半途而废
“半途而废”这则成语的意思是比喻做事中途停止，不能坚持底。 这个成语来源于 《 礼记 . 中庸 》 ，君子遵道而行，半涂（即途）而废，吾弗能已矣。
东汉时，河南郡有一位贤慧的女子，人们都不知她叫什么名字，只知道是乐羊子的子。
一 天，乐羊子在路上拾到一块金子，回家后把它交给妻子。妻子说：“我听说有志向人不喝盗泉的水，因为它的名字令人厌恶；也不吃别人施舍而呼唤过来吃的食物， 宁饿死。更何况拾取别人失去的乐西。这样会玷污品行。”乐羊子听了妻子的话，非常惭，就把那块金子扔到野外，然后到远方去寻师求学。
一 年后，乐羊子归来。妻子跪着问他为何回家，乐羊子说：“出门时间长了想家，没其他缘故。”妻子听罢，操起一把刀走到织布机前说：“这机上织的绢帛产自蚕 茧，成织机。一根丝一根丝地积累起来，才有一寸长；一寸寸地积累下去，才有一丈乃至一。今天如果我将它割断，就会前功尽弃，从前的时间也就白白浪费掉。”
妻子接着又说：“读书也是这样，你积累学问，应该每天获得新的知识，从而使自已品行日益完美。如果半途而归，和割断织丝有什么两样呢？”
乐羊子被妻子说的话深深感动，于是又去完成学业，一连七年没有回过家。
Ban Tu Er Fei
In today’s program, we learn a new phrase, meaning “fail to complete”. The Chinese reads: Ban Tu Er Fei, which literally means: halfway, give up. We use it to describe those who do things by halves. But where does this idiom come from?
During the Warring States period, about 2,400 years ago, a man called Yue Yangzi lived on the south bank of the Yangtze River with his kind, considerate wife. One day, Yue Yangzi found a piece of gold on the way home and gave it to his wife. But when she saw it, and to his great surprise and disappointment, she was angry, and said to him: “An ambitious person will not drink the water of Thief Lake, for this would destroy his determination. Honest people will not accept charity, for it is humiliating. Surely, keeping something you found on the road will harm your reputation.” On hearing this, Yue Yangzi felt ashamed of himself. He returned to the place where he had found the gold and put it back, then bid farewell to his wife and went away to study and seek wisdom.
After only one year, Le Yingzi came back home. His wife asked him: “How could you come back only after one year’s study?” He answered: “After a while, I began to miss you terribly, so I am back to see you.” His wife then picked up a pair of scissors, walked over to her loom, and said: “Look at this silk cloth, of the finest silk. The silk is drawn out of the cocoons. The silk is spun into thread, and the cloth is woven, thread by thread, and, very slowly, it grows, from a thin strip, to inches, and eventually into a magnificent length of shimmering cloth. But if it is cut now, all the work put into it would be wasted. The same applies to your studies.”
Yue Yangzi was very moved by his wife’s words, and went off again to his books. This time, it was seven years before he returned home, and he had become a famous scholar. Later, the king of the State of Wei appointed him to a high position, and Yue Yangzi made many great achievements.
From what his wife said to him, people drew the idiom Ban Tu Er Fei, to stop halfway. Now it is used to describe someone who does things by halves. We all know people like that, and now you have the perfect idiom to use: Ban Tu Er Fei. The tone pattern is fourth, second, second, fourth.
(Source:english.cri.cn)
