拔苗助长 To Pull up the Seedlings to Help Them Grow
Once upon a time, an old farmer planted a plot of rice. Everyday he went to the field to watch the seedlings grow. He saw the young shoots break through the soil and grow taller each day. But still, he thought they were growing too slowly. He got impatient with the young plants. "How could the plants grow faster?" He tossed in bed during the night and could not sleep. Suddenly he hit upon an idea. He had an idea not wait for daybreak. He jumped out of the bed and dashed to the field. By the moonlight, he began working on the rice seedlings. One by one, he pulled up the young plants by half an inch. When he finished pulling, it was already morning. Straightening his back, he said to himself, "What a wonderful idea! Look, how much taller the plants have grown one night!" With great satisfaction, he went back home. He told his son what he had done in a triumphant tone. His son was shocked. Now the sun had risen. The young man was heart-broken to see all the pulled-up young plants dying.
People now use " Ba Miao Zhu Zhang" to describe the behavior of those who are too eager to get something done only to make it worse. The idiom is a bit like the English proverb "Haste makes waste" ------to spoil things by excessive enthusiasm.
很久以前，有一位老农民种了一块稻田，他每天都去地里看着稻苗长。他看到新芽破土而出，每天都会长高一些。但是，他还是觉得它们长得太慢了，非常着急。夜里躺在床上，无法入睡，一直在想"怎样才能让稻苗长得更快些呢？"。突然，他想到了一个办法，急不可待地跳下床，冲到他的稻田里，借着月光，开始工作。他将稻苗一个个的全都拔高半英寸，拔完后，天已经亮了。他伸着懒腰自言自语道："好聪明的主意，看稻苗一夜之间长高了这么多"。他带着巨大的满足感，回到家里，以得意的口气告诉了儿子自己的功劳。他的儿子惊呆了，现在太阳已经升起。这个年轻人伤心地看到所有被拔起的稻苗已经晒蔫了。现在人们用"拔苗助长"来形容急于求成的人会让事情变得更糟。这一成语有点像英文中的谚语"Haste makes waste（欲速则不达）"--过度的积极会把事情搞砸。
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