ChinesePod
@ 51174 赤壁之戰
A 曹操正繼續南下，將和我們決戰於赤壁。他們的來意非常明顯，就是要把我們消滅，進而控制江南和中原。
Cáo Cāo zhèng jìxù nán xià, jiāng hé wǒmen juézhàn yú Chìbì. tāmen de láiyì fēicháng míngxiǎn, jiùshì yào bǎ wǒmen xiāomiè, jìnér kòngzhì Jiāngnán hé Zhōngyuán.
Cao Cao is continuing south as we speak. He's going to fight a decisive battle with us at the Red Cliffs. His reason for coming is very obvious-- he wants to annihilate us, and get control of the area south of the Yangtze River and the Central plateau.
B 我主張投降！我們所有部隊加起來，人數也不足曹軍的零頭，他們可是有八十萬大軍啊！我們跟他打，等於拿雞蛋碰石頭！
wǒ zhǔzhāng tóuxiáng! wǒmen suǒyǒu bùduì jiā qǐlai , rénshù yě bùzú Cáo Jūn de língtóu, tāmen kěshì yǒu bāshíwàn dàjūn a! wǒmen gēn tā dǎ, děngyú ná jīdàn pèng shítou!
I say we surrender! All of our forces don't add up to anything compared to Cao Cao's army. They have an enormous army-- eight hundred thousand soldiers! For us to fight them would be like hitting a stone with an egg -- hopeless!
C 在我看來，如果我們能聯合孫權的兵力，勝算還是很大的！
zàiwǒkànlai , rúguǒ wǒmen néng liánhé Sūn Quán de bīnglì, shèngsuàn hái shì hěn dà de!
The way I see it, if we can hook up with [Wu King--Ed.] Sun Quan's forces, we'll have a good chance at victory!
B 諸葛孔明，你指的是？
Zhūgé Kǒngmíng , nǐ zhǐ de shì?
What do you say, Zhuge Kongming?
C 水戰是我軍的優勢。曹操雖然人多，但是北方人不熟悉水戰，而且他們半數士兵都已經很疲憊了。
shuǐzhàn shì jūn de yōushì. Cáo Cāo suīrán rén duō, dànshì běifāngrén bù shúxī shuǐzhàn, érqiě tāmen bànshù shìbīng dōu yǐjīng hěn píbèi le.
My army's specialty is aquatic warfare. Cao Cao has a lot of men, but northerners aren't comfortable fighting in the water. And half of their soldiers are already worn out.
D 對！現在曹操軍隊裡疾病流行，大部分士兵鬥志低落！
duì! xiànzài Cáo Cāo jūnduì lǐ jíbìng liúxíng, dàbùfēn shìbīng dòuzhì dīluò!
Yeah! There's contagious disease going around in Cao Cao's army now. Most of his soldiers don't have much fighting spirit.
B 嗯？什麼人？
ng4? shénme rén?
Huh? Who's that?
D 我叫大牛，第一次來，不知道規矩，請多多包涵！
wǒ jiào Dàniú, dì yī cì lái, bù zhīdào guīju, qǐng duōduōbāohán !
My name is Da Niu. This is my first time here. I don't know the rules. Please, forgive me!
B 那就讓你學學規矩！來人啊！
nà jiù ràng nǐ xué xue guīju! lái rén a!
Then learn the rules! Someone, come here!
D 啊，饒命！
à, ráomìng!
Agh, spare me!
C 我有一計，用火攻！曹操為了不讓船搖晃，把戰船全連在一起，一旦著火，火勢會迅速蔓延！
wǒ yǒu yī jì, yòng huǒgōng! Cáo Cāo wéile bùràng chuán yáohuàng, bǎ zhànchuán quán liánzàiyīqǐ, yīdàn zhāohuǒ, huǒshì huì xùnsù mànyán!
I have a plan-- attack with fire! To keep his boats from swaying, Cao Cao tied all his warships together. As soon as they catch fire, the flames will spread in no time at all!
D 我自願出征！我先假裝投降，等船隻靠近敵軍，就趁機點火！
wǒ zìyuàn chūzhēng! wǒ xiān jiǎzhuāng tóuxiáng, děng chuánzhī kàojìn dí jūn , jiù chènjī diǎnhuǒ!
I volunteer for this mission! First, I'll pretend that I'm defecting. I'll wait until the boats are near the enemy army, and then I'll start the fire!
A 好，大牛，有勇氣！
hǎo, Dàniú, yǒu yǒngqì!
Great! Da Niu is so courageous!
C 現在是萬事俱備，只欠東風啊！
xiànzài shì wànshìjùbèi, zhǐqiàndōngfēng a!
Everything's ready now-- all we need is an easterly wind!
Key Vocabulary
南下 nánxià to head south
決戰 juézhàn decisive battle
赤壁 Chìbì Red Cliffs (site of a major battle in Chinese history)
來意 láiyì one's purpose in coming
進而 jìnér and then
主張 zhǔzhāng to call for
投降 tóuxiáng to surrender
雞蛋碰石頭 jīdàn pèng shítou an egg smashing into a stone (a hopeless situation)
兵力 bīnglì military strength
勝算 shèngsuàn to be assured of success
水戰 shuǐzhàn aquatic warfare
鬥志 dòuzhì will to fight
低落 dīluò downcast
規矩 guīju rule
包涵 bāohán to forgive
饒命 ráomìng to spare one's life
火攻 huǒgōng to attack with fire
火勢 huǒshì intensity of a fire
蔓延 mànyán to spread
出征 chūzhēng to go out to battle
萬事俱備，只欠東風 wànshìjùbèi, zhǐqiàndōngfēng everything is ready except for one critical factor
Supplementary Vocabulary
三國鼎立 sānguódǐnglì confrontation among the ancient Three Kingdoms
以少勝多 yǐshǎoshèngduō to defeat a larger force
劉備 Liú Bèi founder of the Han dynasty
諸葛亮 Zhūgě Liàng Zhuge Liang, a great ancient general
複姓 fùxìng surname consisting of two characters
軍師 jūnshī military adviser
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