Words & phrases
水缸
shuǐ gāng
large water jar
Model sentences
院子里放着一口大水缸。
yuàn zi lǐ fàng zhe yì kǒu dà shuǐ gāng。
There is a large water jar in the courtyard.
司马光捡起一块石头。
sī mǎ guāng jiǎn qǐ yí kuài shí tou。
Sima Guang picks up a stone.
他砸破水缸，及时救人。
tā zá pò shuǐ gāng， jí shí jiù rén。
He breaks the jar and rescues the child in time.
遇到意外时要保持冷静。
yù dào yì wài shí yào bǎo chí lěng jìng。
Stay calm when an accident happens.
他很快想出了一个办法。
tā hěn kuài xiǎng chū le yí ge bàn fǎ。
He quickly thinks of a solution.
水从破洞里流出来了。
shuǐ cóng pò dòng lǐ liú chū lái le。
Water flows out through the hole.
司马光
小时候，司马光常和伙伴在院子里玩。一天，一个孩子爬上大水缸旁边，脚下一滑，扑通掉进了缸里。
xiǎo shí hou， sī mǎ guāng cháng hé huǒ bàn zài yuàn zi lǐ wán。 yì tiān， yí ge hái zi pá shàng dà shuǐ gāng páng biān， jiǎo xià yì huá， pū tōng diào jìn le gāng lǐ。
As a boy, Sima Guang often played in a courtyard with friends. One day, a child climbed beside a large water jar, slipped and fell in with a splash.
水缸很高，别的孩子够不到里面，有人急得哭，有人跑去找大人。
shuǐ gāng hěn gāo， bié de hái zi gòu bú dào lǐ miàn， yǒu rén jí de kū， yǒu rén pǎo qù zhǎo dà rén。
The jar is tall and the other children cannot reach inside; some cry in distress and others run to find an adult.
司马光看到这种情况，没有只想着怎样爬上水缸，而是想怎样让里面的水少一点。
sī mǎ guāng kàn dào zhè zhǒng qíng kuàng， méi yǒu zhǐ xiǎng zhe zěn yàng pá shàng shuǐ gāng， ér shì xiǎng zěn yàng ràng lǐ miàn de shuǐ shǎo yì diǎn。
Sima Guang considers how to reduce the water inside rather than only thinking about how to climb onto the jar.
他找来一块石头，砸开了水缸，水从破口流出去。
tā zhǎo lái yí kuài shí tou， zá kāi le shuǐ gāng， shuǐ cóng pò kǒu liú chū qu。
He finds a stone and breaks the jar so that water flows through the opening.
水一下涌出来，缸里的孩子露出了头。伙伴们赶紧扶住他，把他从破口旁边拉到地上。
shuǐ yí xià yǒng chū lái， gāng lǐ de hái zi lù chū le tóu。 huǒ bàn men gǎn jǐn fú zhù tā， bǎ tā cóng pò kǒu páng biān lā dào dì shàng。
Water rushed out and the child's head appeared. The others held him and helped him through the opening onto the ground.
大人听见叫声赶来，看见孩子已经脱险，才放下心。司马光把石头放在一边，衣服上还溅着刚才砸缸的水。
dà rén tīng jiàn jiào shēng gǎn lái， kàn jiàn hái zi yǐ jīng tuō xiǎn， cái fàng xià xīn。 sī mǎ guāng bǎ shí tou fàng zài yì biān， yī fú shàng hái jiàn zhe gāng cái zá gāng de shuǐ。
The adults arrived at the cries and were relieved to find the child safe. Sima Guang set the stone aside, his clothes still wet from breaking the jar.
伙伴们围着他，问他怎么想到这个办法。他指着破了的缸说：“我们拉不出他，可以先让水出来呀！”
huǒ bàn men wéi zhe tā， wèn tā zěn me xiǎng dào zhè ge bàn fǎ。 tā zhǐ zhe pò le de gāng shuō：“wǒ men lā bù chū tā， kě yǐ xiān ràng shuǐ chū lái ya！”
The children asked how he had thought of it. Pointing at the broken jar, he said, “We could not pull him out, but we could let the water out first!”
Conversation
A 为什么其他孩子够不到水缸里面？
wèi shén me qí tā hái zi gòu bú dào shuǐ gāng lǐ miàn？
Why can the other children not reach inside the jar?
B 因为水缸很高。
yīn wèi shuǐ gāng hěn gāo。
Because the jar is tall.
A 司马光想的办法有什么不同？
sī mǎ guāng xiǎng de bàn fǎ yǒu shén me bù tóng？
How is Sima Guang's approach different?
B 他想让水流出来，而不是只想把人拉出来。
tā xiǎng ràng shuǐ liú chū lái， ér bú shì zhǐ xiǎng bǎ rén lā chū lái。
He thinks about letting the water out instead of only pulling the child out.
A 故事里哪件事先发生？
gù shì lǐ nǎ jiàn shì xiān fā shēng？
What happens first in the story?
B 孩子掉进水缸，然后大家想办法。
hái zi diào jìn shuǐ gāng， rán hòu dà jiā xiǎng bàn fǎ。
The child falls into the jar, then the others look for a solution.
