VOA慢速英语--Words and Their Stories - 'When Life Gives You Lemons ...'

 

Now, the VOA Learning English program Words and Their Stories.

There are several kinds of citrus fruit. The most common are limes¹, oranges, grapefruit, tangerines and lemons.

Out of all of them, it is the lemon that has found its way into a number of English language expressions.

While eating an orange or grapefruit can be pleasant, we don't usually eat plain lemons. Lemons are really sour. The acid in them makes it really hard to eat them raw. Lemons are so acidic they can actually take the protective enamel² off your teeth.

So, biting into a lemon does not bring a smile to your face. In fact, when someone is unhappy she may have a puckered⁴ look on her face. In this case we can say she looks as if she just sucked on a lemon. We can also call this person a sourpuss. This is a person who always complains and always looks unhappy.

With its really sour taste, sucking on a lemon is unpleasant. So, telling someone to "Go suck a lemon!" is a way of showing your anger. It's not really nice and sounds childish⁵. But there are worse things you could say!

While we don’t usually eat lemons raw, they can add taste and vitamin C to food and drinks. But in everyday speech, the word “lemon” usually represents something poor, bad or broken.

For example, if you hand someone a lemon, you have given them something that is broken or doesn’t work. This expression means that you have cheated them. A "lemon" can also mean an unsatisfactory answer.

As we said, a lemon can be something you bought that does not work. It is defective⁶. Americans often use the word lemon to describe a newly-bought, but defective vehicle.

Let's say you go to an automotive dealership⁸ and buy what you think is a good car. On the streets around the dealership, it runs perfectly⁹. But on the drive home, everything goes wrong. The gas pedal¹⁰ sticks. The engine starts smoking. Then it just stops running in the middle of the road!

You have bought a lemon.

As you watch the tow¹¹ truck take away the car for repairs, you call the dealership and demand your money back. The salesman says with a laugh, "No way! All sales are final!"

Now, many people would get angry. Not only do you not have a car, but you have lost a lot of money. But you don't get upset. You find a way to make this situation work for you.

After all, you are a person who looks on the bright side. Your life's belief is: When life give you lemons, you make lemonade!

Here, the term "lemon" means a problem or difficulty in life. Lemonade is a cool refreshing¹² drink. You could say it is the prize you get by overcoming difficulty with your good attitude.

So, we use this expression to describe a situation where something goes wrong but the person in the situation chooses to turn it into a positive experience. People who turn lemons into lemonade we call optimistic. They have a can-do attitude!

This is a common phrase and we use in many different situations. Sometimes we don't even need to say the whole thing. If you simply say, "When life gives you lemons ..." people will know what you mean.

So, back to our broken car story. You take the lemon of a car you bought at the dealership and you make lemonade.

First, you learn about your rights as a buyer under a measure known as the lemon law. In the United States, this requires an automobile¹³ manufacturer or dealer⁷ to replace, repair, or refund¹⁴ the cost of an automobile that proves to be defective after purchase.

Under the lemon law, you will get your money back. But don't stop there. Why make a glass of lemonade when you can make a whole pitcher¹⁵!

You warn friends and neighbors about that car dealership. You write an article for the local newspaper about lemon laws. The newspaper receives many emails and letters from people who had similar experiences. Knowing their rights, they also demand their money back for the lemons that were sold to them. The newspaper is so happy with the amount of responses that it offers you a part-time job writing stories about consumer issues.

You've turned a bad experience into something good and you've helped others. Life gave you lemons and you made lemonade.

And that's the end of this week’s Words and Their Stories.

I'm Anna Matteo.

Have you ever had to make lemonade from the lemons life gave you? Or do you have a similar expression in your language? Let us know in the Comments Section.

“Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet. But the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat. Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet. But the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.”

Words in This Story

citrus – n. a juicy fruit (such as an orange, grapefruit, or lemon) that has a thick skin and that comes from a tree or shrub¹⁶ that grows in warm areas — often used before another noun

sour – adj. having an acid taste that is like the taste of a lemon

acid – n. chemistry : a chemical with a sour taste that forms a salt when mixed with a base / acidic – adj. containing acid : having a very sour or sharp taste

pucker³ – v. to pull the sides of (something, such as skin or cloth) together so that folds or wrinkles¹⁷ are formed : puckered – adj.

