天涯论坛婆媳关系罚站:告诉一些精短易读的英语小故事

闻鸡起舞

　　解释：

　　凌晨听到鸡鸣就起来舞剑，形容有志者及时奋发的精神。

　　Story:

　　During the Western Jin Dynasty the young friends Zu Ti and Liu Kun were ambitious to serve their country, and so trained themselves diligently in the martial arts.

　　One dawn Zu Ti was suddenly woken by the crowing of the roosters. He wakened Liu Kun, saying, "Although this crowing is annoying, we can put it to good use by using it as a signal to get up and practice swordplay. "

　　"That’s a good idea! " Liu Kun agreed happily. Then the two went out to the yard and began to practice their sword skills.

　　From then on the two got up to exercise every day at dawn.
　　Later, their diligence paid off, when Zu Ti, already an accomplished soldier, wrote to the emperor requesting to be allowed to lead an army against the invading Huns.

　　The emperor was pleased, and appointed Zu Ti senior general. Thanks to their early self-discipline, Zu Ti and Liu Kun proved to be superb commanders, and succeeded in driving the Huns from Western Jin territory.