Chinese 國語 5, First Semester 上, Lessons 1 and 2 第一課跟第二課

The Chinese text below was taken from the book published by Kang Shuan 康軒文教事業.

The red characters are the vocabulary words for that lesson.  The grammar/enrichment section following each story/essay/poem has not been included here, because translating those sections into English wouldn't be very meaningful.

In grade 5 the text books stop putting the phonetic characters (ㄅㄆㄇ) next to every word.  They are, however, included for each lesson's vocabulary words.

第一課 Lesson One: 名人記趣 Remembrances of Famous People

紙條上的簽名 The Signature on the Note

曾經擔任英國首相的邱吉爾 (Winston Churchill), 有一天應邀在一個廣場演講.  Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was once invited to speak at a town square.

他講到一半的時候, 停下來喝 一口水.  這時, 臺下忽然遞過來一張紙條, 他看了一眼, 只見上面寫著兩個字 "傻瓜".  When he'd given half his speech and paused to take a drink of water, someone from the audience suddenly passed him a note.  Churchill looked it over, and saw the word "fool" written on the paper.

邱吉爾知道有人想藉這張紙條羞辱他, 他把紙條放在講臺上, 神態自若的說: "剛才有位聽眾送來一張紙條.  這位聽眾真糊塗, 只在紙上簽下大名, 卻忘了寫內容."  Churchill knew that someone wanted to use this note to shame him.  He put the note on the podium and spoke calmly: "Someone has sent me a note just now.  This person is very confused.  They wrote their name on the paper, but they forgot to include the message."

說完, 邱吉爾微微一笑, 又繼續他的演講.  After saying this, Churchill laughed heartily and continued his speech.

作家的皮箱 The Author's Suitcase

蓋達爾 (Арка́дий Петро́вич Го́ликов)* 是俄國的兒童文學作家, 空閒的時候, 他喜歡四處旅行.  Gaidar was a Russian writer of children's stories.  In his free time he liked to travel to many different places.

有一天, 他提著皮箱從車站走出來, 一個少年一眼就認出了他, 連忙走上前去, 跟他打招呼, 說自己是蓋達爾先生的忠實讀者.  蓋達爾很訝異, 在這個陌生的城市, 竟然有他的讀者.  One day, as he was carrying his leather suitcase out of the train station, a young man recognized him and hurried over.  The young man greeted him and told Gaidar that he had read his stories.  Gaidar was amazed to learn that he had fans [readers] in that unfamiliar city.

少年熱情的要幫蓋達爾提皮箱, 但是當他提起皮箱時, 卻愣住了, 因為那只黑褐色的皮箱, 不但老舊褪色, 還有幾處因為摩擦而造成的破洞.  少年不禁抬頭問: "您這麼有名, 寫的作品那麼好, 為什麼您的皮箱這麼差呢?"  The young man warmly offered to carry Gaidar's suitcase.  The young man was surprised by the suitcase as he lifted it up, its dark brown color having faded, and the suitcase being full of holes.  The young man lifted up his head and asked, "You are so famous, and the stories you have written are so good, how is it that your suitcase is in such poor condition?"

蓋達爾笑著說: "如果我的皮箱非常好, 而我的作品卻很差, 那就糟了!"  Gaidar laughed and said, "If my suitcase was in very good condition, my stories would not be so good.  That would be very unfortunate!"**

最短的演講 The Shortest Speech

艾森豪 (Dwight David Eisenhower) 曾任美國總統.  他在大學擔任校長期間, 經常出席各種活動.  Dwight David Eisenhower was once the President of the United States.  When he was the dean of a university, he had to attend many kinds of events.

有一次, 他參加一個名人演講會, 被安排在最後講話.  他先坐在一旁靜靜的聽著, 前面幾位名人個個高談濶論, 口若懸河, 眼看時間已經很晚了, 聽眾都露出不耐煩的神情.  One day, he attended a symposium featuring many famous speakers, and he was placed last in the speaking order.  At first he sat to the side, listening quietly.  Those speaking before him talked of great matters with forceful eloquence.  [As they spoke] it grew later and later, and those listening grew restless in their seats.

