Story idioms: 守株待兔 and friends

Each of these idioms has a story behind it: 守株待兔 'guard the stump and wait for a rabbit' — passively waiting for luck; 亡羊补牢 'mend the fold after the sheep are gone' — the fix came late, but it is still worth doing; 掩耳盗铃 'cover your ears while stealing the bell' — self-deception. This level has many more (揠苗助长). The mistake is memorizing them as a list: recall the scene and the meaning, not a translation of each character.

Examples

• 天天在家守株待兔，是找不到好工作的，你得主动出去。 Tiāntiān zài jiā shǒuzhūdàitù, shì zhǎo bu dào hǎo gōngzuò de, nǐ děi zhǔdòng chūqù. Sitting at home every day waiting for luck won't land you a good job; you need to go out and act.
• 钱包丢了以后她赶紧改了密码，亡羊补牢，还不算太晚。 Qiánbāo diū le yǐhòu tā gǎnjǐn gǎi le mìmǎ, wángyángbǔláo, hái bú suàn tài wǎn. After losing her wallet she changed her passwords right away: the fix came late, but not too late.
• 考试不及格却不肯复习，这不是掩耳盗铃吗？ Kǎoshì bù jígé què bù kěn fùxí, zhè bú shì yǎn'ěrdàolíng ma? Failing the exam yet refusing to review — isn't that simply self-deception?

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