Cao Chong Weigh（称重量） the Elephant

Long ago in China, there lived a powerful emperor. Every year, the rulers of the surrounding(a. 周围的) countries had to give him presents. The presents included jewelry(n. 珠宝), gold, cloth materials, and animals. One day, a ruler of a southern country presented him a gift. It was an elephant. The emperor was delighted to see the elephant. So he asked the ruler:“What the weight of the elephant is ?”. The ruler was embarrassed(a. 尴尬的,局促不安的) . Because even the biggest scale was too small to weigh the huge elephant. The emperor had a son. His name was Cao Chong. He was the emperor’s youngest son. He thought an idea: "You could find a boat, and put the elephant in it. And then mark the new water level on the boat. Then, you could take the elephant out of the boat and put smaller stones into the boat. And make sure the water level reaches the same mark. Then, you could weigh those stones separately with a small scale. At last you add up all the weights. So you would know the weight of the elephant ." Everyone was surprised and impressed by the boy's solution.