Chinese idioms: 悬梁刺股（Xuánliáng-cìgǔ）

悬梁刺股Xuánliáng-cìgǔ
Xīhàn shíqī yǒu gè jiào Sūnjìnɡ de Zhènɡzhìjiā,xuéxí fēichánɡ kèkǔ.Tā chánɡchánɡ cónɡ zǎoshɑnɡ xué dào wǎnshɑnɡ,kěshì dúshū shíjiān chánɡ le jiù rónɡyì kùn dé dádúnér.Wèile bù yǐnɡxiǎnɡ xuéxí,tā yònɡ shénɡzi bǎ zìjǐ de tóufɑ bǎnɡzài fánɡliánɡ shànɡ,yì dádúnér shénɡzi jiùhuì lāzhù tóufɑ, zhěnɡgè rén mǎshànɡ jiù qīnɡxǐnɡ le.
西汉时期有个叫孙敬的政治家，学习非常刻苦。他常常从早上学到晚上，可是读书时间长了就容易困得打盹儿。为了不影响学习，他用绳子把自己的头发绑在房梁上，一打盹儿绳子就会拉住头发，整个人马上就清醒了。
Durning the Western Han Dynasty there was a statesman named Sun Jing who studied very hard at his early age. He often studied from morning till evening, but because he was studying for so long that it was easy to doze off. As not to impede his study, he used a rope to tie his hair to the house beam so that if he fell asleep it would pull on his hair and he would immediately come awake.

Zhànguó shíqī háiyǒu yígè zhùmínɡ de Zhènɡzhìjiā jiào Sūqín.Tā chánɡchánɡ dúshū dào hěn wǎn,wéile bú rànɡ zìjǐ shuìzháo,tā zhǔnbèi le yìbǎ zhuīzi,yí juédé kùn jiù yònɡ zhuīzi zài zìjǐ de dàtuǐ shànɡ cì yí xià,ránhòu jìxù dúshū.
战国时期还有一个著名的政治家叫苏秦。他常常读书到很晚，为了不让自己睡着，他准备了一把锥子，一觉得困就用锥子在自己的大腿上刺一下，然后继续读书。
During the Warring States period there was another statesman called Su Qin. He often studied until very late, and in order not to fall asleep he prepared an awl. Whenever he felt sleepy, he would poke himself in the leg with it and then continued to study.
Words：
政治家(zhèngzhì jiā)： n. statesman
绑(bǎng) ： v. tie
房梁(fángliáng)： n. beam
打盹儿(dǎ dǔnr) ： v. take a nap
清醒(qīngxǐng)： adj. clear-headed
锥子(zhuīzi)： n. awl
刺(cì)： v. stab

Meanings：
悬梁刺股：“悬”的意思是“挂”，“梁”指的是“房梁”，“股”的意思是“大腿”。“悬梁刺股”形容发奋读书，刻苦学习。
 
"悬(xuán)" means "to hang"; "梁(liáng)" means the "house beam"; "股(gǔ)" means "legs". "悬梁刺股(Xuánliáng-Cìgǔ)" describes somebody working very hard and grinding away at his studies.
Sentences：
1.Zhǐyào náchū Xuánliánɡ-cìgǔ de jīnɡshen,nǐ yídìnɡ huì qǔdé hǎo chénɡjì de.
只要拿出悬梁刺股的精神，你一定会取得好成绩的。
 
You only have to use the determination of 悬梁刺股 and you will definitely suceed.

2.Wèile kǎoshànɡ mínɡpái dàxué,tā měitiān xuánliánɡ-cìgǔ,kèkǔ nǔlì dì xuéxí.
为了考上名牌大学，他每天悬梁刺股，刻苦努力地学习。
 
In order to be recruited by a prestigious university, he worked in the spirit of 悬梁刺股, and studied very hard.