In ancient times, the people of Yongzhou liked to live by the river. They were all very good at swimming.

　　古時(shí)候，永州的人喜歡住在河邊，他們都很擅長(zhǎng)游泳。

　　One day, the water in the rivers suddenly rose. Five or six people were crossing the Xiang River in a small boat. When the boat reached the middle of the river, it leaked and sank. All the people on the boat swam for their lives.

　　一次，河水暴漲。有五六個(gè)人乘著小船橫渡湘江。船剛到江心，就漏水下沉了，船上的人紛紛泅水逃生。

　　At this moment, a man was seen paddling like crazy in the water, but with little progress. One of his companions asked in surprise:

　　這時(shí)候，只見(jiàn)一個(gè)人拼命劃水，但是前進(jìn)不了多少。他的同伴奇怪地問(wèn):

　　"You used to be the best swimmer among us. Why are you lagging behind today?"

　　“平時(shí)你的水性最好，今天為什么落在最后?”

　　The man panted heavily and replied:

　　他喘著粗氣說(shuō):

　　"I've got 1，000 copper coins wrapped around my waist. They are very heavy, so I can't swim fast."

　　“我腰纏著千數(shù)銅錢(qián)，分量很重，所以游不動(dòng)。”

　　His companions advised him anxiously:

　　同伴們著急地勸他:

　　"Throw away the copper coins at once!"

　　“趕快把銅錢(qián)扔掉!”

　　The man only shook his head and gave no answer.

　　他只是搖了搖頭，沒(méi)有回答。

　　After a short while, he became weaker and weaker. At this moment, those who had got on the bank shouted to him desperately:

　　又過(guò)了一會(huì)兒，他越來(lái)越?jīng)]有力氣了。這時(shí)候，已經(jīng)上岸的人又拼命地向他喊道:

　　"You are such a headstrong fool. You are about to drown, so what do you want the money for?"

　　“你真是太糊涂，太死心眼了，連人都快要淹死了，還要錢(qián)干什么?”

　　But the man shook his head again, sank rapidly and drowned.

　　可是，他又搖了搖頭，很快地沉了下去，淹死了。