Chinese myth story

Cao Chong Weighs the Elephant

曹冲称象

Practice an elementary Chinese story about Cao Chong solving a hard problem with a boat, water, stones, and careful thinking.

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1

很久以前,曹冲还是一个孩子。

Hěn jiǔ yǐqián, Cáo Chōng háishì yí ge háizi.

A long time ago, Cao Chong was still a child.

2

有人送来一头特别大的象。

Yǒu rén sòng lái yì tóu tèbié dà de xiàng.

Someone brought a very large elephant.

3

大家都想知道象有多重。

Dàjiā dōu xiǎng zhīdào xiàng yǒu duō zhòng.

Everyone wanted to know how heavy the elephant was.

4

大人们觉得这个问题比较难。

Dàren men juéde zhè ge wèntí bǐjiào nán.

The adults felt this problem was rather difficult.

5

曹冲看着水,开始想办法。

Cáo Chōng kàn zhe shuǐ, kāishǐ xiǎng bànfǎ.

Cao Chong looked at the water and began to think of a method.

6

他告诉大家,可以先让象上船。

Tā gàosu dàjiā, kěyǐ xiān ràng xiàng shàng chuán.

He told everyone that they could first let the elephant get on a boat.

7

船进水比较深,大家就在船边做记号。

Chuán jìn shuǐ bǐjiào shēn, dàjiā jiù zài chuán biān zuò jìhào.

When the boat sat fairly deep in the water, everyone made a mark on the boat.

8

然后象下船,大家准备很多石头。

Ránhòu xiàng xià chuán, dàjiā zhǔnbèi hěn duō shítou.

Then the elephant got off the boat, and everyone prepared many stones.

9

他们一边放石头,一边看水线。

Tāmen yìbiān fàng shítou, yìbiān kàn shuǐxiàn.

They put stones in while watching the water line.

10

水线已经到刚才的地方了。

Shuǐxiàn yǐjīng dào gāngcái de dìfang le.

The water line had already reached the place from just now.

11

因为石头一样重,所以可以知道象的重量。

Yīnwèi shítou yíyàng zhòng, suǒyǐ kěyǐ zhīdào xiàng de zhòngliàng.

Because the stones had the same weight, they could know the elephant's weight.

12

大家觉得曹冲的办法很简单,也很聪明。

Dàjiā juéde Cáo Chōng de bànfǎ hěn jiǎndān, yě hěn cōngming.

Everyone felt Cao Chong's method was simple and smart.

Finished reading the story?

Vocabulary

Story words

18 cards

big; large

xiǎng

to want; to think

shuǐ

water

觉得

jué de

to feel; to think

告诉

gào su

to tell

已经

yǐ jīng

already

一起

yì qǐ

together

hái

still; also

时间

shí jiān

time

准备

zhǔn bèi

to prepare

非常

fēi cháng

very; extremely

开始

kāi shǐ

to begin; to start

帮助

bāng zhù

to help

than; compare

问题

wèn tí

question; problem

知道

zhī dào

to know

可以

kě yǐ

can; may

ràng

to let; to allow

Mini quiz

Check your understanding

Question 1

What does 问题 mean?

Question 2

What is the pinyin for 告诉?

Question 3

What did Cao Chong use first to weigh the elephant?

Question 4

Why did everyone think Cao Chong was smart?

Question 5

Choose the correct sentence for “They put stones in while watching the water line.”

Printable preview

Printable Story Worksheet

A simple classroom-friendly preview for Cao Chong Weighs the Elephant. Use your browser print command to print this free HTML preview.

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Story vocabulary list

·

big; large

· xiǎng

to want; to think

· shuǐ

water

觉得 · jué de

to feel; to think

告诉 · gào su

to tell

已经 · yǐ jīng

already

一起 · yì qǐ

together

· hái

still; also

时间 · shí jiān

time

准备 · zhǔn bèi

to prepare

非常 · fēi cháng

very; extremely

开始 · kāi shǐ

to begin; to start

Simple questions

  1. What does 问题 mean?

    Options: problem or question / elephant / boat / stone

  2. What is the pinyin for 告诉?

    Options: gàosu / gāoxìng / gōngzuò / gàobié

  3. What did Cao Chong use first to weigh the elephant?

    Options: A boat and water / A classroom / A horse / A mountain road

Sentence ordering exercise

Put these parts in the correct order.

曹冲还是一个孩子很久以前

More printable story activities are coming soon.