名落孙山
Míngluòsūnshān

宋朝时有个名叫孙山的人，他十分幽默，而且擅长讲笑话。有一次，他和同乡的儿子一起去京城考试。考试结果公布后，他们去看榜。孙山的名字在榜上最后一名，但还是考上了，而同乡的儿子没有考上。孙山回家后，同乡的儿子还没回来，同乡就来询问结果，孙山委婉地说："解名尽处是孙山，贤郎更在孙山外。"意思是，榜上最后一名是孙山，而你儿子的名字还在我后面，他落榜了。

There was a man named Sun Shan who lived in the Song Dynasty. He had a great sense of humor, and was very skilled at telling jokes. One time, he went to the capital to take civil examinations with a fellow villager's son. When the results were posted, he went to look at the list. His name Sun Shan was the very last on the list, but at least he passed. Nevertheless, his companion's name was nowhere on the list. After Sun Shan returned home, the son had not returned yet, and his father came to ask about the results. Sun Shan tactfully said:" the last name on the list is Sun Shan, your son's name is still behind Sun Shan." It suggested that your son didn't pass the exam.

词语注释：

幽默：(yōumò):  adj.  humorous

擅长：(shàncháng):  v.  be good at

公布：(gōngbù):  v.  make public

榜：(bǎng):  n.  published list of names

询问：(xúnwèn):  v.  inquire

委婉：(wěiwǎn):  adj.  euphemistic

落榜：(luòbǎng):  v.  to fail in the exam for a job or school admission

意义：

"名(míng)" is "name", "孙山(Sun Shan)" is a person's name. "名落孙山(míngluòsūnshān)" means the person's name is still after the last name of Sun Shan on the list, which indicates the person under discussion didn't make it in a test or a selection.

例句：

• nevertheless [,nevəðə´les]   conj.&ad.然而；不过   (初中英语单词)
• admission [əd´miʃən]   n.接纳；承认   (初中英语单词)
• discussion [di´skʌʃən]   n.讨论；辩论   (初中英语单词)
• severe [si´viə]   a.严厉的；苛刻的   (初中英语单词)
• sickness [´siknis]   n.生病；呕吐，恶心   (初中英语单词)
• unable [ʌn´eibəl]   a.不能的；无能为力的   (初中英语单词)
• review [ri´vju:]   v.&n.复习；回顾；检查   (初中英语单词)
• examination [ig,zæmi´neiʃən]   n.检查；考试；检验   (初中英语单词)
• skilled [skild]   a.有技能的，熟练的   (高中英语单词)
• nowhere [´nəuweə]   n.无处；不知道   (高中英语单词)
• dynasty [´dinəsti]   n.王朝；朝代   (英语四级单词)
• humorous [´hju:mərəs]   a.富于幽默的，诙谐的   (英语四级单词)