Ineffectual Aid

    Duke¹ Mu of the state of Lu sent his sons to the states of Jin and Chu to occupy high positions in their governments．His minister Li Chu said，“If your son is drowning and you send for a man from the state of Yue so far away to come and save the child，then your son cannot be saved even though the men of the state of Yue are good swimmers．If a fire breaks out and you fetch water from the sea to put it out，then even though the water from the sea is abundant，the fire will not be put out timely²． Water far away is useless to the fire at hand．The states of Jin and Chu are indeed strong andpowerful now，but the state of Qi is nearer to our state．If we are imperilled，how can the states of Jin and Chu come to our aid in time？”
    Exercises：
    回答下列问题：
    ① Why did Duke Mu of the state of Lu send his sons to the states of Jin and Chu？
    ② What did his minister Li Chu really want to say？

1 duke   

n.公爵

参考例句：

• His grandfather was a royal duke.他的祖父是王室公爵。
• The duke was the king's most trusted adviser.公爵是国王最信赖的顾问。

2 timely   

adj.及时的，适时的；adv.及时地

参考例句：

• We are particularly grateful to him for his timely help.我们特别感谢他的及时帮助。
• Your arrival was most timely yesterday.你们昨天来得非常及时。