玫瑰是一个传说

    玫瑰是一个传说
People have been passionate¹ about roses since the beginning of time． In fact， it is said that the floors of Cleopatra's palace were carpeted with delicate rose petals²， and that the wise and knowing Confucius had a 600－book library specifically on how to care for roses．人类有史以来就钟情于玫瑰。据说，克娄巴特拉的宫殿的地面就铺满了娇嫩的玫瑰花瓣，博学的孔子有600册藏书专门讲述如何培育玫瑰。
    The rose is a legend on its own． The story goes that during the Roman Empire， there was an incredibly beautiful maiden³ named Rhodanthe． Her beauty drew many zealous⁴ suitors who pursued her relentlessly⁵． Exhausted⁶ by their pursuit， Rhodanthe was forced to take refuge from her suitors in the temple of her friend Diana． Unfortunately， Diana became jealous． And when the suitors broke down her temple gates to get near their beloved Rhodanthe， she became angry turning Rhodanthe into a rose and her suitors into thorns．玫瑰本身就是一个传说。在罗马帝国时代，有一个名叫罗丹斯的美丽绝伦的少女。她的丽姿引来了无数狂热的求婚者锲而不舍地追求她。罗丹斯实在招架不住了，不得不到朋友狄安娜的神庙里躲避她的求婚者。不幸的是，狄安娜产生了嫉妒之心。当求婚者冲进了神庙的大门，要接近他们所爱恋着的罗丹斯时，狄安娜一怒之下将罗丹斯变成了一枝玫瑰花，将她的求婚者变成了花刺。
    In Greek legend， the rose was created by Chloris， the Greek goddess of flowers． It was just a lifeless seed of a nymph that Chloris found one day in a clearing in the woods． She asked the help of Aphrodite， the goddess of love， who gave her beauty Dionysus， the god of wine， added nectar to give her a sweet scent⁷， and the three Graces gave her charm， brightness and joy． Then Zephyr⁸， the West Wind， blew away the clouds so that Apollo， the sun god， could shine and made this flower bloom． And so the Rose was born and was immediately crowned the Queen of Flowers．在希腊传说中，玫瑰是希腊花神克罗斯创造的。当初玫瑰只是林中一个仙女的尚无生命的一粒种子。一天，花神克罗斯偶然在森林的一块空地上发现了它。克罗斯请求爱神阿佛洛狄特赋予了它美丽的容貌；让酒神狄俄尼索斯浇洒了神酒，使它拥有了芬芳的气味。又有美惠三女神将魅力、聪颖和欢乐赐予了它。随后，西风之神吹散了云朵，太阳神阿波罗得以照耀它并使它开花。玫瑰就这样诞生了，并立即被封为花中之皇后。

1 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

2 petals   

n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• white petals tinged with blue 略带蓝色的白花瓣
• The petals of many flowers expand in the sunshine. 许多花瓣在阳光下开放。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 maiden   

n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的

参考例句：

• The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
• The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

4 zealous   

adj.狂热的，热心的

参考例句：

• She made zealous efforts to clean up the classroom.她非常热心地努力清扫教室。
• She is a zealous supporter of our cause.她是我们事业的热心支持者。

5 relentlessly   

adv.不屈不挠地；残酷地；不间断

参考例句：

• The African sun beat relentlessly down on his aching head. 非洲的太阳无情地照射在他那发痛的头上。
• He pursued her relentlessly, refusing to take 'no' for an answer. 他锲而不舍地追求她，拒不接受“不”的回答。

6 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

7 scent   

n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
• The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

8 zephyr   

n.和风，微风

参考例句：

• I feel very comfortable in the zephyr from the sea.从海上吹来的和风令我非常惬意。
• Zephyr,the West Wind,blew away the clouds so that Apollo,the sun god,could shine and made this flower bloom.西风之神吹散了云朵，太阳神阿波罗得以照耀它并使它开花。