煮酒论英雄
Heroes Over Warm Wine
Name: ________________ Date: ________
很多年过去了。吕布已经死在了曹操的手里。刘备有过自己的城，可是也丢了，只好跟着曹操，住在许昌。曹操对他很好，可是一直让人看着他。
刘备有一件事，别人都不知道：皇帝不喜欢曹操，偷偷写了一封信，想找人一起杀了他。刘备也在信上写了自己的名字。
所以，刘备每天都在家里种菜，好像什么事也不想做。关羽和张飞不明白：“外面这么乱，你怎么天天种菜？”刘备只说：“这个你们不懂。”
有一天，关羽和张飞都不在家。曹操的人突然来了：“我们丞相请您马上过去！”刘备心里一跳，就跟着去了。
曹操一见他，就笑着说：“你在家做的好大事！”刘备的脸一下子就变了。曹操带着他走到后面的花园里：“你学种菜，不容易吧！”刘备这才放心了。
曹操说：“我刚才看见树上的梅子还是青的，就想起了去年的一件事。那时候我带着人走路，没有水喝，大家都渴得不行。我就说：‘再往前走，就有很多梅子！’大家一想到梅子，嘴里就有了水，也就不渴了。今天又看到它们，还有热酒，所以请你来一起喝。”
两个人坐了下来，桌子上放着梅子，还有热好的酒。喝着喝着，外面好像要下大雨了。曹操问：“你去过很多地方，你说说，现在谁是英雄？”
刘备说：“袁术有很多人，也有很多钱，他怎么样？”曹操笑了：“他？我早晚会抓住他。”刘备又说：“袁绍呢？”曹操说：“袁绍看起来很厉害，其实胆子很小。做大事的时候，他怕死；看到一点小好处，他又什么都不怕了。这种人不行。”刘备又说了好几个人，曹操都笑了：“这些人，算什么英雄！”
刘备问：“那谁才是英雄呢？”曹操用手先指刘备，再指自己，说：“现在天下的英雄，只有你和我两个人！”
刘备一听，手里的筷子“啪”的一声掉在了地上。正在这时，外面打雷了，声音非常大。刘备慢慢地捡起筷子，说：“这雷真大，吓了我一跳。”曹操笑了：“男人也怕打雷吗？”刘备说：“以前很有名的人，听到这样的声音也会害怕，我怎么能不怕呢？”曹操听了，就不再怀疑他了。
这时，关羽和张飞拿着剑跑了进来。他们听说大哥被曹操叫走了，怕他出事，马上就跑来了。曹操问：“你们来干什么？”关羽说：“我们来给大家舞剑，让大家笑一笑。”曹操大笑，也给了他们酒。
回家的路上，刘备心里很明白：曹操这个人太聪明了，他不能再在曹操身边了。他一定要想办法离开。可是这一走，三兄弟就要分开了。
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 可是 | kěshì | but; however |
| 丢 | diū | to throw; to toss |
| 一直 | yìzhí | all along; continuously; straight (ahead) |
| 别人 | biérén | other people; others; someone else |
| 封 | fēng | classifier for letters |
| 信 | xìn | letter |
| 好像 | hǎoxiàng | seem; appear to be; as if |
| 明白 | míngbai | to understand; to realize |
| 突然 | tūrán | suddenly; abruptly; sudden; unexpected |
| 马上 | mǎshàng | right away; immediately |
| 心里 | xīnlǐ | in one's heart; in one's mind |
| 跳 | tiào | to jump; to leap |
Lesson plan: 45 minutes (for the teacher)
HSK 3 · Heroes Over Warm Wine. By the end, students can read it aloud, say what it is about and use 可是 and 丢 in sentences of their own.
Warm-up 5 min
Write 煮酒论英雄 on the board. Ask what the class thinks it is about, then give the English: “Heroes Over Warm Wine”.
