. As he traveled, he left markers along the trail. He hoped that one day they would help him find his way back.When the fisherman got back to his village, he told the officials all about his journey. They wanted to find this paradise.The fisherman led a group down the river to show them the mysterious land. They rowed and rowed and rowed. They didn’t see any peach blossoms. At the end of the river, they followed the fisherman’s markers.They couldn’t find the mountain, the cave, the farms, or the village. And they never did.The idiom (世外桃源 shì wài táo yuán) “the peach orchard beyond this world” is used to express an unexpectedly fantastic place, or paradise.

The End

Question: Why do you think the fisherman could not find the mysteriousland again?

核心词汇fable n. 寓言set out 出发row v. 划（船）rhythm n.律动，节律lose track of 看不见，听不清，未记录blossom v. & n. 开花gasp v. 倒抽气carpet n. 地毯petal n. 花瓣beam n. （日、月、灯等的）光线edge n. 边界，边缘lace v. 加饰带（或狭边）于magical adj. （似）魔术的tunnel n. 隧道，地道lush adj. 葱翠的，鲜嫩多汁的ancestors n. 祖先era n. 时代，历史时期trail n. 痕迹，足迹paradise n. 天堂orchard n. 果园，果树林There must be 那里必定有, must do sth 此处表示对于现在情况的推测。At the base of the mountain was a tiny cave. 山脚下有一个小洞，此处介词短语做状语前置，形成完全倒装。A long time must have passed 一定是经过了很长时间了，must havedone 表示对于过去情况的推测。以下翻译来自百度翻译：作家陶渊明生活在东晋时期（公元365-427年）。那是中国的战争时期。陶渊明希望每个人都能停止战斗，和平共处。他梦见了一个寓言。事情是这样的…从前，一个渔夫出发去探索一条河。他坐上小船开始划船。渔夫划啊划啊划。他被划船的节奏迷住了，不知道自己在哪里。尽管如此，他还是继续划船。一路上，渔夫发现河岸上有一些桃树开满了花。在河的下游，他看到了更多盛开的桃树。“一定有几百棵树！”渔夫喘着粗气说。在河的尽头，渔夫发现了一整片盛开的桃树林。他下了船，两脚陷在桃花的地毯里。空气中弥漫着甜味。“这是一个桃子天堂！”渔夫喊道。“我从未见过或闻到过类似的味道！”他穿过森林，想看看还有什么可看的。在森林的尽头，他发现了一座山。山脚下有一个小山洞。这个小开口刚好能容纳一个人。一束光从山洞里射出。光束的边缘布满了彩虹的颜色。感觉很神奇。“就像彩虹的光芒在召唤我进入洞穴，”渔夫低声对自己说。他爬进那个小洞里。很难看清，但他一直朝着灯光爬去。狭窄的隧道开始变得越来越宽。最后，渔夫终于站了起来。他走出了山洞。这片土地郁郁葱葱。太阳比渔夫所见过的更明亮。鸟儿在树梢上叽叽喳喳地唱着欢快的歌。渔夫穿过农田。庄稼茁壮成长。然后他来到一个小村庄。漂亮的房子整齐地排成一排。每栋房子都有一个小而整洁的花园，花园里开着五颜六色的花。渔夫走向一些农民。他们热情地迎接他。“喂，我在哪儿？”渔夫问。“你好，先生，”一位农民说。“欢迎来到我们的土地。”“这是什么地方？”渔夫问。“我在哪里？”“这是我们的土地。我们的祖先很久以前就来到这里了，”农民的朋友解释说。“你的祖先？那是谁或多久以前的事？”渔夫问。“先祖来自秦朝，”农夫回答。“那时候有很多战斗。所以，我们的祖先离开这里，找到了这块土地。从那时起，我们就一直住在这里。”他的朋友说：“我们没有见过任何来自外部世界的人。”。“现在是什么时代？”“金朝，”渔夫回答。“哦，金朝。一定是很久过去了，”农夫说。“好吧，欢迎来到我们的土地！你不留下一点吗？”他问道。渔夫呆了几天。他享受在那里的每一秒。这是和平的，充满了如此多的美丽。到了离开的时候，渔夫爬进了山洞。他穿过桃花林。当他旅行时，他在小路上留下了标记。他希望有一天他们能帮他找到回家的路。当渔夫回到他的村庄时，他向官员们讲述了他的旅程。他们想找到这个天堂。渔夫带领一群人沿河而下，向他们展示那片神秘的土地。他们划啊划啊划。他们没有看到任何桃花。在河的尽头，他们跟随渔夫的标记。他们找不到那座山、山洞、农场或村庄。他们从来没有这样做过。成语(世外桃源 “世界之外的桃园”用来表达一个出人意料的奇妙的地方，或天堂。