英语讲故事比赛素材之“自相矛盾”，英文绘本，少儿英语

自相矛盾

The Spear and the Shield Paradox

在古代的中国，有一个卖兵器的小贩。他总是能说出一些很厉害的话来吸引顾客。有一天，他在集市上摆摊卖他的长矛和盾牌。

In ancient China, there was a peddler who sold weapons. He always said impressive things to attract customers. One day, he set up a stall at the market to sell his spears and shields.

他首先拿起一支长矛，高声叫卖：“快来看啊！这是我家传的无敌长矛，它能刺穿任何盾牌，没有什么东西能够挡住它！”大家听了都很好奇，纷纷围了过来。

First, he picked up a spear and shouted, "Come and see! This is my family's invincible spear. It can pierce through any shield, and nothing can stop it!" Everyone was curious and gathered around.

接着，小贩又拿起一个盾牌，自信满满地说：“还有这个盾牌，它也是无敌的！什么东西都不能刺穿它，任何攻击都对它无效！”人们听了更加惊讶，觉得这个盾牌也非常厉害。

Then, the peddler picked up a shield and confidently said, "And this shield is also invincible! Nothing can pierce through it, and any attack is useless against it!" People were even more amazed and thought the shield was extraordinary.

这时，有一个小孩挠了挠头，好奇地问道：“你说你的长矛能刺穿任何东西，你的盾牌也能挡住任何攻击，那如果用你的长矛去刺你的盾牌，会发生什么呢？”

At this moment, a child scratched his head and curiously asked, "You said your spear can pierce through anything, and your shield can block any attack. So what happens if you use your spear to pierce your shield?"

小贩听了这话，顿时语塞，不知道该怎么回答。原来，他自己说的话互相矛盾。从这个故事中，我们可以学到：说话做事要前后一致，不能自相矛盾，否则会让人觉得不可信。

The peddler was speechless and didn't know how to answer. It turned out that his words contradicted each other. From this story, we can learn that our words and actions should be consistent and not contradictory, or else people will find us untrustworthy.