曹冲称象

Cao Chong Weighs an Elephant

在古老的中国，有一位聪明的少年叫曹冲。他的父亲是大名鼎鼎的曹操。

In ancient China, there was a clever young boy named Cao Chong. His father was the famous Cao Cao.

有一天，曹操收到了一个特别的礼物——一头大象！这头大象很大很重，曹操很想知道它到底有多重。可是古时候没有那么大的秤，大家都不知道怎么才能称出大象的重量。

One day, Cao Cao received a special gift—a big elephant! This elephant was very large and heavy, and Cao Cao wanted to know exactly how much it weighed. However, in those days, there were no scales, so everyone was unsure how to weigh the elephant.

聪明的曹冲有了一个好办法。他说：“让我们把大象带到船上，然后看看船会沉到哪里。再在船的水线做个记号。然后，把大象从船上带下来，再装上等重的石头或其他东西，让船沉到刚刚做记号的地方。这样，我们就知道大象有多重了。”

Cao Chong had a clever idea. He said, “Let’s bring the elephant onto a boat and see how far the boat sinks. Then, make a mark at the waterline. Next, take the elephant off the boat and load stones or other items of equal weight onto the boat until it sinks to the same marked waterline. That way, we will know how much the elephant weighs.”

大家听了曹冲的办法，立刻照着做。果然，这样的方法让大家轻松知道了大象的重量。曹操为儿子的聪明才智感到骄傲，大家也对曹冲的聪明纷纷称赞。

Everyone listened to Cao Chong’s idea and followed his instructions. Sure enough, this method helped them easily find out the elephant’s weight. Cao Cao was proud of his son’s wisdom, and everyone praised Cao Chong’s cleverness.