Meaning of the Idiom
ye gong hao long
Ye Gong was well-known for his fondness for dragons:
In the house where he lived, dragons were painted on the walls and carved on the pillars and the four walls of his bedroom. There were dragons everywhere, up and down, front and back, with each dragon baring its teeth and brandishing its claws.
In the heavens there was a real dragon. It was very happy to hear that Ye Gong was so fond of dragons.
One day, the sky suddenly darkened, and then came wind, thunder and rain. The real dragon flew to Ye Gong’s home. It poked its head into the window in the south and coiled its tail to the window in the north, rocking and rattling the whole house.
At the sight of this real dragon, Ye Gong was frightened out of his wits. He trembled all over and hurriedly hid himself.
So it turned out that what Ye Gong liked was painted and carved fake dragons but not real ones.
Meaning is professed love of what one actually fears.
叶公好龙
yè gōng hào lóng。 （叶，现读yè，旧读shè），比喻口头上说爱好某事物，实际上并不真爱好。
出自《新序·杂事五》。
例句
他学习文学就是叶公好龙，只在嘴上说说，并不真的喜欢。
喜爱一件事不能只是叶公好龙，要真正付出自己的汗水与努力。
口头上喊着发扬民主，真正看到民众行使民主权利时，他又畏缩退让起来，这和叶公好龙有什么两样呢？
Reading The Paragraphs!
Meaning of Words
| 词语 | 华文解释 | 英文解释 |
|---|---|---|
| 礼贤下士 | 意思是指对贤者以礼相待；或者对学者非常尊敬。 例句：战国四公子礼贤下士、广纳人才，后来都有不俗的作为。 | honour worthy men of letters |
| 风尘仆仆（pú pú） | 形容旅途奔波，忙碌劳累。风尘：指行旅，含有辛苦之意；仆仆：行路劳累的样子。 例句：为了参加国庆庆典，许多侨民风尘仆仆地从国外赶回。。 | after long trip, dusty hike |
| 拜见 | 拜访会见，一般指会见地位高或辈分高的人。 例句：日本首相当选之后，首先要拜见天皇。 | pay a formal visit |
| 时髦（máo） | 指流行的样式或行为模式。 例句：追求洛可可式的繁复华丽的装饰，成为当时欧洲一种时髦的生活方式。 | vogue |
| 付之脑后 | 意思是放在一边不再想起。 例句：你不能把长辈的忠告付之脑后。 | cast something behind one’s back |
| 投奔 | 是指前往依靠别人或落脚依靠的人或地方。 例句：庞培的部下纷纷叛离，急忙投奔恺撒的部队。 | go to |
| 转述 | 意思是指把别人说的话说给另外的人。 例句：不要向别人转述我告诉你的事，这可是需要保密的。 | report |
| 吹嘘（xū） | 意为夸张地宣扬或编造优点、长处；或为对人和事过分吹捧。 例句：这辆轿车并不像销售商所吹嘘的那样好。 | crack up; oversell |
| 惊恐万状 | 意思是形容害怕到了极点。 例句：突然两声枪响，树林中立刻飞起一大群乌鸦，惊恐万状地向南飞去。 | to be afraid or very worried |
| 莫名其妙 | 指说不出其中的奥妙，表示发生的事情很奇怪，解释不出道理来。 例句：他今天说话语无伦次的，我感到有点儿莫名其妙。 | baffling; inexplicable |
Daily Language 