中國成語故事中英對照 黔驢技窮

In ancient times there were no donkeys in Guizhou province. Somebody brought a donkey from somewhere and tied it to a tree at the foot of a mountain.

過去貴州(黔)這個(gè)地方?jīng)]有驢。有個(gè)多事的人用船運(yùn)來了一頭驢，運(yùn)來后卻沒有什么用處，就把驢放到山腳下。

A tiger saw the donkey, and thought that it must be a fearsome(可怕的) monster. It hide behind a tree and spied on the donkey.

一只老虎看見了驢，以為這個(gè)軀體高大的家伙一定很神奇，就躲在樹林里偷偷觀察著，后來又悄悄走出來，小心翼翼地接近驢，不知道驢子的底細(xì)。

When the donkey brayed(叫) , the tiger was frightened, thinking that the donkey was about to devour(吞食，毀滅) it. After a while, seeing that the donkey had not moved, the tiger approached it and teased it. The donkey became angry, and kicked the tiger.

有一天，驢叫了一聲，大虎大吃一驚，遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)躲開，以為驢要咬自己了，非?？謶帧Ｈ欢?，老虎反復(fù)觀察以后，覺得驢并沒有什么特殊本領(lǐng)，而且越來越熟悉驢的叫聲了。老虎開始走到驢的前后，轉(zhuǎn)來轉(zhuǎn)去，還不敢上去攻擊驢。以后，老虎慢慢逼近驢，越來越放肆，或者碰它一下，或者靠它一下，不斷冒犯它。驢非常惱怒，就用蹄子去踢老虎。

The tiger thought to itself: "Its then all it is capable of?" It then jumped on the donkey and ate it.

老虎心里盤算著：“你的本事也不過如此罷了!”非常高興。于是老虎騰空撲去，大吼一聲，咬斷了驢的喉管，啃完了驢的肉，才離去了。

This idiom is used to mean that one has exhauseted one's skills.

唉!那驢的軀體高大，好像有德行;聲音洪亮，好像有本事。假如不顯出那有限的本事，老虎雖然兇猛，也會(huì)存有疑慮畏懼的心理，終究不敢攻擊它。現(xiàn)在落得如此下場，不是很可悲嗎?