'The Road to Hell Is Paved With Good Intentions'

'The Road to Hell¹ Is Paved³ With Good Intentions'

And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning⁴ English.

Roads are paved with different kinds of materials, such as concrete or asphalt. Older roads were paved with cobblestones. Some streets in Washington, DC still have the cobblestones from over a hundred years ago. They were meant for horses and carriages. So, they can be difficult to walk on.

Today we talk about roads paved with a very different material – intentions. Intentions are things we mean to do or things we want to do. They are not things we have done.

So, sometimes we say: The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

This is a proverb -- a short, well-known saying containing a wise thought. The wise thought with this proverb is promises and plans must be put into action, or else they are useless.

Some people talk a lot about doing things, but they don't actually do them.

This proverb means that we intend to do something good but, in the end, we do not do it. And the road to hell (a bad place) is paved with all those promises that we did not keep.

Now, let's hear it used in an example.

There is a community event to raise money for a new playground. Many people promised their time and skills to raise the money, including a woman named Tara. But Tara did not show up at the event.

Let's listen...

A: Hey, have you seen Tara?

B: No, I haven't, and I've been here all day. What was she supposed to do for the event?

A: She promised to bring her famous bread for the event. She said she could raise around $500 for the new playground. Well, that was her intention anyway.

B: You know what they say: The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Tara always promises and then doesn't deliver.

A: I wish I had known that before organizing this event.

Sometimes, we would say that talk is cheap, or actions speak louder than words. These are both common expressions to use when someone promises to do something but fails to come through or when they simply talk about doing something.

We also use the road to hell is paved with good intentions to describe another situation. It is not enough to intend to behave well or treat others well. For it to count, you must actually do it.

And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories.

Words in This Story

pave² – v. to make a hard surface on (as with concrete or asphalt)

carriage – n. a vehicle with wheels used for carrying people

playground – n. a piece of land used for and usually equipped with facilities for recreation especially by children

1 hell   

n.地狱，阴间；用以咒骂或表示愤怒，不满

参考例句：

• It's a hell of a hike from Sydney to Perth.从悉尼到珀斯的徒步旅行简直苦死了。
• The boss really gave me hell today.老板今天着实数落了我一通。

2 pave   

vt.给（道路路面）铺上石板或砖

参考例句：

• The town council decided to pave the square before the Hall.市议会决定把市政厅前的广场铺上石板。
• I believe this treaty will pave the way to peace in Europe.我相信这个条约将为欧洲的和平铺平道路。

3 paved   

v.铺( pave的过去式和过去分词 )；为…铺平道路

参考例句：

• a paved area near the back door 后门旁一块石板地
• The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track. 铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄，成了一条崎岖不平的小径。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。