Meaning of the Idiom
sai weng shi ma（A loss, no bad thing or a blessing in disguise）
Near China’s northern borders lived a man well versed in the practices of Taoism. His horse, for no reason at all, got into the territory of the northern tribes. Everyone commiserated with him.
“Perhaps this will soon turn out to be a blessing,” said his father.
After a few months, his animal came back, leading a fine horse from the north. Everyone congratulated him.
“Perhaps this will soon turn out to be a cause of misfortune,” said his father.
Since he was well-off and kept good horses his son became fond of riding and eventually broke his thigh bone falling from a horse. Everyone commiserated with him.
“Perhaps this will soon turn out to be a blessing,” said his father.
One year later, the northern tribes started a big invasion of the border regions. All able-bodied young men took up arms and fought against the invaders, and as a result, around the border nine out of ten men died. This man’s son did not join in the fighting because he was crippled and so both the boy and his father survived.
塞翁失马
sài wēng shī mǎ，意思是比喻一时虽然受到损失，也许反而因此能得到好处。也指坏事在一定条件下可变为好事。
出自《淮南鸿烈集解》。
例句
眼前吃点亏不用太沮丧，要知塞翁失马，焉知非福。
你没赶上那班飞机，可说是塞翁失马；因为飞机起飞不久，就失事了。
没有得到那份工作其实是塞翁失马，因为现在我已经得到一个好得多的工作。
Reading The Paragraphs!
Meaning of Words
| 词语 | 华文解释 | 英文解释 |
|---|---|---|
| 精通 | 指透彻理解并能熟练掌握。 例句：小文非常有音乐才能，精通好几种乐器。 | expert at |
| 劝慰 | 意思是劝说安慰。 例句：自从父母突然离世，他就一蹶不振，朋友们纷纷设法劝慰。 | conciliate; console |
| 自我安慰 | 指自己安慰自己。 例句：我只是自我安慰罢了。 | to console oneself |
| 预见 | 意思是根据事物的规律预先料到将来。 例句：科学家根据观测到的征兆，预见到在不远的未来会发生超新星爆发。 | foresee; predict |
| 道贺 | 指对某人成功或运气好表示祝贺。 例句：邻居们带着礼物专门来道贺他儿子考上名牌大学。 | congratulate |
| 远见 | 指远大的眼光；高明的见识。 例句：李光耀对于中西方的关系非常有远见，很早就预言了中国的崛起。 | foresight |
| 忧虑 | 意思是忧愁担心。 例句：他们为日常生活开支高昂而忧虑。 | worries |
| 故作姿态 | 指假装有艺术效果的姿势。 例句：那位女演员的拒绝只是故作姿态。 | strike a pose |
| 顾盼生姿 | 意思是回首抬眼之间就有美妙的姿色。 例句：画中的少女眼波流转、顾盼生姿，令人赞叹不已。 | look around charmingly |
| 剽悍（piāo hàn） | 意思是指轻捷勇猛、凶狠蛮横。形容敏捷而勇猛，灵活而勇敢。 例句：这地方山势险恶，民风一定十分剽悍。 | agile and brave; quick and fierce |
| 洋洋得意 | 形容得意时神气十足的神态。 例句：自从上次他比赛得了第一名，就开始洋洋得意起来。 | gloat |
| 过火 | 意思是超过适当的分寸或限度。 例句：对于运动员的培养和训练，要注意不要贪多图快，用力过火。 | go too far |
| 趔趄（liè qie） | 意思是由于某种原因，身体歪斜，脚步不稳。 例句：光滑的路面，使他一个趔趄摔倒在地上。 | stagger |
| 胡言乱语 | 意思是指没有根据，不符实际的瞎说，或说胡话。 例句：这个人一定精神有问题，对着不认识的人指手画脚、胡言乱语。 | talk rubbish[nonsense] |
| 大举入侵 | 指大规模军事侵略活动。 例句：希特勒看出英法的绥靖态度，立刻大举入侵波兰等国。 | great invasions |
| 免于 | 指免除于某种责任或处罚。 例句：由于这次事故他是无心过失，而且积极赔偿，因此被免于起诉。 | avoid |
| 保全 | 指获得保护而安然存在下来。 例句：他利用证据在揭发市长贪腐真相的同时，设法保全了自己和家人。 | preservation |
Daily Language 