Once, a leader of the kingdom of Chu, Xiang Yu (B.C.232-B.C.202) and his army were under siege from Liu Bang (B.C.256-B.C.195), a future emperor of the Western Han (206BC-25AD).
课文 Text:
项羽和刘邦原来约定以鸿沟（在今河南荣县境贾鲁河）东西边作为界限，互不侵犯。后来刘邦听从张良和陈平的规劝，觉得应该趁项羽衰弱的时候消灭他，就又和韩 信、彭越、刘贾会合兵力追击正在向东开往彭城（即今江苏徐州）的项羽部队。终于布置了几层兵力，把项羽紧紧围在垓下（在今安徽灵璧县东南）。这时，项羽手 下的兵士已经很少，粮食又没有了。夜里听见四面围住他的军队都唱起楚地的民歌，不禁非常吃惊地说：“刘邦已经得到了禁地了吗？
为什么他的部队里面楚人这么多呢？”说看，心里已丧失了斗志，便从床上爬起来，在营帐里面喝酒；并和他最宠爱的妃子虞姬一同唱歌。唱完，直掉眼泪，在旁的 人也非常难过，都觉得抬不起头来。一会，项羽骑上马，带了仅剩的八百名骑兵，从南突围逃走。边逃边打，到乌江畔自刎而死。
因为这个故事里面有项羽听见四周唱起楚歌，感觉吃惊，接看又失败自杀的情节，所以以后的人就用“四面楚歌”这句话，形容人们遭受各方面攻击或逼迫的人事环境，而致陷于孤立窘迫的境地。
解释 Explanation to the idiom:
“四面楚歌”这句话，形容人们遭受各方面攻击或逼迫的人事环境，而致陷于孤立窘迫的境地。
生词 New words:
鸿沟hónggōu: gap
规劝guīquàn: advice, suggestion
消灭xiāomiè: diminish, defeat
遭受zāoshòu: suffer
词语应用 Application of the new words:
如果你在这样自私自利，就会遭到大家反对，那是你就会“四面楚歌”
这位国王死时，众叛亲离，四面楚歌。
翻译 Translation:
Once, a leader of the kingdom of Chu, Xiang Yu (B.C.232-B.C.202) and his army were under siege from Liu Bang (B.C.256-B.C.195), a future emperor of the Western Han (206BC-25AD).
Like many a great man of ancient Chinese reportage, Liu Bang had one very able adviser in Zhang Liang. It was Zhang who had the idea of ordering Liu’s soldiers to sing songs every night. But not just any old tune. The songs had to be native to the kingdom of Chu. Xiang Yu’s soldiers mostly hailed from Chu. The songs not only made the men homesick, but created the fear that countless defeated brothers-at-arms had gone over to the other side.
One night, Xiang Yu himself started listening closely to the songs and gradually fell prey to the feeling his entire homeland must have been razed by Liu Bang. Overcome with emotion, he killed himself by the banks of the Wujiang River.
Since then, this idiom has been used to refer to a person suffering in isolation.
(Source:english.cri.cn)