Key words 10 min
Teach 可是 (kěshì, but; however), 丢 (diū, to throw; to toss), 一直 (yìzhí, all along; continuously; straight (ahead)), 别人 (biérén, other people; others; someone else), 封 (fēng, classifier for letters), 信 (xìn, letter). Say each one, the class says it back, then ask for its meaning with the word covered. The rest are in the handout’s table.
Listen 10 min
Play it read aloud from mandarinthewild.com/library/read/heroes-over-warm-wine-three-kingdoms-easy-chinese-4: once with the text face down, once reading along. Students tap any word there for its meaning.
Read and check 10 min
Students read it alone, then tell a partner in two sentences of Chinese what it says.
Use it 10 min
In pairs, each student writes two sentences of their own, one with 可是 and one with 丢, and reads one to the class.
Homework. Students read it again at home and Review its words. Put it in a free class (mandarinthewild.com/teachers/class) and you see who read it.
English (for the teacher)
Many years went by. Lü Bu was dead now, killed by Cao Cao. Liu Bei had once had a city of his own, but he had lost it, and now he had no choice but to follow Cao Cao and live in Xuchang. Cao Cao treated him well, but always had someone watching him.
Liu Bei had a secret nobody knew: the emperor hated Cao Cao and had secretly written a letter, looking for men to join in killing him. Liu Bei had signed his own name on that letter too.
So every day Liu Bei stayed at home growing vegetables, as if he had no wish to do anything at all. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei didn't understand: "The world out there is in chaos, and you grow vegetables every day?" All Liu Bei would say was: "You two don't understand."
One day, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were both out. Suddenly Cao Cao's men arrived: "Our Chancellor asks you to come at once!" Liu Bei's heart jumped, and he went with them.
The moment Cao Cao saw him, he said with a smile: "What great things you've been doing at home!" Liu Bei's face changed at once. Cao Cao led him into the garden at the back: "Learning to grow vegetables can't be easy!" Only then did Liu Bei relax.
Cao Cao said: "Just now I saw the plums on the tree were still green, and I remembered something from last year. I was marching with my men, we had no water, and everyone was dying of thirst. So I said: 'Keep going, and there'll be lots of plums ahead!' The moment they thought of plums, their mouths watered, and they weren't thirsty any more. Today I saw them again, and there's warm wine too, so I asked you over for a drink."
The two of them sat down; on the table were plums and warmed wine. As they drank, it began to look like heavy rain outside. Cao Cao asked: "You've been to many places. Tell me, who are the heroes today?"
Liu Bei said: "Yuan Shu has plenty of men and plenty of money. What about him?" Cao Cao laughed: "Him? I'll catch him sooner or later." Liu Bei said: "What about Yuan Shao?" Cao Cao said: "Yuan Shao looks fierce, but he's really a coward. When there's something big to do, he's afraid to die; when he sees a little profit, suddenly he's afraid of nothing. That kind of man won't do." Liu Bei named several more, and Cao Cao laughed at them all: "Those men? Heroes?"
Liu Bei asked: "Then who is a hero?" Cao Cao pointed first at Liu Bei and then at himself, and said: "The only heroes in the world today are you and I!"
At these words, the chopsticks fell from Liu Bei's hand and clattered to the ground. At that very moment there was a clap of thunder outside, very loud. Liu Bei slowly picked up his chopsticks and said: "What a thunderclap. It gave me a fright." Cao Cao laughed: "A grown man, afraid of thunder?" Liu Bei said: "Even great men of old were afraid when they heard a sound like that. How could I not be?" When Cao Cao heard this, he stopped suspecting him.
Just then Guan Yu and Zhang Fei came running in with swords in their hands. They had heard their brother had been called away by Cao Cao, and afraid something had happened to him, they had run straight there. Cao Cao asked: "What have you come for?" Guan Yu said: "We've come to do a sword dance for everyone, to give you all a laugh." Cao Cao roared with laughter and gave them wine too.
On the way home, Liu Bei knew it clearly: Cao Cao was far too clever, and he could not stay at Cao Cao's side any longer. He had to find a way to get away. But once he left, the three brothers would be torn apart.