从前有个郑国人，他打算到集市上买双鞋子。
于是，他先把自己脚的长短量了一下，然后来到了集市上，找到卖鞋的地方。
正要买鞋时，它忽然想起尺码忘在家里了，于是赶紧往家跑。
他跑回家后，拿了尺码，等他再跑回集市时，集市已经散了。
别人知道了这件事，觉得很奇怪，就问他：“你为什么不用自己的脚去试试鞋子呢？
”这个买鞋的郑国人说：“我相信我量过的尺码很准确，至于脚，那就不一定可靠了。
”这个郑国人只相信自己量脚得到的尺码，而不相信自己的脚，最终不但没买到鞋子，还成为了别人的笑柄。
所以我们做事要从实际出发，学会灵活变通。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
narration saved locally, offline — from https://download.mandarinbean.com/audio?source=aHR0cHM6Ly90cmFmZmljLmxpYnN5bi5jb20vbGVhcm5jaGluZXNlL0J1eWluZ19hX1BhaXJfb2ZfU2hvZXNfLV80MDQyLm1wMw&filename=Buying-a-Pair-of-Shoes.mp3&signature=6b693fd274ddebe6fbbebafcdc651e9e25a5949ac26ba5bbeaf41b25a1945657
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 从前 | cóng qián | previously / formerly / once upon a time |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is |
| 个 | gè | classifier for people or objects in general |
| 郑国 | Zhèng Guó | the ancient State of Zheng; also used as a place reference in historical contexts |
| 人 | rén | person; people |
| 他 | tā | he; him; his |
| 打算 | dǎ suàn | to plan / to intend / to calculate |
| 到 | dào | to reach; to arrive / to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point) / (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point) |
| 集市 | jí shì | market; bazaar; fair |
| 上 | shàng | (noun suffix) on; above |
| 买 | mǎi | to buy / to purchase |
| 双 | shuāng | pair |
| 鞋子 | xié zi | shoe |
| 于是 | yú shì | thereupon; as a result; consequently; thus; hence |
| 先 | xiān | beforehand; first; earlier / at first; originally / for the time being; for now |
| 把 | bǎ | (used to put the object before the verb: 把[ba3] + {noun} + {verb}) |
| 自己 | zì jǐ | oneself; (attributive) one's own |
| 脚 | jiǎo | foot / leg (of an animal or an object) / base (of an object) |
| 的 | de | possessive particle (of; 's) / modifying particle (used after an attribute to modify a noun or to form a nominal expression) |
| 长短 | cháng duǎn | length / accident; mishap / right and wrong; good and bad; merits and demerits |
| 量 | liáng | to measure |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker) / (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now) |
| 一下 | yī xià | (after a verb) a bit; a little (indicating brief duration, or softening the tone, or suggesting giving sth a try) |
| 然后 | rán hòu | then; after that; afterwards |
| 来 | lái | to come |
| 找 | zhǎo | to try to find / to look for / to call on sb / to find / to seek |
| 卖 | mài | to sell |
| 鞋 | xié | shoe |
| 地方 | dì fang | place; location; area; space; territory / aspect; part |
| 正 | zhèng | exactly / just (at that time) / right (in that place) |
| 要 | yào | will; shall; about to / need to; should / if |
| 时 | shí | when |
| 它 | tā | it |
| 忽然 | hū rán | suddenly; all of a sudden |
| 想 | xiǎng | to think (about) / to think of; to devise / to think (that); to believe (that) |
| 起 | qǐ | verb suffix, to start / starting from (a time, place, price etc) |
| 尺码 | chǐ mǎ | size / fitting (of apparel) |
| 忘 | wàng | to forget / to overlook / to neglect |
| 在 | zài | (of sb or sth) to be (located) at |
| 家 | jiā | home / family / (polite) my (sister, uncle etc) |
| 里 | lǐ | lining / interior / inside |
| 赶紧 | gǎn jǐn | hurriedly / without delay |
| 往 | wǎng | to / towards / (of a train) bound for |
| 跑 | pǎo | to run / to run away / to escape / to run around (on errands etc) / (of a gas or liquid) to leak or evaporate |
| 回 | huí | to go back / to turn around / to answer / to return |
| 后 | hòu | afterwards / after |
| 拿 | ná | to hold / to seize / to catch / to apprehend / to take |
| 等 | děng | by the time; when; till |
| 再 | zài | again; once more; re- |
| 已经 | yǐ jīng | already |
| 散 | sàn | to scatter / to break up / to disperse / to disseminate / to dispel / (coll.) to sack |
| 别人 | bié rén | other people; others; other person |
| 知道 | zhī dào | to know; to become aware of |
| 这 | zhè | this; these |
| 件 | jiàn | classifier for events, things, clothes etc |
| 事 | shì | matter / thing / item / affair |
| 觉得 | jué de | to think that ...; to feel that ... |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite |
| 奇怪 | qí guài | strange / odd |
| 就 | jiù | in that case; then |
| 问 | wèn | to ask; to inquire |
| 你 | nǐ | you |
| 为什么 | wèi shén me | why? / for what reason? |
| 不 | bù | no; not so |
| 用 | yòng | to use; to make use of; to employ / (coverb) with; using |
| 去 | qù | to go, to go to |
| 试 | shì | to test / to try |
| 呢 | ne | (sentence-final particle) used in questions to link back to prior discourse or context ("what about...?", "and...?") |
| 说 | shuō | to speak; to talk; to say |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 相信 | xiāng xìn | to believe; to be convinced; to accept as true |
| 过 | guo | (experienced action marker) |
| 准确 | zhǔn què | accurate; exact; precise |
| 至于 | zhì yú | as for / as to |
| 那 | nà | then (in that case) |
| 一定 | yī dìng | surely; certainly; definitely |
| 可靠 | kě kào | reliable |
| 只 | zhǐ | only; merely; just |
| 得 | dé | to obtain / to get / to gain / to catch (a disease) |
| 而 | ér | but (not) / yet (not) / (indicates contrast) |
| 最终 | zuì zhōng | final; ultimate |
| 不但 | bù dàn | not only (... but also ...) |
| 没 | méi | (negative prefix for verbs) have not; not |
| 还 | hái | in addition, also, else, even |
| 成为 | chéng wéi | to become; to turn into |
| 笑柄 | xiào bǐng | a matter for ridicule / an object of ridicule / laughingstock |
| 所以 | suǒ yǐ | therefore / as a result / so |
| 我们 | wǒ men | we; us; ourselves; our |
| 做 | zuò | to do; to engage in; to hold (a party etc) |
| 从 | cóng | from; through; via / (bound form) retainer; attendant / (bound form) assistant; auxiliary; subordinate / (bound form) related by common paternal grandfather or earlier ancestor |
| 实际 | shí jì | reality / practice |
| 出发 | chū fā | to set off / to start (on a journey) |
| 学 | xué | to learn / to study / to imitate |
| 会 | huì | can; to have the skill; to know how to |
| 灵活 | líng huó | flexible / nimble / agile |
| 变通 | biàn tōng | to act differently in different situations / to accommodate to circumstances |