Ineffectual Aid

（单词翻译:单击）

    Duke¹ Mu of the state of Lu sent his sons to the states of Jin and Chu to occupy high positions in their governments．His minister Li Chu said，“If your son is drowning and you send for a man from the state of Yue so far away to come and save the child，then your son cannot be saved even though the men of the state of Yue are good swimmers．If a fire breaks out and you fetch water from the sea to put it out，then even though the water from the sea is abundant，the fire will not be put out timely²． Water far away is useless to the fire at hand．The states of Jin and Chu are indeed strong andpowerful now，but the state of Qi is nearer to our state．If we are imperilled，how can the states of Jin and Chu come to our aid in time？”
    Exercises：
    回答下列问题：
    ① Why did Duke Mu of the state of Lu send his sons to the states of Jin and Chu？
    ② What did his minister Li Chu really want to say？