【成語(yǔ)來(lái)源】?

one's own wishful thinking
一廂情愿

Many years ago, a farmer happened to see the King's daughter in the capital. He lost his heart to her at once.
從前，有個(gè)農(nóng)夫偶然在國(guó)都看見(jiàn)了公主，頓時(shí)被她的美貌傾倒。

After returning, he missed the princess day and night. Soon, he was ill.
回家后，天天思念，不久就生病了。

His friends and relatives came to see him.
他的親人和朋友都來(lái)看他。

When they knew the reason why the farmer was ill, they thought it was quite difficult to help the farmer, for the King would never consent to his daughter marrying a poor man.
他們知道農(nóng)夫想娶公主后，覺(jué)得事情很難辦。因?yàn)閲?guó)王是不會(huì)把女兒嫁給一個(gè)農(nóng)夫的。

But the sick man sighed sadly: "If I can't get the princess, I will be dead." His friends tried to persuade him, but in vain. So they had to play a trick.
可這個(gè)農(nóng)夫叫道：“得不到公主我會(huì)死的?！迸笥褌冋f(shuō)服不了他，只好想了一個(gè)辦法騙他。

Some days later, they came to see the man again and told him they had asked the princess to marry him, but she rejected.
幾天后，他們又來(lái)看農(nóng)夫，并告訴他他們?nèi)ヒ?jiàn)過(guò)公主，但公主拒絕了他們的請(qǐng)求。

In fact, they had never done it. But the foolish man believed. However, he did not give up his mind.
其實(shí)，他們根本沒(méi)見(jiàn)過(guò)公主。但農(nóng)夫相信了朋友們的話，可他并不死心。

He announced: "if I visit the princess in person, she will say yes." If he did so, you can guess the result.
他認(rèn)為如果他親自去，公主一定會(huì)答應(yīng)。你可以猜想如果他親自去會(huì)有什么結(jié)果。

Later,people use it to describe the man who only considers his own aspiration, ignoring the objective situation and others' opinions.
后來(lái)，人們就用“一廂情愿”來(lái)比喻一個(gè)人只顧自己的想法，不管當(dāng)時(shí)的客觀情況，也不理會(huì)別人的看法。

【文化鏈接】

自己憑空想象不一定會(huì)發(fā)生的事情，也就是“一廂情愿”。英文里要表達(dá)這句成語(yǔ)則會(huì)用很簡(jiǎn)單的說(shuō)法“one's own wishful thinking”。因?yàn)檩^之hope，wish本來(lái)在涵義上就比較跟現(xiàn)實(shí)脫節(jié)，實(shí)現(xiàn)可能性比較小。我們下面來(lái)看一段對(duì)話：

Peter：Why do you keep doing extra work for Joe? He’s taking you for granted now.
Peter：你干嘛老幫John做額外的工作？他現(xiàn)在把你做的事當(dāng)作是理所當(dāng)然的。

Tina：I know he’s becoming very demanding now. But I just hope he’ll start appreciating what I’ve done for him.
Tina：我知道他現(xiàn)在要求越來(lái)越多了。可是我總希望他會(huì)開(kāi)始感激我?guī)退龅氖隆?/div>

Peter：You’ve always been a great team player but you really deserve someone better to work with.
Peter：你向來(lái)都是最有團(tuán)隊(duì)精神的，不過(guò)你真應(yīng)該和好一點(diǎn)的人共事啊。

Tina： Well, we were assigned to complete a project together. I think he will learn that it’s impossible to finish something all by oneself. And perhaps, he’ll become more supportive and thoughtful in the near future.
Tina：我們被分配要一起完成一個(gè)計(jì)劃。我想他會(huì)了解，只靠自己一個(gè)人是不可能把事情做完的?；蛟S以后他會(huì)變得比較愿意去多協(xié)助、多體諒別人。

Peter：It’s just your wishful thinking. Honestly, you’re not his mother and it’s not even your responsibility to“bring him up!”
Peter：這只是你一廂情愿的想法。老實(shí)說(shuō)，你又不是他的媽媽，沒(méi)有責(zé)任把他“拉扯大”啊。