Call A Deer A Horse

During the reign of Qin Er Shi in the Qin Dynasty, Zhao Gao held great power in the court. He was very ambitious and always dreamed of seizing the throne. Zhao Gao knew that not all the ministers would follow him willingly. So, one day when the court was in session, he had a shiny deer brought in. All the ministers were confused, not knowing what he was up to. Zhao Gao smiled and said to Qin Er Shi, "Your Majesty, I offer you a fine horse." Qin Er Shi was shocked at first, then burst out laughing, "Prime Minister, you're wrong. This is a deer, not a horse!" But Zhao Gao kept a straight face and said, "This is a wonderful horse. Why do you say it's a deer?" Qin Er Shi was confused and wondered how a horse could have horns. In the silent court, some ministers who were afraid of Zhao Gao and wanted to please him said it was a horse. But some honest ministers insisted it was a deer. Zhao Gao secretly noted down their names. After the court session, Zhao Gao persecuted those honest ministers. Some lost their jobs, some were sent far away, and some even had their whole families killed. Since then, no one dared to oppose Zhao Gao. And the story of "calling a deer a horse" has been passed down as a way to describe those who distort the truth.

秦朝秦二世在位期间，赵高在朝中手握大权。他野心勃勃，一直梦想篡夺皇位。 赵高知道，并不是所有大臣都会心甘情愿服从他。于是有一天上朝的时候，他让人牵进来一头光鲜的鹿。所有大臣都十分疑惑，不知道他想干什么。 赵高笑着对秦二世说：“陛下，我献给您一匹良马。” 秦二世一开始很吃惊，随即哈哈大笑：“丞相，你搞错啦！这是一头鹿，不是马！” 可赵高面不改色，说：“这明明是一匹骏马，陛下怎么说它是鹿呢？” 秦二世十分困惑，心想马怎么会长角。大殿里一片寂静，有些惧怕赵高、想要讨好他的大臣，都说这是马。但一些正直的大臣坚持说这是鹿。赵高悄悄记下了这些正直大臣的名字。 退朝之后，赵高迫害了这些正直的大臣。有的人被罢官，有的人被流放远方，还有的甚至惨遭灭族。从那以后，再也没有人敢反对赵高。而 “指鹿为马” 这个故事流传下来，用来形容那些歪曲事实的人。

重点短语（附音标 + 释义）

1. during the reign of /ˈdjʊərɪŋ ðə reɪn əv/ 在…… 在位期间
2. hold great power /həʊld ɡreɪt ˈpaʊə(r)/ 手握大权
3. dream of doing sth. /driːm ɒv ˈduːɪŋ/ 梦想做某事
4. seize the throne /siːz ðə θrəʊn/ 篡夺皇位
5. in the court /ɪn ðə kɔːt/ 在朝廷中
6. be in session /bi ɪn ˈseʃn/（会议、朝堂）正在进行
7. have sth. done /hæv ˈsʌmθɪŋ dʌn/ 让某事被（别人）做
8. be up to /bi ʌp tuː/ 图谋、打算
9. burst out laughing /bɜːst aʊt ˈlɑːfɪŋ/ 突然大笑
10. keep a straight face /kiːp ə streɪt feɪs/ 面不改色，不动声色
11. be afraid of /bi əˈfreɪd ɒv/ 害怕
12. note down /nəʊt daʊn/ 记下
13. oppose sb. /əˈpəʊz/ 反对某人
14. call a deer a horse /kɔːl ə dɪə ə hɔːs/ 指鹿为马
15. distort the truth /dɪˈstɔːt ðə truːθ/ 歪曲事实

阅读理解问答题

Questions

1. What did Zhao Gao dream of doing when he held great power?
2. What did Zhao Gao bring into the court in front of Qin Er Shi?
3. Why did some ministers say the deer was a horse?
4. What happened to the honest ministers after the court session?
5. What does the idiom "calling a deer a horse" mean now?

Keys

1. He dreamed of seizing the throne.
2. He brought a shiny deer into the court.
3. Because they were afraid of Zhao Gao and wanted to please him.
4. Zhao Gao persecuted them. Some lost their jobs, some were sent far away, and some even had their whole families killed.
5. It describes people who distort the truth.

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