Chinese story 【故事】南郭先生

                                     南郭先生① 
                      A Mr. Named Nanguo

1．古时候，有一个国王喜欢听乐队一起演奏乐器。
In ancient times, there lived a king who was fond of music played by a band.

2．南郭先生不会吹奏，但也混在乐队中，一直没有被国王发现。
A man named Nanguo was not good at playing the instrument at all. But he just stood in the line and pretended to play. The king didn’t know he was faking.

3．国王死了，他的儿子继承了王位。新国王也喜欢听人演奏。
When the king died, his son became the new ruler. He was fond of music, too.

4．新国王让乐队的人一个一个地单独为他吹奏。
But the new ruler preferred solos. He ordered the musicians to play the music one by one.

5．南郭先生知道自己混不下去了，便偷偷地逃走了。
This time Nanguo knew that he couldn’t pass himself off. Then he sneaked away as fast as he could.

　　Note: ① 南郭先生：人名

语言点滴 Language Tips

　　中国有一个成语“滥竽充数”就是出自这个故事。“滥”指不切实际；“竽”是古代一种竹子制成的吹奏乐器。这个成语比喻没有本事的人混在有真才实学的人里面充数，或以次充好。

Chinese idiom,“滥竽充数”（Be there just to make up the number）, comes from this story, in which “滥”means unpractical and“竽”is a musical instrument made of bamboos. This idiom is used to mock someone who passes for a specialist.

阅读 Reading Comprehension 

　　1.What does 混mean in the second paragraph?

(a) 混合     (b) 蒙混，冒充    (c) 不清洁

(a) mix      (b) pass sb off as     (c)  unclear

2 .南郭先生会吹奏乐器吗？ Could Mr. Nanguo play the instrument?

(a) 会     (b) 不会    (c) 不知道

(a) could   (b) couldn’t  (c)  unknown

3. 最后，南郭先生为什么逃走了？ Why did Nanguo sneak away at last?

(a)他不喜欢新国王          He didn’t like the new ruler.

(b)他想去别的国家吹奏乐器    He wanted to play his instrument in other countries.

(c)他怕新国王知道他不会吹奏乐器     He worried that the new ruler would find he was unable to play the instruments.