Grinding an Iron Pestle into a Needle磨杵成針

“ 磨杵成針” 出自宋代祝穆《方輿勝覽· 眉州· 磨針溪》， 后常以此勉勵(lì)人刻苦用功， 以求有所成就。

Li Bai was a great poet in the Tang Dynasty. However， he was lazyand afraid of difficulties when he was a young boy. He did not like tostudy and always ran out to play without finishing his homework. Being1）absent-minded in class， he made slow 2）progress in his studies.

One day， Li Bai met an old woman near a riverbank. She wasgrinding a very thick pestle on a rock. Driven by 3）curiosity， he asked theold woman at once， “Why are you grinding this iron pestle？” “I want to turnthis thick pestle into a needle，” replied the old woman. Li Bai was shockedand asked， “How can you turn such a thick iron pestle into a needle？ Thiswould take many years！” “This doesn’t matter. As long as I am willing toput my effort and continue to work very hard， I will be able to turn it into afine needle！” The old woman answered confidently.

Deeply moved by what the old woman had said， Li Bai felt ashamedand made up his mind to study hardsince then. Finally， he made greatprogress in his studies， becoming one ofthe greatest poets in Chinese history.

1） absent-minded adj. 心不在焉的

2） progress n. 進(jìn)展

3） curiosity n. 求知欲；好奇心

李白是唐代一位偉大的詩(shī)人。（剩余882字）