中國成語故事中英對照 守株待兔

　　In the Spring and Autumn Period, a farmer in the State of Song was one day working in the fields when he saw a rabbit bump into a tree stump(樹樁) accidentally and break its neck. The farmer took the rabbit home, and cooked himself a delicious meal. That night he thought, 'I needn't work so hard. All I have to do is wait for a rabbit each day by the stump.' So from then on he gave up farming, and simply sat by the stump waiting for rabbits to come and run into it.

　　This idiom satirizes(諷刺，挖苦) those who just wait for a stroke of luck, rather than making efforts to obtain what they need.

　　守株待兔

　　宋國有個農(nóng)夫正在田里翻土。突然，他看見有一只野兔從旁邊的草叢里慌慌張張地竄出來，一頭撞在田邊的樹墩子上，便倒在那兒一動也不動了。農(nóng)民走過去一看：兔子死了。因?yàn)樗寂艿乃俣忍?，把脖子都撞?shé)了。農(nóng)民高興極了，他一點(diǎn)力氣沒花，就白撿了一只又肥又大的野兔。他心想;要是天天都能撿到野兔，日子就好過了。從此，他再也不肯出力氣種地了。每天，他把鋤頭放在身邊，就躺在樹墩子跟前，等待著第二只、第三只野兔自己撞到這樹墩子上來。世上哪有那么多便宜事啊。農(nóng)民當(dāng)然沒有再撿到撞死的野兔，而他的田地卻荒蕪了。

　　這個成語用來諷刺那些坐等機(jī)遇的人，而不是通過努力而獲取他們的所需。