Take Time to 'Stop and Smell the Roses'

And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.

Are you feeling overworked? Are you so concerned with moving up in your career that you feel stressed and unhappy? If so, maybe it is time for you to stop and smell the roses.

People who need to stop and smell the roses should stop working so hard. They need to slow down and take time to appreciate the many things that life has to offer. Often this means enjoying the wonders of nature – looking at stars in the night sky, feeling the wind blowing your hair, smelling flowers growing near a busy street.

But the flowers do not have to be roses.

While this expression relates to roses, it can be anything rather small or even commonplace¹. These things may seem small but they can give us great joy.

The thing that you stop to watch could be an old married couple holding hands, a child jumping in a puddle² or a musician performing by your bus stop. These are the things -- simple but beautiful things -- that we often walk by in a hurry to get to our next appointment.

Very ambitious³, highly driven people often need to stop and smell the roses. We sometimes call this kind of person Type A. Such people often do not know when to sit back and stop working. So, they may have a hard time slowing down and doing something as simple as smelling flowers.

But you know, maybe for a Type A person, the best thing in the world might be working. In that case, stopping to smell the roses may give them no joy at all. Maybe smelling flowers gives them an allergic⁴ reaction. Maybe the person has many mouths to feed at home and does not have time to stop and smell the roses.

People and their situations are complex.

Now, we turn to about another "rose" expression: Every rose has its thorns⁶.

Roses come in many colors and many are beautiful. Also, some of the flowers give off a wonderful smell. No one can argue with that. But most roses have something that is not very nice – thorns.

Thorns stick out from the stem⁷ of the plant. They can cut into the skin and make you bleed. They hurt!

Every rose has its thorns means that everything usually has a bad side – even beautiful things.

This expression can also mean that a thorn⁵ does not take away from a rose's beauty. Are the thorns unpleasant when they cut us? Well, yes. But is the rose still beautiful and worthwhile to have? Again ... yes!

We need to respect the beauty of roses and the thing that can hurt us – the thorn. Thorns help protect the plant from plant-eating animals. So, they serve a purpose.

Maybe flowers are as complex as we are.

Which expression best describes your feelings right now: to stop and smell the roses or every rose has its thorns?

And that brings us to the end of this Words and Their Stories. Join us again next week as we explore more expressions in American English.

Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo!

"Every rose has its thorns. Just like every night has its dawn. Just like every cowboy sings a sad, sad song. Every rose has its thorns."

Anna Matteo wrote this for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

Words in This Story

stressed – adj. feeling very worried or anxious

appreciate – v. to understand the worth or importance of something or someone : to admire and value something or someone

puddle – n. a very small pool of usually dirty or muddy water

ambitious – adj. having or controlled by ambition : having a desire to be successful, powerful, or famous

driven – adj. very determined⁸ to succeed

Type A – adj. relating to, characteristic of, having, or being a personality that is marked by impatience⁹, aggressiveness, and competitiveness¹⁰ and that has been implicated¹¹ by some studies as a factor increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease Type A – n. person with a Type A behavior

allergic reaction – n. An allergic reaction occurs when the immune¹² system overreacts to a harmless substance known as an allergen.

1 commonplace   

adj.平凡的，普通的；n.寻常的事物，常见的事

参考例句：

• Soon it will be commonplace for men to travel to the moon.人们去月球旅行很快就会成为常事。
• What he has said is a mere commonplace view.他所说的不过是尘俗之见而已。

2 puddle   

n.(雨)水坑，泥潭

参考例句：

• The boy hopped the mud puddle and ran down the walk.这个男孩跳过泥坑，沿着人行道跑了。
• She tripped over and landed in a puddle.她绊了一下，跌在水坑里。

3 ambitious   

adj.有雄心的，劲头十足的，有野心的

参考例句：

• One may be poor but never ceases to be ambitious.人穷志不穷。
• He is an ambitious young man full of enthusiasm and vitality.他是个充满热情与活力的有远大抱负的青年。

4 allergic   

adj.过敏的，变态的

参考例句：

• Alice is allergic to the fur of cats.艾丽斯对猫的皮毛过敏。
• Many people are allergic to airborne pollutants such as pollen.许多人对空气传播的污染物过敏，比如花粉。

5 thorn   

n.刺，荆棘，带刺小灌木

参考例句：

• The little boy stepped on a sharp thorn.那小男孩踩着了一根尖刺。
• The dog had a thorn in its pad.这只狗的爪垫上扎了根刺。

6 thorns   

（玫瑰之类植物的）刺( thorn的名词复数 )； 棘刺； 带刺的树； 荆棘

参考例句：

• I was sitting on the thorns while waiting for the outcome. 等待结果时我如坐针毡。
• They had to stop to pick out thorns from their feet. 他们只得停下来把脚上的刺拔去。

7 stem   

n.茎，干，船首，词干，血统；vt.堵住，阻止，抽去梗；vi.起源于，发生

参考例句：

• Cut the stem cleanly,just beneath a leaf joint.把茎切整齐点，正好切在叶根下。
• The ship was in a blaze from stem to stern.整艘船从头到尾都着火了。

8 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

9 impatience   

n.不耐烦，急躁

参考例句：

• He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
• He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

10 competitiveness   

n.竞争能力

参考例句：

• At the same time shifts in international competitiveness were beginning to be felt. 与此同时，国际市场上的竞争能力也出现了变化。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• Their scientific know-how, innovation and technical capability are critical to maintaining the nation's competitiveness and productivity. 它们的科学知识、革新和技术能力对于保持本国的竞争力和生产率来说都是至关重要的。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

11 implicated   

adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的

参考例句：

• These groups are very strongly implicated in the violence. 这些组织与这起暴力事件有着极大的关联。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Having the stolen goods in his possession implicated him in the robbery. 因藏有赃物使他涉有偷盗的嫌疑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 immune   

adj.免疫的，有免疫力的，不受影响的，免除的

参考例句：

• I am immune from the disease,for I had it once.我对这病有免疫力，因为我已得过一次了。
• Be immune from corruption.拒腐蚀，永不沾。