Words & phrases
挑水
tiāo shuǐ
carry water on a pole
分工
fēn gōng
division of work
Model sentences
一个和尚住在山上的小寺院里。
yí ge hé shang zhù zài shān shàng de xiǎo sì yuàn lǐ。
One monk lives in a small temple on the mountain.
起初，他每天独自下山挑水。
qǐ chū， tā měi tiān dú zì xià shān tiāo shuǐ。
At first, he goes down the mountain alone each day to fetch water.
三个和尚商量分工，轮流完成不同任务。
sān gè hé shang shāng liáng fēn gōng， lún liú wán chéng bù tóng rèn wù。
The three monks divide the work and take turns completing different tasks.
每个人承担自己的责任，水缸才不会空。
měi gè rén chéng dān zì jǐ de zé rèn， shuǐ gāng cái bú huì kōng。
Only when everyone takes responsibility will the water jar remain filled.
只顾争论谁做得多，问题不会自己解决。
zhǐ gù zhēng lùn shuí zuò de duō， wèn tí bú huì zì jǐ jiě jué。
Arguing only about who does more will not solve the problem.
大家真诚合作以后，挑水变得轻松多了。
dà jiā zhēn chéng hé zuò yǐ hòu， tiāo shuǐ biàn de qīng sōng duō le。
After everyone cooperates sincerely, carrying water becomes much easier.
三个和尚
山上的小寺庙里，起初只住着一个和尚。每天清晨，他提着两个水桶下山，到河边装满水，再挑回寺里。水缸总是满的，他煮饭、泡茶，都不发愁。
shān shàng de xiǎo sì miào lǐ， qǐ chū zhǐ zhù zhe yí ge hé shang。 měi tiān qīng chén， tā tí zhe liǎng gè shuǐ tǒng xià shān， dào hé biān zhuāng mǎn shuǐ， zài tiāo huí sì lǐ。 shuǐ gāng zǒng shì mǎn de， tā zhǔ fàn、 pào chá， dōu bù fā chóu。
At first, only one monk lived in a small mountain temple. Each morning he carried two buckets down to the river, filled them and brought them back. With the jar full, cooking and making tea were easy.
后来，一个高个子和尚来到寺庙。两人决定抬一桶水，可一高一矮，走起路来水桶总向一边斜。他们停下来，把绳子的位置调整好，终于把水抬上山。
hòu lái， yí ge gāo gè zi hé shang lái dào sì miào。 liǎng rén jué dìng tái yì tǒng shuǐ， kě yì gāo yì ǎi， zǒu qǐ lù lái shuǐ tǒng zǒng xiàng yì biān xié。 tā men tíng xià lai， bǎ shéng zi de wèi zhì tiáo zhěng hǎo， zhōng yú bǎ shuǐ tái shàng shān。
A tall monk later arrived. The two decided to carry one bucket together, but their different heights made it tilt. They stopped, adjusted the rope and managed to bring the water uphill.
第三个和尚来了，水喝得更多了，挑水的事却没人愿意做。第一个说：“我昨天挑过。”第二个说：“今天该他去了。”第三个说：“我刚来，还不认识路。”
dì sān gè hé shang lái le， shuǐ hē de gèng duō le， tiāo shuǐ de shì què méi rén yuàn yì zuò。 dì yī ge shuō：“wǒ zuó tiān tiāo guò。” dì èr gè shuō：“jīn tiān gāi tā qù le。” dì sān gè shuō：“wǒ gāng lái， hái bù rèn shi lù。”
A third monk arrived. More water was needed, yet nobody wanted to fetch it. “I did it yesterday,” said the first. “It is his turn,” said the second. “I have just arrived and do not know the way,” said the third.
他们争来争去，水缸见了底。一个口渴得舔嘴唇，另一个望着空茶壶，谁也不肯先下山。晚上，一只老鼠碰倒烛台，火苗窜到帘子上，寺庙里突然冒起烟。
tā men zhēng lái zhēng qù， shuǐ gāng jiàn le dǐ。 yí ge kǒu kě de tiǎn zuǐ chún， lìng yí ge wàng zhe kōng chá hú， shuí yě bù kěn xiān xià shān。 wǎn shàng， yì zhī lǎo shǔ pèng dào zhú tái， huǒ miáo cuàn dào lián zi shàng， sì miào lǐ tū rán mào qǐ yān。
They argued until the water jar was empty. One licked his dry lips and another stared at the empty teapot, but nobody went downhill. That night, a mouse knocked over a candle and the curtain caught fire.
三个和尚急忙跑来，舀水的瓢却碰到了空缸。他们再也不争了：一个跑下山打水，一个在山路上接应，另一个把水送到起火的地方。
sān gè hé shang jí máng pǎo lái， yǎo shuǐ de piáo què pèng dào le kōng gāng。 tā men zài yě bù zhēng le： yí ge pǎo xià shān dǎ shuǐ， yí ge zài shān lù shàng jiē yìng， lìng yí ge bǎ shuǐ sòng dào qǐ huǒ de dì fang。
They rushed over, but the dipper struck an empty jar. They stopped arguing: one fetched water below, one helped along the path and one carried it to the fire.
火终于扑灭了，三个人满脸灰，坐在门口喘气。第二天，他们一起修好损坏的地方，又商量轮流挑水。从那以后，水缸不再空着，寺庙里也恢复了平静。
huǒ zhōng yú pū miè le， sān gè rén mǎn liǎn huī， zuò zài mén kǒu chuǎn qì。 dì èr tiān， tā men yì qǐ xiū hǎo sǔn huài de dì fang， yòu shāng liáng lún liú tiāo shuǐ。 cóng nà yǐ hòu， shuǐ gāng bù zài kōng zhe， sì miào lǐ yě huī fù le píng jìng。
At last the fire was out. Soot-covered, they sat panting by the door. The next day they repaired the damage and agreed to take turns fetching water. The jar stayed full and peace returned.
第三个和尚拿起空桶，先走向山路。另两个望着他的背影，也把绳子和扁担准备好，等他回来接下一趟。
dì sān gè hé shang ná qǐ kōng tǒng， xiān zǒu xiàng shān lù。 lìng liǎng gè wàng zhe tā de bèi yǐng， yě bǎ shéng zi hé biǎn dàn zhǔn bèi hǎo， děng tā huí lái jiē xià yí tàng。
The third monk took an empty bucket down the path. The others readied ropes and a carrying pole for the next turn.
Conversation
A 为什么三个和尚反而没水喝？
wèi shén me sān gè hé shang fǎn ér méi shuǐ hē？
Why do three monks end up without water?
B 他们都等别人去挑水，没有清楚分工。
tā men dōu děng bié rén qù tiāo shuǐ， méi yǒu qīng chu fēn gōng。
Each waits for someone else; responsibilities are unclear.
A 人数多是不是一定更好？
rén shù duō shì bú shì yí dìng gèng hǎo？
Are more people necessarily better?
B 不一定，还要看大家怎样合作。
bù yí dìng， hái yào kàn dà jiā zěn yàng hé zuò。
Not necessarily; it depends on how they cooperate.
A 我们的海报任务怎么安排？
wǒ men de hǎi bào rèn wù zěn me ān pái？
How should we organise our poster task?
B 你写标题，我整理图片，小林检查文字。
nǐ xiě biāo tí， wǒ zhěng lǐ tú piàn， xiǎo lín jiǎn chá wén zì。
You write the title, I organise images, and Lin checks the text.
