VOA慢速英语2020 以花为名

Flowers add so much to our world.

花为我们的世界增添了许多光彩。

They feed the bees and other pollinators. They are beautiful.

Some smell so good that they are used in perfume, lotion¹ and other body products.

它们为蜜蜂和其他传粉者提供食物。花是美丽的。

有些气味很好闻，可以用于制香水、乳液和其他身体产品。

Many parents name their daughters after flowers.

Popular ones are Daisy, Rose, Lily, Jasmine, Heather, Holly² and Violet.

许多父母以花为女儿命名。受欢迎的有Daisy， Rose， Lily， Jasmine， Heather， Holly and Violet。（雏菊，玫瑰，百合，茉莉，石南，冬青和紫罗兰。）

On today's program we are going to talk about that last one – Violet.

The name Violet is found in an English expression.

在今天的节目中，我们将讨论最后一个名字——Violet（紫罗兰）。

Violet这个名字出现在一个英语表达中。

A shrinking violet describes someone who is very shy.

Oh, my shrinking violet, I left my basket of impatience³ at your door.

A shrinking violet 是指非常害羞的人。

哦，害羞的人，我把一篮急躁置于你门前。

I brought my tulips for your two lips, but the bulb don't burn anymore. Shrinking violets are not bold.

They are afraid to speak their minds.

我为你的双唇带来了郁金香（你的双唇如郁金香般性感），但是灯火已不再燃烧。

羞怯的人并不大胆。他们害怕说出自己的想法。

When faced with a difficult situation, a shrinking violet seems to get smaller.

They shrink away from the problem.

当面对困难时，一个羞怯的人似乎变得更渺小了。

他们回避问题。

Another adjective to describe a shrinking violet is modest.

They do not like to be the center of attention.

另一个形容羞怯的形容词是"modest"。

他们不喜欢成为关注的焦点。

However, we often use this expression to describe people who are the opposite of modest, shy and fearful.

And we often say it a special way.

然而，我们经常用这个表达来形容那些与谦虚、害羞和害怕相反的人。

我们经常用一种特殊的方式来表达。

We say that someone is "no shrinking violet" instead of saying "not a shrinking violet". Let me give you an example.

我们说某人"no shrinking violet(不害羞的人)"，而不是说"not a shrinking violet"。

让我们来看一个例子。

My friend Olga loves to perform. She is a great singer. And she's no shrinking violet!

If there is a party, you don't need to ask her twice to sing for a crowd.

我的朋友奥尔加喜欢表演。她是个很棒的歌手。她可不是个害羞的人！

如果有一个聚会，你不需要反复邀请她在众人面前唱歌。

Just give her a microphone and an audience and she is ready to perform!

Now that I think of it, she doesn't even need a microphone . . . or an audience.

只要给她麦克风和观众，她就准备好表演了！

现在我想起来了，她甚至不需要麦克风或者观众。

She's also no shrinking violet when it comes to sharing her thoughts.

You always know where you stand with Olga.

当谈到分享自己的想法时，她也一点不羞涩。

你总是能清楚明白奥尔加的想法，知道她的立场。

To know where you stand with someone means you know how they feel about things – and how they feel about you.

They share their thoughts and feelings freely.

"To know where you stand with someone"

意味着你知道他们对事情的感觉——以及他们对你的感觉。

他们自由地分享他们的思想和感受。

Now, let's talk about another flower – the wallflower.

If you look up "wallflower" in the dictionary, you might get confused.

现在，我们来谈谈另一种花——壁花。

如果你在字典里查"wallflower(壁花)"，你可能会感到困惑。

Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary says wallflowers are hardy⁴ herbs often grown for their showy, sweet-smelling flowers.

They are even able to grow in extremely small cracks in walls.

《韦氏在线词典》称，壁花是一种耐寒的草本植物，通常因其艳丽、芳香的花朵而种植。

它们甚至能在墙壁上极小的裂缝中生长。

That is where they get their name – wallflower.

In nature, wallflowers may be "showy" – or have a very noticeable appearance.

这就是它们的名字——壁花的由来。

在自然界中，壁花可能是"艳丽的"——或者有一个非常引人注目的外观。

But strangely, people who are described as wallflowers are not showy.

In fact, a person who is a wallflower is the opposite!

但奇怪的是，被形容为壁花的人并不引人注目。

事实上，壁花者正好相反！

Like shrinking violets, these people are also quiet and shy.

At a party, a wallflower can be found standing⁵ against the wall, watching the fun from a distance.

像羞怯的紫罗兰一样，这些人也很安静和害羞。

在聚会上，你会发现壁花者靠墙站着，远远地看着热闹。

They stay apart from other people – waiting for someone to talk to them or ask them to dance.

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

他们和其他人保持距离，等着有人跟他们说话或者邀请他们跳舞。

以上就是本期单词故事的全部内容。

Practice using these two expressions: shrinking violet or wallflower.

Until next time . . .

试着练习使用这两个表达：shrinking violet 或wallflower 。

I'm Anna Matteo.

下次再见，安娜·马特奥为您播报。

1 lotion   

n.洗剂

参考例句：

• The lotion should be applied sparingly to the skin.这种洗液应均匀地涂在皮肤上。
• She lubricates her hands with a lotion.她用一种洗剂来滑润她的手。

2 holly   

n.[植]冬青属灌木

参考例句：

• I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.最近我从一棵冬青树上弄了些木料。
• People often decorate their houses with holly at Christmas.人们总是在圣诞节时用冬青来装饰房屋。

3 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。

4 hardy   

adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的

参考例句：

• The kind of plant is a hardy annual.这种植物是耐寒的一年生植物。
• He is a hardy person.他是一个能吃苦耐劳的人。

5 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。