In the sixth century, South China was a place of peace and happiness.
Emperor Wu Di ruled during the Liang Dynasty from 502 to 549 AD. It was a time of great learning and art. Both were very important to Wu Di.A general named Zhang Seng You served under Emperor Wu Di. Zhang was also a famous painter.One day, the An Le Monastery in Jin Ling (now Nanjing) invited Zhang to paint a mural. His painting would decorate the wall outside the temple.The villagers gathered near the wall. They were eager to watch Zhang Seng You create a masterpiece.When Zhang arrived, he stood at the wall for a long time. The villagers wondered why he didn’t start to paint.“Is something wrong?” asked an old man.“I wonder what he’s waiting for,” said a woman.The crowd became anxious. But still they waited and waited. They all wanted to see a master at work.Finally, Zhang began to wave his paintbrush. He painted four large, detailed dragons on the wall. Each was beautiful in its own way. Red, yellow, blue, and black! Each dragon was a different color. The dragons had muscular bodies and large, powerful wings. They had long, curvy tails. They looked so real, they almost seemed to breathe.They had regal noses and eyes, but none of the eyes had pupils.When Zhang finished, he stepped back so everyone could get a better look.“Magnificent!” exclaimed one man.“Beautiful!” said another.“Look at the colors,” said a woman standing in the back.“Such talent,” said the man standing next to her.“Impressive,” said a man in front. Then he nervously added, “But why don’t their eyes have pupils? I don’t see any dots in their eyes.”“The pupil is where the fire and energy of the soul live,” explained Zhang.“If I paint their pupils, the dragons would come alive! They would take off and fly away.”Hearing this, the villagers laughed. What silliness! They teased Zhang about his story.“Draw me lots of money!” a poor woman suggested. “Then put pupils on it!”“Paint a fish dinner!” yelled a small boy, rubbing his stomach. “With big, googly eyes!”“You do not believe me, eh?” Zhang asked, annoyed. “I shall prove it!”Zhang went back to the wall. He used his finest brush to dot pupils in the eyes of two of the dragons.Suddenly, thunder boomed! Lightning flashed in the sky and in the eyes of the painted dragons.“BOOM!” “BOOM!” “ROAR!” “BOOM!”The villagers were startled. They looked up and around. They did not know what was happening. Everyone tried to hide under someone else!Just then, an even bigger noise, like fireworks, surrounded them. The two dragons with dotted eyes broke free from the wall.“BOOM!” “ROAR!” “CRASH!”The two dragons raced upward! They zoomed like lightning returning to its source! Their long tails whipped the winds. They flew higher and higher. Then they disappeared into the storm clouds.The villagers were stunned. Shocked. They looked at the dragons on the wall. Their eyes grew wide. Their mouths hung open, speechless.The villagers looked at Zhang. Then they looked back at the wall. The two dragons without dotted eyes remained still on the wall.“It’s perfect the way you painted it!” added the nervous man in front of the crowd. “Don’t change a thing !”“To dot the pupils of the painted dragon” means that if you want to bring your ideas to life, you must be clear. You have to pay attention to details and finish your work carefully. A similar English idiom that advises people to pay attention to details is “Dot your ‘I’s” and cross your T’s.”

The EndQuestion:?The dragon was beloved in ancient Chinese culture. Can youname two more beloved creatures in ancient Chinese culture? Why didpeople love them?
核心詞匯

rule v. 統治

general n. 將軍

monastery n. 寺院

mural n. 壁畫

masterpiece n. 杰作

muscular adj. 肌肉的，肌肉發達的

curvy adj. 彎曲的regal adj. 帝王的，王室的

pupil n. 瞳孔magnificent adj. 宏偉的，壯麗的

exclaim v. （由于痛苦、憤怒、激動等）呼喊、驚叫

impressive adj. 令人印象深刻的

boom v. 低沉有回響的聲音，（大炮、雷、波濤等的）隆隆聲

startle v. （使）驚嚇

surround v. 包圍

dot v. 打點，用點構成

source n. 來源

whip v. 鞭打，抽打

stunned adj. 震驚的

nap v.打盹

以下翻譯來自百度翻譯：在六世紀，華南是一個和平與幸福的地方。公元502年至549年，漢武帝在梁朝統治。這是一個偉大的學術和藝術時代。這兩件事對吳棣來說都很重要。一位名叫張森佑的將軍在武帝手下服役。張藝謀也是一位著名的畫家。一天，金陵（現在的南京）的安樂寺邀請張畫一幅壁畫。他的畫將裝飾寺廟外的墻壁。村民們聚集在圍墻附近。他們渴望觀看張森佑的杰作。當張到達時，他在墻邊站了很長時間。村民們想知道他為什么不開始畫畫。“有什么不對勁嗎？”一位老人問道。“我想知道他在等什么，”一個女人說。人群變得焦急起來。但他們還是等了又等。他們都想在工作中見到一位大師。最后，張開始揮動他的畫筆。他在墻上畫了四條又大又細的龍。每個人都有自己的美麗。紅，黃，藍，黑！每一條龍都是不同的顏色。龍有肌肉發達的身體和巨大有力的翅膀。它們有長長的、彎曲的尾巴。它們看起來如此真實，幾乎像是在呼吸。他們有高貴的鼻子和眼睛，但沒有一只眼睛有瞳孔。當張完成時，他后退一步，以便每個人都能看得更清楚。“好極了！”一個人喊道。“漂亮！”另一個說。“看看這些顏色，”站在后面的一位女士說。“真有天賦，”站在她旁邊的男人說。“真了不起，”前面的一個人說。然后他緊張地補充道：“但是為什么他們的眼睛沒有瞳孔呢？我看不到他們眼睛里有任何斑點。”“瞳孔是靈魂的火焰和能量所在，”張解釋道。“如果我畫他們的瞳孔，龍就會活過來！它們將起飛并飛走。”聽到這些，村民們大笑起來。多么愚蠢！他們取笑張的故事。“給我很多錢！”一個可憐的女人建議道。”那就把學生放上去！”“畫一個魚餐！”一個小男孩揉著肚子喊道長著一雙又大又笨的眼睛！”“你不相信我，是嗎？”張生氣地問我會證明的！”張回到墻上。他用他最好的畫筆在兩條龍的眼睛里給瞳孔點畫。突然，雷聲隆隆！閃電在天空和彩龍的眼睛里閃過。“轟！”轟！”吼叫！”轟！”村民們大吃一驚。他們抬頭環顧四周。他們不知道發生了什么事。每個人都想躲在別人下面！就在那時，一個更大的噪音，如煙花，包圍了他們。兩只眼睛上有斑點的龍從墻上掙脫了出來。“轟！”吼叫！”撞車！”兩條龍向上飛奔！它們像閃電一樣迅速地回到了它的源頭！它們的長尾巴隨風擺動。他們飛得越來越高。然后他們消失在暴風云中。村民們驚呆了。震驚的他們看著墻上的龍。他們的眼睛睜得大大的。他們張著嘴，說不出話來。村民們看著張。然后他們回頭看了看墻壁。兩條沒有斑點眼睛的龍仍然呆在墻上。“你畫它的方式太完美了！”在人群面前緊張的人補充說什么都不要改變！”“給畫好的龍的瞳孔打點”意味著如果你想把你的想法變成現實，你必須清楚。你必須注意細節，認真完成工作。建議人們注意細節的一個類似的英語成語是“點你的‘I’和叉你的‘T’。”