The writer Tao Yuan Ming lived during the Eastern Jin Dynasty (365-427 AD). It was a time of war in China. Tao Yuan Ming wished everyone could stop fighting and live in peace. He dreamed of a fable. It went like this…

Once upon a time, a fisherman set out to explore a river. He got in his small boat and began to row. The fisherman rowed and rowed and rowed. He got so caught up in the rhythm of the rowing, he lost track of where he was. Still, he kept on rowing.

Along the way, the fisherman spotted some peach trees on the river bank covered with flowers. Farther down the river, he saw more blossoming peach trees.

?【南京大學、南京師范大學、蘇州大學考研專業課資料，點擊關注】

“There must be hundreds of trees!” the fisherman gasped.

At the end of the river, the fisherman came upon a whole forest of blossoming peach trees. As he stepped off his boat, his feet sank in a carpet of peach petals. The sweet smell filled the air.

“This is a peach paradise!” the fisherman cried. “I have never seen or smelled anything like it!”

He walked through the forest to see what else there was to see. At the end of the forest he found a mountain. At the base of the mountain was a tiny cave. The small opening was just wide enough to fit one person.

A beam of light shone out from the cave. The edges of the beam were laced with colors of the rainbow. It felt magical.

“It’s like that rainbow light is calling me into the cave,” the fisherman whispered to himself.

He crawled inside the tiny opening. It was difficult to see, but he kept crawling toward the light. The narrow tunnel started to get wider and wider. Finally, the fisherman was able to stand up. He walked out of the cave.

The land was lush and green. The sun shone more brightly than the fisherman had ever seen. Birds chirped happy songs from the treetops.

The fisherman walked through farmland. The crops were healthy and strong. Then he came to a small village. Pretty houses stood neatly in rows. Each house had a small, neat garden with colorful flowers.

The fisherman walked up to some farmers. They greeted him warmly. 

“Hello. Where am I?” asked the fisherman.

“Good day, sir,” said one farmer. “Welcome to our land.”

“What is this place?” asked the fisherman. “Where am I?”

“This is our land. Our ancestors came here a long time ago,” the farmer’s friend explained.

“Your ancestors? Who or how long ago was that?” asked the fisherman.

“Ancestors from the Qin Dynasty,” replied the farmer. “There was a lot of fighting during that time. So, our ancestors left and found this land. We have lived here ever since.”

“We haven’t met anyone from the outside world,” said his friend.

“What era is it now?”

“Jin Dynasty,” replied the fisherman.

“Oh, Jin Dynasty. A long time must have passed,” said the farmer. “Well, welcome to our land! Won’t you stay a bit?” he asked.

The fisherman stayed for several days. He enjoyed every second of his time there. It was peaceful and filled with so much beauty.

When it was time to leave, the fisherman crawled through the cave. He walked through the peach blossom forest. As he traveled, he left markers along the trail. He hoped that one day they would help him find his way back.

When the fisherman got back to his village, he told the officials all about his journey. They wanted to find this paradise.

The fisherman led a group down the river to show them the mysterious land. They rowed and rowed and rowed. They didn’t see any peach blossoms. At the end of the river, they followed the fisherman’s markers.

They couldn’t find the mountain, the cave, the farms, or the village. And they never did.

The idiom (世外桃源 shì wài táo yuán) “the peach orchard beyond this world” is used to express an unexpectedly fantastic place, or paradise.

The EndQuestion: Why do you think the fisherman could not find the mysteriousland again?

