Words & phrases
船身
chuán shēn
body of a boat
Model sentences
没有大秤，怎样知道大象的重量？
méi yǒu dà chèng， zěn yàng zhī dào dà xiàng de zhòng liàng？
Without a large scale, how can they find the elephant's weight?
曹冲先让大象站到船上。
cáo chōng xiān ràng dà xiàng zhàn dào chuán shàng。
Cao Chong first has the elephant stand on the boat.
大象上船以后，船身向下沉。
dà xiàng shàng chuán yǐ hòu， chuán shēn xiàng xià chén。
After the elephant boards, the body of the boat sinks lower.
他在船身和水面相接的水线处做记号。
tā zài chuán shēn hé shuǐ miàn xiàng jiē de shuǐ xiàn chù zuò jì hào。
He makes a mark at the waterline where the boat meets the water.
水面到了记号的位置，大家停止搬石头。
shuǐ miàn dào le jì hào de wèi zhì， dà jiā tíng zhǐ bān shí tou。
When the water reaches the mark, everyone stops loading stones.
把石头分批称重，再相加就能估算结果。
bǎ shí tou fēn pī chēng zhòng， zài xiāng jiā jiù néng gū suàn jié guǒ。
Weighing the stones in batches and adding them gives an estimate.
曹冲称象
有人送来一头大象，曹操带着人来看。大象又高又大，腿像粗柱子。曹操问：“谁有办法称出它的重量？”大家一时都答不上来。
yǒu rén sòng lái yì tóu dà xiàng， cáo cāo dài zhe rén lái kàn。 dà xiàng yòu gāo yòu dà， tuǐ xiàng cū zhù zi。 cáo cāo wèn：“shuí yǒu bàn fǎ chēng chū tā de zhòng liàng？” dà jiā yī shí dōu dá bù shàng lái。
When an elephant was presented to Cao Cao, he came to see it. Its legs were like thick pillars. “Who can weigh it?” he asked, but nobody could answer at first.
有人提议造一杆大秤，有人却问谁能提得动。曹冲站出来说：“我有一个办法，请把大象带到河边。”众人跟着他来到一条船旁。
yǒu rén tí yì zào yì gǎn dà chèng， yǒu rén què wèn shuí néng tí de dòng。 cáo chōng zhàn chū lái shuō：“wǒ yǒu yí ge bàn fǎ， qǐng bǎ dà xiàng dài dào hé biān。” zhòng rén gēn zhe tā lái dào yì tiáo chuán páng。
Someone proposed a large scale, but another asked who could lift it. Cao Chong said, “I have a way. Bring it to the river.” They followed him to a boat.
曹冲先让大象站到船上。船身向下沉，他便在船身和水面相接的地方做记号，再让大象离开船。
cáo chōng xiān ràng dà xiàng zhàn dào chuán shàng。 chuán shēn xiàng xià chén， tā biàn zài chuán shēn hé shuǐ miàn xiàng jiē de dì fang zuò jì hào， zài ràng dà xiàng lí kāi chuán。
Cao Chong first has the elephant stand on the boat. As the boat sinks lower, he marks where its side meets the water, then has the elephant leave the boat.
接着把石头一批一批搬上去，直到船再次沉到同样的记号。
jiē zhe bǎ shí tou yì pī yì pī bān shàng qù， zhí dào chuán zài cì chén dào tóng yàng de jì hào。
Stones are then added in batches until the boat sinks to the same mark again.
石头搬上船，船身一点点下沉。曹冲站在岸边，盯着那条记号。等水面恰好碰到记号，他马上举起手说：“够了，不要再搬了！”
shí tou bān shàng chuán， chuán shēn yì diǎn diǎn xià chén。 cáo chōng zhàn zài àn biān， dīng zhe nà tiáo jì hào。 děng shuǐ miàn qià hǎo pèng dào jì hào， tā mǎ shàng jǔ qǐ shǒu shuō：“gòu le， bú yào zài bān le！”
As stones were loaded, the boat sank lower. Watching the mark, Cao Chong raised his hand when it reached the water. “Enough! Do not add any more!”
最后，把石头分开称重，再把重量相加，就能估计大象的重量。
zuì hòu， bǎ shí tou fēn kāi chēng zhòng， zài bǎ zhòng liàng xiāng jiā， jiù néng gū jì dà xiàng de zhòng liàng。
Finally the stones are weighed in smaller batches and their weights added to estimate the elephant's weight.
船上的石头称完以后，曹冲把每次的重量相加，告诉大家大象的重量。
chuán shàng de shí tou chēng wán yǐ hòu， cáo chōng bǎ měi cì de zhòng liàng xiāng jiā， gào su dà jiā dà xiàng de zhòng liàng。
After all the stones are weighed, Cao Chong adds their weights and tells everyone the elephant’s weight.
周围的人看看船身上的记号，又看看称过的石头，终于明白了这个办法。
zhōu wéi de rén kàn kan chuán shēn shàng de jì hào， yòu kàn kan chēng guò de shí tou， zhōng yú míng bái le zhè ge bàn fǎ。
People look at the mark on the boat and the weighed stones and finally understand the method.
大象静静站在岸边，曹冲却已经把一个难题，变成了大家能够一步步完成的小事。
dà xiàng jìng jìng zhàn zài àn biān， cáo chōng què yǐ jīng bǎ yí ge nán tí， biàn chéng le dà jiā néng gòu yí bù bù wán chéng de xiǎo shì。
The elephant stands quietly on shore, while Cao Chong has turned a difficult problem into smaller steps everyone can complete.
Conversation
A 为什么先让大象上船？
wèi shén me xiān ràng dà xiàng shàng chuán？
Why put the elephant on the boat first?
B 为了知道有大象时水线在哪里。
wèi le zhī dào yǒu dà xiàng shí shuǐ xiàn zài nǎ lǐ。
To find the waterline when the elephant is aboard.
A 记号做好以后呢？
jì hào zuò hǎo yǐ hòu ne？
What happens after the mark is made?
B 让大象离开，再一批一批放石头。
ràng dà xiàng lí kāi， zài yì pī yì pī fàng shí tou。
The elephant leaves, then stones are added in batches.
A 什么时候停止加石头？
shén me shí hou tíng zhǐ jiā shí tou？
When do they stop adding stones?
B 水线回到同样的记号时。
shuǐ xiàn huí dào tóng yàng de jì hào shí。
When the waterline reaches the same mark.
