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15、The Fake Musician 滥竽充数

Let’s travel back in time to China’s Warring States Period. Qi Xuan Wang was one of the rulers of the Qi State. He led the state from 319–301 BCE. Qi Xuan Wang was a fan of music. He really liked listening to large orchestras. He loved when hundreds of musicians played the yu, a wooden wind instrument.

A man named Nan Guo heard about this. It gave him an idea.

“This is a lucky break!” Nan Guo thought. “I will ask if I can join the royal orchestra. I will have a job. I will earn a good living. It will be easy work!”

Only one thing was standing in the way. Nan Guo was not a musician.

He didn’t know how to play the yu! He did not see that as a problem, though.

“I can just fake it,” Nan Guo laughed to himself. “There will be hundreds of musicians playing. I can easily get lost among them. No one will be able to hear me play—or not play!” He smiled to himself, enjoying his cleverness. “The ruler will hear the whole band,” Nan Guo added. “He will never know that I am not really playing.”

Nan Guo went to see Qi Xuan Wang. He told the ruler that he was an expert yu player.

“My Lord, I have trained for many years,” said Nan Guo. “I am very talented. My music is inspiring. Animals dance and

flowers blossom when they hear it. Now I wish to play the yu to serve you!”

Qi Xuan Wang was thrilled to hear this. He trusted Nan Guo and didn’t even ask him to play.

“Wonderful!” the ruler replied. “I welcome such a talented musician into my orchestra!”

Nan Guo joined the royal orchestra. He found a seat among the hundreds of yu players. There were so many of them! It was easy for Nan Guo to get lost in the crowd.

“Ha! This is so easy! I just move my mouth and pretend to play. Nobody knows the difference,” laughed Nan Guo.

Show after show, Nan Guo faked playing the yu. His fingers danced over the instrument. He looked very handsome and serious. 'I sometimes forget where I am, because the music takes me to a better place,' he once explained to a fan. No one ever noticed that his instrument was silent, not even Qi Xuan Wang. The Qi ruler enjoyed the many songs his prized orchestra played.

But Qi Xuan Wang couldn’t rule forever. Eventually, his son, Qi Min Wang, took over. Qi Min Wang also liked music. He liked solo performances, however.

“Bring me the finest musicians from the band!” Qi Min Wang ordered. “I would like to hear them play—one at a time!”

“What a great chance to show off our own talents!” noted one musician.

“Yes! I would like to perform for our new ruler, too!” said another yu player.

“Oh no!” thought Nan Guo. “This is terrible. I will not be able to play anything for Qi Min Wang. The truth will be discovered! I will be jailed.

Maybe even worse!” He knew his lie would be caught if he did not escape right away.

That night, Nan Guo gathered his belongings. He used his yu like a hanger and hung his clothing on it. At last he put the yu to use!

He tucked the instrument and clothing under his arm and sneaked out of the royal court. Then he ran far, far away, never to be seen—or heard—again.

The End

Question: What was the difference between the two Qi rulers’ musicaltastes? What type of music do you enjoy?

核心词汇

period n. 时期

ruler n. 统治者

orchestra n. 管弦乐队

lucky break n. 转运，时来运转

royal adj. 皇家的

fake v. 伪装，伪造

expert adj&n. 熟练的，经验丰富的；专家

inspiring adj. 鼓舞人心的，启发灵感的

blossom v. （植物）开花

thrilled adj. 非常兴奋的

pretend v. 假装

take over v. 接收，接管

jail v. 监禁，拘留

escape v. 逃跑

belonging n. 财产，所有物

hanger n. 挂物的东西，衣架，挂钩

tuck v. 把……塞进狭窄的空间

sneak v. 偷偷地走，潜行

以下翻译来自百度翻译：

让我们回到中国的战国时代。齐宣王是齐国的统治者之一。他从公元前319年到公元前301年领导该州。王琦轩是个音乐迷。他真的很喜欢听大型管弦乐队。他喜欢数百名音乐家演奏木制管乐器yu。

一个叫南郭的人听说了这件事。这给了他一个主意。

“这是个幸运的机会！”南郭想我会问我是否能加入皇家管弦乐队。我将有一份工作。我会过上好日子的。这将是一件容易的工作！”

只有一件事挡住了去路。南郭不是音乐家。

他不知道怎么玩瑜珈！不过，他并不认为这是个问题。

“我可以假装，”南郭自言自语地说将有数百名音乐家演奏。我很容易在他们中间迷路。没有人能听到我演奏或不演奏！”他自言自语地笑着，享受着自己的聪明。”“统治者将听到整个乐队，”南郭补充道他永远不会知道我不是真的在玩。”

南国去见王琦轩。他告诉统治者他是一名高手。

“大人，我已经训练了很多年，”南郭说我很有天赋。我的音乐很鼓舞人心。动物跳舞和跳舞

花一听到就开花。现在我想打羽牌为你服务！”

王琦轩听了很激动。他信任南郭，甚至没有让他玩。

“太好了！”统治者回答说我欢迎如此有才华的音乐家加入我的管弦乐队！”

南郭加入了皇家管弦乐队。他在成百上千的yu玩家中找到了一个位置。他们太多了！南郭很容易在人群中迷路。

“哈！这太容易了！我只是动了动嘴，假装在玩。“没人知道有什么区别，”南郭笑着说。

一场接一场的演出，南郭假扮玉人。他的手指在乐器上舞动。他看上去很英俊，很严肃“我有时会忘记我在哪里，因为音乐会把我带到一个更好的地方，”他曾经对一个歌迷解释道。没有人注意到他的乐器是无声的，甚至王琦轩也没有。齐国统治者喜欢他那珍贵的管弦乐队演奏的许多歌曲。

但王琦轩不能永远统治。最终，他的儿子王启民接手了他的工作。王启民也喜欢音乐。然而，他喜欢独唱。

“给我带来乐队里最好的音乐家！”王启民命令道我想一次听他们演奏一首！'

“这是一个展示自己才华的好机会！”一位音乐家说。

“是的！我也想为我们的新统治者表演！”另一位选手说。

“哦，不！”南郭想这太可怕了。我不能为王启民打任何比赛。真相会被发现的！我将被监禁。

也许更糟！”他知道如果他不马上逃跑，他的谎言就会被抓住。

那天晚上，南郭收拾了他的东西。他把他的玉当作衣架，把衣服挂在上面。最后他把玉放了起来！

他把乐器和衣服夹在腋下，偷偷溜出了宫廷。然后他跑得很远很远，再也看不见也听不见了。

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