英语是国际经济、技术、信息等交流中应用最广泛的语言，也是我国基础教育中最主要的外语课程。小编精心收集了初一英语短文，供大家欣赏学习!

初一英语短文：卧薪尝胆

During the Spring and Autumn period (770-476BC), the State of Wu launched an attack against the State of Yue. The King of Wu was seriously wounded and soon died. His son Fu Chai became the new King. Fu was determined to get revenge. He drilled his army rigidly until it was a perfect fighting force. Three years later, he led his army against the State of Yue and caught its king Gou Jian. Fu took him to the State of Wu.

春秋时期，吴国和越国之间进行了一场战争，吴王不幸受了重伤，不久就死了。他的儿子夫差作了吴国的新国王，他发誓要替父亲报仇。于是，他严格的操练他的士兵，把他们训练成了一支非常厉害的军队。三年以后，他对越国发动了战争，抓住了越王勾践，把他带回了吴国。

In order to avenge his father's death, Fu let him live in a shabby stone house by his father's tomb and ordered him to raise horses for him. Gou pretended to be loyal to Fu but he never forgot his humiliation. Many years later, he was set free. Gou secretly accumulated a military force after he went back to his own state. In order to make himself tougher he slept on firewood and ate a gall-bladder before having dinner and going to bed every night. At the same time he administered his state carefully, developing agriculture and educating the people. After a few years, his country became strong. Then Gou seized a favorable opportunity to wipe out the State of Wu.

为了复仇，夫差让勾践住在他父亲墓旁的破石屋里天天看墓、喂马。勾践表面上服从，心里面却想着复仇。几年以后，勾践被放回越国。他立刻开始秘密聚集一支军队。为了提醒自己不要忘了报仇，他睡在柴上，还每天在吃饭睡觉前尝一尝苦胆。同时，他专心治理国家，大力发展农业，加强民众教育。几年后，越国又变得强大起来，然后，勾践抓住一个适当的机会消灭了吴国。

Later, people use it to describe one who endures self-imposed hardships to strengthen one's resolve to realize one's ambition.

后来，人们用它来形容人刻苦自励以达到自己定下的目标。

初一英语短文：惊弓之鸟

In the Warring States Period, there was a man in the State of Wei called Geng Lei. One day he said to the king: 'I can shoot down birds by simply plucking my bowstring.' When the king expressed doubt, Geng Lei pointed his bow at a wild goose flying in the sky, twanged the bowstring, and the goose fell to the ground. Geng Lei said, 'This goose has been hurt in the past. Hearing the twang of the bowstring, it assumed that it was doomed. So it simply gave up trying to live.

战国时期(公元前403―221年中国中原地区各诸侯国连年争战的时代)魏国有个名叫更羸的人。一天，他对国王说：“我只要拉开弓，空射一下，就能把天上的鸟射下来。”国王不相信。更羸便对准天上飞来的一只雁射去，果真那只雁听到拉弦的声音就掉了下来。国王感到很奇怪。更羸说，“那是一只受过伤的雁。它一听到我拉开弓弦的声响，就惊慌得支持不住，自然要掉下来了。”

This idiom means that if one has been frightened in the past one's will may become paralysed in a similar situation.

“惊弓之鸟”这个成语比喻受过惊恐之后，有一点动静就特别害怕。

初一英语短文：才高八斗

Highly Talented

Tsau Pi and Tsau Jr were sons of Tsau Tsau. Both were very gifted writers, and Tsau Jr was especially quick-witted.

After Tsau Tsau's death, Tsau Pi took over the throne of the kingdom of wei. Jealous of Tsau Jr's literary ability, and afraid that he might cause problems, Tsau Pi was always looking for a way to kill his brother.

One day, Tsau Pi called Tsau Jr into see him.He ordered his brother to make up a poem within the time it took to walk seven steps, adding that if he could not, his life would be in danger.

Greatly saddened, Tsau Jr began to walk and to think. Before he had taken the seven steps, he had already finished his poem, the meaning of which was: "Brothers are of the same family, so why should the oppress each other?"

Tsau Jr was very intelligent and loved to study. He wrote many outstanding articles which showed his artistic talent and earned him the admiration of many people. One scholar said of him: "Heaven gave the world ten decalitres of talent, and Tsau Jr alone has eight of them."

Today, to say that a person "has eight decalitres of talent" is to say that he has a great aptitude for writing.

才高八斗

曹丕与曹植都是曹操的儿子，二者均有才华，特别是曹植更具文采。

在曹操死后，曹丕继任大统，但他嫉妒曹植的才华，同时也惧怕曹植回谋反，所以一直在伺机杀害曹植。

有一天，曹丕要求接见曹植，他要求曹植在他七步之内作诗一首，如果做不到，就会有生命危险。

悲愤之下，曹植急中生智，作出七步诗，是的意思就是“本来就是亲兄弟，为什么要这样步步紧逼，伤及感情?”

曹植文采俱佳，热爱学习，他曾做过不少才华横溢的文赋，均令世人感叹不已。曾有一位学者说道：“如若天下文采共有十斗，曹植一人独占八斗。”

今天，如果我们说一个人“才高八斗”，就是指他“才华横溢，很有文采”。