In the past, someone said:

从前，有个人说:

"The pear is good for the teeth, but bad for the spleen; the date is good for the spleen, but bad for the teeth."

“吃生梨对牙齿有好处，但是会伤脾;吃红枣对脾有好处，但是会损害牙齿。”

A young man heard this, thought it over for a long time and said:

一个年轻人听了这句话，想了很久，说道:

"Then, when I eat a pear, I'll keep it in my mouth and chew it with my teeth, but won't swallow it, so it will not do any harm to my spleen. When I eat a date, I won't chew it, but will swallow it whole, so it will not do any harm to my teeth."

“那我吃生梨的时候，就含在嘴里，用牙齿咀嚼，但是不往肚里咽，它就损伤不了我的脾。吃枣的时候，我把它整个儿吞下去，不去咀嚼，这样就不会损害我的牙齿了。”

When people heard this, they jeered¹ at him:

人们听了他的话，讥笑说:

"You are swallowing a date whole!"

“你这是在回回吞枣啊!”