當艾森豪上臺時, 他決定放棄原先準備的講稿.  他說: "各位女士, 先生: 演講就像寫文章一樣, 都需要標點符號.  有的人喜歡用問號, 有的人喜歡用驚歎號.  今天, 我是最後一個演講人, 很榮幸有這個機會為今天晚上的活動, 畫上一個圓滿的句號.  謝謝, 晚安!"  When Eisenhower went up to the podium, he had already decided to discard the speech he had prepared.  He said, "Ladies and gentlemen, giving a speech is like writing an article - both [activities] require punctuation.  Some people like using question marks, while others like using exclamation points.  Today I am the last speaker, and it is with pleasure that I place a period at the end of this evening's event.  Thank you!  Good evening!"

他從容的走下講臺, 聽眾不停的向他揮手致意.  許多人都認為, 這是艾森豪最短的, 也是最令人難忘的一次演講.  As he descended the podium the audience shook his hands profusely.  Many people considered this his shortest and most memorable speech.

第二課 Lesson Two: 秋江獨釣 Fishing Alone by the River in Autumn

紅紅的落日, 灑下金色的光芒.  秋風由江面吹來, 捲起一道道的波浪; 白茫茫的蘆花, 像巨龍在秋風中翻滾.  歸巢的水鴨, 消失在暮色中.  大地在古廟的鐘聲裡, 顯得格外沉靜.  The red sun was sinking down, leaving behind a golden glow.  The autumn wind passed over the river, stirring up waves.  The white flowers tumbled back and forth like a dragon, and the ducks returning to their nests vanished into the twilight.  Apart from the sound of the old temple bells, the land was silent.

大文學家紀曉嵐, 陪著乾隆皇帝在江邊散步.  只見江畔有一條小船, 上面有個老漁翁, 手持魚竿, 靜靜的垂釣, 他目不轉睛的看著魚漂, 一動也不動.  不久, 水面上的魚漂晃動了一下, 老漁翁用力拉起魚竿, 釣上一條活蹦亂跳的金色大鯉魚; 他非常高興的拍著大腿, 哈哈大笑.  蘆草中的水鳥都嚇得拍翅飛起, 揚起片片白色的蘆花.  The great writer Ji Shiao-lan was accompanying the emperor Chian Loong*** on his walk beside the river.  The only thing they noticed was a small boat with a fisherman upon the river.  The fisherman held a fishing pole, quietly fishing.  He looked at his float blankly, sitting motionless.  Soon after, the float moved a bit on the water, and the fisherman struggled with his fishing pole.  He had hooked a golden carp which leapt from the water.  In his happiness he slapped his thighs and laughed.  The birds in the reeds, startled by his laughter, took flight, causing a commotion among the white flowers there.

乾隆皇帝覺得這個情景很有詩意, 回頭看一看能詩能文的紀曉嵐, 當場要他作一首七言絕句, 還故意為難紀曉嵐, 限定他在二十八個字中, 必須用十個 "一" 字.  紀曉嵐望著江上的漁舟, 來來回回的走了幾步, 悠然的吟唱:  Emperor Chian Long thought this scene very poetic, and turned back to Ji Shiao-lan, the man of letters.  He told the poet to compose a "seven quatrain poem," and moreover requested that Ji Shiao-lan restrict the poem to 18 words in length.  The poet also had to use the character for "one" 10 times.  Ji Shiao-lan looked toward the fishing boat, then toward the river, and walked back and forth several times.  Suddenly he spoke:

一篙一櫓漁舟, 一丈長竿一寸鉤.
A fishing boat pushed about by a single pole,
A long fishing pole baited with a single hook.

一拍一呼復一笑, 一人獨占一江秋.
With a clap and a cheer,
One man commands the autumn river.

乾隆皇帝輕吟一遍, 覺得這首詩用字絕妙, 詩中不但嵌入十個 "一" 字, 而且把老人單獨在江邊釣魚的情態, 描寫得生動傳神.  他不禁點頭笑道: "好!  好!  好一幅秋江獨釣圖!  好一個機智的紀曉嵐啊!"  Emperor Chian Loong exclaimed, amazed at the way the words [he had requested] were incorporated into the poem.  The poem didn't only include 10 "ones," but also gave a strong impression of how the fisherman stood alone, fishing upon the river.  He laughed aloud, "Good!  Good!  Good! - a picture of fishing alone on the river in the autumn!  Skillful, Ji Shiao-lan!"

*Arkady Gaidar, Russian writer of children's stories.  The Russian name used in the textbook is incorrect, so I'm replacing that with the correct one.  Thanks, Wikipedia!

**Maybe it made more sense in Russian?

***His name is usually written as "Qianlong."  I dislike using the "Q" for the ㄑ sound in Chinese, because most English speakers unfamiliar with Mandarin don't know what to make of it.