defective – adj. having a problem or fault that prevents something from working correctly : having a defect or flaw¹⁸

optimistic – adj. having or showing hope for the future : expecting good things to happen : hopeful

positive – adj. good or useful

can-do – adj. having or showing an ability to do difficult things

attitude – n. the way you think and feel about someone or something

refund – n. to give back money that someone paid for something (such as a product that was returned or a service that was not acceptable)

consumer – n. a person who buys goods and services

1 limes   

n.古罗马边境的城墙；酸橙( lime的名词复数 )；石灰；酸橙树；欧椴树

参考例句：

• an avenue of limes 两边栽有欧椴树的林荫道
• I will never go in a boat again without salt or limes." 以后不带盐或酸橙，我绝对不再乘船了。” 来自英汉文学 - 老人与海

2 enamel   

n.珐琅，搪瓷，瓷釉；(牙齿的)珐琅质

参考例句：

• I chipped the enamel on my front tooth when I fell over.我跌倒时门牙的珐琅质碰碎了。
• He collected coloured enamel bowls from Yugoslavia.他藏有来自南斯拉夫的彩色搪瓷碗。

3 pucker   

v.撅起，使起皱；n.（衣服上的）皱纹，褶子

参考例句：

• She puckered her lips into a rosebud and kissed him on the nose.她双唇努起犹如一朵玫瑰花蕾，在他的鼻子上吻了一下。
• Toby's face puckered.托比的脸皱了起来。

4 puckered   

v.（使某物）起褶子或皱纹( pucker的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His face puckered , and he was ready to cry. 他的脸一皱，像要哭了。
• His face puckered, the tears leapt from his eyes. 他皱着脸，眼泪夺眶而出。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 childish   

adj.孩子的，孩子气的，幼稚的

参考例句：

• The little girl spoke in a high childish voice.这个小女孩用尖尖的童声讲话。
• We eventually ran out of patience with his childish behaviour.我们终于对他幼稚的行为忍无可忍。

6 defective   

adj.有毛病的，有问题的，有瑕疵的

参考例句：

• The firm had received bad publicity over a defective product. 该公司因为一件次品而受到媒体攻击。
• If the goods prove defective, the customer has the right to compensation. 如果货品证明有缺陷， 顾客有权索赔。

7 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

8 dealership   

n.商品特许经销处

参考例句：

• The car dealership has a large inventory of used cars. 这家汽车经销商拥有数量庞大的二手车。
• A key to this effort is the experience in the dealership. 达到这个成果的关键是销售的体验。

9 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

10 pedal   

n.踏板；adj.脚的，踏脚的；v.用脚踏动，踩踏板

参考例句：

• He pressed down the accelerator pedal of his car.他踩下汽车的加速器踏板。
• I saw him pedal to school every morning.我看到他每天早晨骑自行车上学。

11 tow   

n.拖，拉，牵引

参考例句：

• The broken-down car was taken in tow by a lorry.那辆坏了的车由一辆货车拖着。
• Mrs Hayes went to the supermarket with her four little children in tow.海斯太太带着她的4个小孩到超市去了。

12 refreshing   

adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的

参考例句：

• I find it'so refreshing to work with young people in this department.我发现和这一部门的青年一起工作令人精神振奋。
• The water was cold and wonderfully refreshing.水很涼，特别解乏提神。

13 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

14 refund   

v.退还，偿还；n.归还，偿还额，退款

参考例句：

• They demand a refund on unsatisfactory goods.他们对不满意的货品要求退款。
• We'll refund your money if you aren't satisfied.你若不满意，我们愿意退款给你。

15 pitcher   

n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手

参考例句：

• He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
• Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。

16 shrub   

n.灌木，灌木丛

参考例句：

• There is a small evergreen shrub on the hillside.山腰上有一小块常绿灌木丛。
• Moving a shrub is best done in early spring.移植灌木最好是在初春的时候。

17 wrinkles   

n.（尤指皮肤上的）皱纹( wrinkle的名词复数 )；皱褶；有用的建议；妙计v.使起皱纹( wrinkle的第三人称单数 )；（尤指皮肤）起皱纹

参考例句：

• There were fine wrinkles around her eyes. 她眼角上出现了鱼尾纹。
• His face was lined with wrinkles. 他的脸上都是皱纹。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 flaw   

n.缺陷，瑕疵，裂缝；vt.使有缺陷，损害

参考例句：

• The flaw in this stamp makes it less valuable.这张邮票因为有点缺陷，不那么值钱。
• Jealousy is a big flaw in his character.嫉妒是他品格中的一个大缺点。