Swallow Dates Whole

One day, several people were chatting. An old man said, "Pears are good for our teeth, but if we eat too many, they'll harm our spleen. Dates are good for the spleen, but too many will damage our teeth."

A young man thought for a moment and said, "I've got a great idea! It can let us enjoy the benefits of pears for teeth without hurting our spleen, and enjoy the benefits of dates for the spleen without harming our teeth."

The old man was curious and quickly asked, "What's your idea? Share it with us!"

The young man replied, "When eating pears, I'll just chew them with my teeth and not swallow, so my spleen won't be affected. When eating dates, I'll swallow them whole without chewing, and my teeth will be fine."

Another person heard this and asked, "If you swallow the date pits, they can't be digested easily. How can that be good for the spleen?"

This story tells us the idiom “Gulping down a whole jujube”. It means accepting things without thinking carefully, and understanding nothing.

一天，有几个人正在闲谈。一位老人说：“梨对牙齿有益，但是吃多了会伤脾。枣对脾脏有益，但是吃多了会损伤牙齿。”

一个年轻人想了一会儿，说：“我有一个好办法！这样我们既能享受梨对牙齿的好处，又不会伤到脾脏；还能享受枣对脾脏的益处，又不会伤害牙齿。”

老人十分好奇，连忙问道：“是什么办法？快跟我们说说！”

年轻人回答：“吃梨的时候，我只用牙齿咀嚼，不咽下去，这样脾脏就不会受影响。吃枣的时候，我直接整个吞下去，不咀嚼，牙齿就不会受损。”

旁边另一个人听了，问道：“如果你把枣核一起吞下去，很难消化，这又怎么会对脾脏有好处呢？”

这个故事就是成语囫囵吞枣的由来。它比喻对事物不加思考分析、笼统接受，不求理解。

Key phrases

1. be good for /biː ɡʊd fɔː(r)/ 对…… 有益
2. eat too many 吃得太多
3. think for a moment /θɪŋk fɔː(r) ə ˈməʊmənt/ 想了一会儿
4. enjoy the benefits of /ɪnˈdʒɔɪ ðə ˈbenɪfɪts ɒv/ 享受…… 的好处
5. chew … with one’s teeth /tʃuː wɪð wʌnz tiːθ/ 用牙齿咀嚼……
6. swallow … whole /ˈswɒləʊ həʊl/ 囫囵吞下
7. be affected /bi əˈfektɪd/ 受到影响
8. be digested easily /bi daɪˈdʒestɪd ˈiːzɪli/ 容易被消化
9. gulp down a whole jujube /ɡʌlp daʊn ə həʊl ˈdʒuːdʒuːb/ 囫囵吞枣

Questions

1. What are pears good for according to the old man?
2. What trouble will we have if we eat too many dates?
3. What was the young man’s idea about eating pears?
4. Why did the other man disagree with the young man’s way of eating dates?
5. What does the idiom “Gulping down a whole jujube” mean?

Answers

1. Pears are good for our teeth.
2. Eating too many dates will damage our teeth.
3. He would chew pears with his teeth but not swallow them.
4. Because the date pits can’t be digested easily, and it is not good for the spleen.
5. It means accepting things without thinking carefully and understanding nothing.

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