核心詞匯

fable n. 寓言

set out 出發

row v. 劃（船）

rhythm n.律動，節律

lose track of 看不見，聽不清，未記錄

blossom v. & n. 開花

gasp v. 倒抽氣

carpet n. 地毯

petal n. 花瓣

beam n. （日、月、燈等的）光線

edge n. 邊界，邊緣

lace v. 加飾帶（或狹邊）于

magical adj. （似）魔術的

tunnel n. 隧道，地道

lush adj. 蔥翠的，鮮嫩多汁的

ancestors n. 祖先

era n. 時代，歷史時期

trail n. 痕跡，足跡

paradise n. 天堂

orchard n. 果園，果樹林

There must be 那里必定有,

must do sth 此處表示對于現在情況的推測。

At the base of the mountain was a tiny cave. 山腳下有一個小洞，此處介詞短語做狀語前置，形成完全倒裝。

A long time must have passed 一定是經過了很長時間了，

must havedone 表示對于過去情況的推測。

以下翻譯來自百度翻譯：
作家陶淵明生活在東晉時期（公元365-427年）。那是中國的戰爭時期。陶淵明希望每個人都能停止戰斗，和平共處。他夢見了一個寓言。事情是這樣的…從前，一個漁夫出發去探索一條河。他坐上小船開始劃船。漁夫劃啊劃啊劃。他被劃船的節奏迷住了，不知道自己在哪里。盡管如此，他還是繼續劃船。一路上，漁夫發現河岸上有一些桃樹開滿了花。在河的下游，他看到了更多盛開的桃樹。“一定有幾百棵樹！”漁夫喘著粗氣說。在河的盡頭，漁夫發現了一整片盛開的桃樹林。他下了船，兩腳陷在桃花的地毯里。空氣中彌漫著甜味。“這是一個桃子天堂！”漁夫喊道。“我從未見過或聞到過類似的味道！”他穿過森林，想看看還有什么可看的。在森林的盡頭，他發現了一座山。山腳下有一個小山洞。這個小開口剛好能容納一個人。一束光從山洞里射出。光束的邊緣布滿了彩虹的顏色。感覺很神奇。“就像彩虹的光芒在召喚我進入洞穴，”漁夫低聲對自己說。他爬進那個小洞里。很難看清，但他一直朝著燈光爬去。狹窄的隧道開始變得越來越寬。最后，漁夫終于站了起來。他走出了山洞。這片土地郁郁蔥蔥。太陽比漁夫所見過的更明亮。鳥兒在樹梢上嘰嘰喳喳地唱著歡快的歌。漁夫穿過農田。莊稼茁壯成長。然后他來到一個小村莊。漂亮的房子整齊地排成一排。每棟房子都有一個小而整潔的花園，花園里開著五顏六色的花。漁夫走向一些農民。他們熱情地迎接他。“喂，我在哪兒？”漁夫問。“你好，先生，”一位農民說。“歡迎來到我們的土地。”“這是什么地方？”漁夫問。“我在哪里？”“這是我們的土地。我們的祖先很久以前就來到這里了，”農民的朋友解釋說。“你的祖先？那是誰或多久以前的事？”漁夫問。“先祖來自秦朝，”農夫回答。“那時候有很多戰斗。所以，我們的祖先離開這里，找到了這塊土地。從那時起，我們就一直住在這里。”他的朋友說：“我們沒有見過任何來自外部世界的人。”。“現在是什么時代？”“金朝，”漁夫回答。“哦，金朝。一定是很久過去了，”農夫說。“好吧，歡迎來到我們的土地！你不留下一點嗎？”他問道。漁夫呆了幾天。他享受在那里的每一秒。這是和平的，充滿了如此多的美麗。到了離開的時候，漁夫爬進了山洞。他穿過桃花林。當他旅行時，他在小路上留下了標記。他希望有一天他們能幫他找到回家的路。當漁夫回到他的村莊時，他向官員們講述了他的旅程。他們想找到這個天堂。漁夫帶領一群人沿河而下，向他們展示那片神秘的土地。他們劃啊劃啊劃。他們沒有看到任何桃花。在河的盡頭，他們跟隨漁夫的標記。他們找不到那座山、山洞、農場或村莊。他們從來沒有這樣做過。成語(世外桃源 “世界之外的桃園”用來表達一個出人意料的奇妙的地方，或天堂。