During the Spring and Autumn Period, Emperor Chu ordered Bole to buy a swift horse. However, after visiting several states he still couldn't find the horse he desired.
One day, Bole saw a horse drawing a wagon loaded with salt up a steep hill. The horse struggled to draw the wagon. When Bole approached, the horse suddenly raised its head and stared into his eyes, neighing loudly. It looked as though he wanted to speak to Bole. From the neigh, Bole immediately knew he'd found a rare and good horse.
Yet, when Emperor Wu saw the horse he deemed it too skinny, and thought Bole had made a fool of him. He was unhappy. Bole explained, "It really is a swift horse. As long as it's well fed, it will regain its strength no less than half a month."
The Emperor thus ordered a groom to take care of the horse. As expected, the horse quickly became very strong. When the Emperor rode the animal, it ran for hundreds of miles. The Emperor was very delighted, and named it 千里马(a horse that can sustain long-distance rides). Later, this horse greatly aided to Emperor Chu in the battle field.
词语注释:
中意:( zhòng yì) v. catch one's fancy
吃力:( chīlì) v. be a strain
陡坡:( dǒupō) n. steep slope
嘶鸣:( sīmíng) v. neigh
骏马:( jùnmǎ) n. fine horse
愚弄:(yúnòng) v. make fool of
精心:( jīngxīn) adv. elaborately
精壮:( jīngzhuàng) adj. strong
千里马:( qiānlǐmǎ) n. pure breed horse that can sustain long-distance rides
功劳:( gōngláo) n. contribution
意义:
"伯乐相马"原义指伯乐善于发现好马。后来比喻善于发现和选拔人才。
The original meaning of "伯乐相马" refers to Bole's ability to find a good horse. Later it was used as metaphor for someone who is good at discovering talent.
例句:
1、一个优秀的领导者,应该像伯乐相马一样,把优秀人才选拔出来。 A good leader should select talents as Bole chose a horse.
2、虽然他具有伯乐相马的眼光,可是心胸太狭窄,所以很多人才都被埋没了。 Although he is good at discovering talents, he was very narrow-minded so many skilled people were neglected.