Safety in Numbers

    Whenever King Xuan of the state of Qi ordered his musicians to play yu，an ancient wind instrument consisting of reed¹ pipes，he al－ways insisted on three hundred musicians playing together．Nanguo，an educated man in retirement，asked for permission to play yu forthe king．The king graciously² gave his consent and Nanguo received the same salary as the other several hundred musicians．After the death of King Xuan，King Min became the ruler of the state of Qi．He liked to listen to the musicians playing one by one．Nanguo fled．Exercises：
    回答下列问题：
    ① Who was Nanguo？
    ② Why did Nanguo flee？
    ③ Can we learn something from Nanguo？

1 reed   

n.芦苇，芦丛，簧舌，簧片

参考例句：

• The river banks were overgrown with reed.河岸长满了芦苇。
• They inhabit reed huts built on stilts above the water.他们住在建于水中木桩之上的芦苇草屋里。

2 graciously   

ad. 仁慈地,和蔼庄重地

参考例句：

• All the guests were graciously served at the party. 宴会上所有客人都受到殷勤款待。
• She graciously accepted my apology. 她很有风度地接受了我的道歉。