1. 古时候，有个人看到一个朋友驾着马车飞跑，便问：“你要去哪里？”
Once upon a time a man was driving his carriage very fast. His friend asked him, “Where are you going?”
2. 他的朋友回答：“我要去楚国。”他一听，奇怪地问：“楚国在南面，你怎么往北走？”
“I am going to the state of Chu,” was the answer. His friend was very surprised and said; "Chu is to the south, so why are you going northward?"
3. 朋友说：“我的马跑得快。”他说：“你的马虽然快，可这不是到楚国的路呀？”
"Never mind", the man answered, "My horse can run fast." "No matter how fast it runs," said his friend, "You can never reach your destination because this is not the right way to the state of Chu."
4. 朋友说：“我带了很多钱。”他说：“你带的钱再多，可方向错了，也到不了楚国呀？”
"I have a lot of money." replied the traveler. “Even if you have got alot of money," continued his friend, “You still cannot reach the state of Chu. The direction that you are headed is wrong."
5. 朋友又说：“我的车夫驾车技术高。”他叹了口气，说：“你的马越快，带的钱越多，驾车技术越高，如果方向错了，那就离楚国越来越远了。”
"Well," answered the traveler still more obstinately. "My driver is highly skilled at driving a carriage." His friend lamented; "The faster your horse runs, the more money you’ve got and the more skilled your driver is, "the farther you are away from the state of Chu by continuing to head northward."
New Words
①车夫：driver; groom ②驾车：drive
Culture Tips
The idiom“南辕北辙”（Aim south while driving northward）is from this story. Here“辕”refers to the two shafts of a cart or carriage and“辙”means rut or the track of a wheel. The meaning of this idiom is that wanting to go south by driving the carriage north, will only lead one to the opposite effect of his intention.
Language Points
Q: 你要去哪里？ Where are you going?
A: 我要去…… I’m going (to)…
【Have a Try】
1. Fill in the blanks with the words in the brackets.
Q: 你要去哪里？
A: 我要去 。（学校）
2. Ask and answer with your classmates.
Q: 你要去哪里？
A: 我要去 。
Reading Comprehension
1. Which way was the state of Chu towards?
(a)南 (b)北
2. Is the way the man went right?
(a)对 (b)不对