The Hongmen Feast

At the end of the Qin Dynasty, the country was in a big mess. Many brave people stood up to fight against the Qin Dynasty. Liu Bang and Xiang Yu led two strong armies. Liu Bang's army was the first to reach Xianyang, the capital of the Qin Dynasty. According to the deal, the one who got to Xianyang first could become the king. But Xiang Yu had more soldiers. He was angry that Liu Bang got there first and wanted to attack him. Liu Bang's smart helper Zhang Liang knew they couldn't win against Xiang Yu. So, he told Liu Bang to go and say sorry to Xiang Yu. Liu Bang went to Xiang Yu's camp at Hongmen with Zhang Liang and Fan Kuai for a big dinner. That was the famous "Hongmen Feast". At the dinner, Xiang Yu's advisor Fan Zeng tried to get Xiang Yu to kill Liu Bang. But Xiang Yu was too proud and didn’t act quickly. Then Fan Zeng asked Xiang Zhuang to dance with a sword and kill Liu Bang during the dance. Zhang Liang was ready. He asked Fan Kuai to protect Liu Bang. Fan Kuai was very brave and impressed Xiang Yu with his words. Liu Bang then used the excuse of going to the toilet and ran away with their help. Xiang Yu missed the chance to get rid of Liu Bang at the feast. Later, Liu Bang grew stronger and beat Xiang Yu in the end. He started the Han Dynasty and united the country.

鸿门宴

秦朝末年，天下大乱。许多勇士奋起反抗秦朝。刘邦和项羽各自率领一支强大的军队。 刘邦的军队最先抵达秦朝都城咸阳。按照约定，先进入咸阳的人就可以称王。但是项羽的兵力更多，他因为刘邦抢先入关而十分生气，打算攻打刘邦。 刘邦聪慧的谋士张良知道他们无法战胜项羽。于是他劝刘邦去向项羽赔罪。刘邦带着张良、樊哙来到项羽驻扎在鸿门的军营赴宴，这就是著名的 “鸿门宴”。 宴席之上，项羽的谋士范增劝说项羽杀掉刘邦。可是项羽太过骄傲，没有立刻动手。随后范增让项庄持剑起舞，打算趁舞剑的时候刺杀刘邦。 张良早有准备，他叫来樊哙保护刘邦。樊哙十分勇猛，一番言辞打动了项羽。之后刘邦借上厕所的借口，在众人的帮助下脱身逃走。 项羽在宴会上错失除掉刘邦的机会。后来刘邦势力不断壮大，最终打败了项羽。他建立了汉朝，统一了天下。

重点短语（附音标+释义）

1. in a big mess /ɪn ə bɪɡ mes/ 一团糟，陷入混乱
2. fight against /faɪt əˈɡenst/ 对抗，反抗
3. according to /əˈkɔːdɪŋ tuː/ 根据，按照
4. stand up to /stænd ʌp tuː/ 奋起抵抗
5. say sorry to /seɪ ˈsɒri tuː/ 向…… 赔罪、道歉
6. dance with a sword /dɑːns wɪð ə sɔːd/ 持剑舞剑
7. use the excuse of /juːz ði ɪkˈskjuːs ɒv/ 以…… 为借口
8. get rid of /ɡet rɪd ɒv/ 除掉，摆脱
9. in the end /ɪn ði end/ 最后，最终
10. unite the country /juːˈnaɪt ðə ˈkʌntri/ 统一国家

阅读理解问答题

1. Who reached Xianyang first, Liu Bang or Xiang Yu?
2. Why was Xiang Yu angry with Liu Bang?
3. What did Fan Zeng ask Xiang Zhuang to do at the Hongmen Feast?
4. How did Liu Bang leave Xiang Yu’s camp?
5. What happened to Liu Bang after the Hongmen Feast?

参考答案

1. Liu Bang reached Xianyang first.
2. Because Liu Bang got to Xianyang first, and Xiang Yu had more soldiers. He was angry about this and wanted to attack Liu Bang.
3. Fan Zeng asked Xiang Zhuang to dance with a sword and kill Liu Bang during the dance.
4. He used the excuse of going to the toilet and ran away with the help of Zhang Liang and Fan Kuai.
5. Liu Bang grew stronger later. He beat Xiang Yu in the end, founded the Han Dynasty and united the country.

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