once a man wanted to go to the south， but his carriage was heading north. a passer-by asked him： 'if you are going to the south， why is your chariot heading north? ' the man answered， 'my horse is good at running， my driver is highly skilled at driving a carriage， and i have enough money. ' the man didn't consider that the direction might be wrong; the better his conditions were， the further he was away from his destination.

　　译文

　　从前有个人要到南方去，他坐的车子却向北方行驶。过路人说：“你去南方，车子怎么向北行驶呢?”他回答说：“我的马很能跑路，我的车夫驾车的技术也很高明，加上我又带了充足的路费。”这个人没有考虑到，方向弄反了，他的条件好，离他要去的地方就越远。

　　寓意

　　the idiom derived from this story indicates that one's action was the opposite effect to one's intention.

　　后来人们就把这个故事概括为“南辕北辙”，比喻一个人的行为和他的目的正好相反

　　更多精彩内容 >> 新东方网英语频道 

　　全国新东方英语课程搜索

（实习编辑：高奕飞）