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And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
欢迎收听VOA慢速英语《词汇掌故》节目。
On today's program, let's talk about flowers; but not just any flowers -- roses.
在今天的节目中，我们来谈谈花；但不是一般的花——玫瑰。
Who doesn't love a beautiful, sweet-smelling rose?
谁不喜欢美丽芬芳的玫瑰呢？
The ancient Greeks and Romans connected roses with Aphrodite and Venus, the goddess of love.
古希腊人和古罗马人将玫瑰与爱神阿佛洛狄忒和维纳斯联系在一起。
In modern times, you give a red rose to your true love and a yellow one to your true friend.
在现代，你会送红玫瑰给你的真爱，送黄玫瑰给你的真朋友。
But roses also have a bad side -- thorns.
但玫瑰也有不好的一面——刺。
A thorn is the very sharp part of some woody plants, like blackberry bushes and roses.
刺是一些木本植物非常尖锐的部分，比如黑莓灌木和玫瑰。
A prick from a thorn is painful and can cause you to bleed.
被刺扎到会很痛，还会让你流血。
So, a rose has both beauty and pain.
所以，玫瑰既美丽又让人痛苦。
That is where the saying every rose has its thorns comes from.
这就是俗语“玫瑰皆有刺（没有尽善尽美的东西）”的来源。
It means that rarely is something completely good.
它的意思是很少有完美的东西。
Even a very pleasant thing, event, or situation can have a bad or unpleasant side.
即使是非常愉快的事情、事件或情况也可能会有不好或不愉快的一面。
You also could say, there's no rose without a thorn.
你也可以说，没有不带刺的玫瑰。
Actually, there are some kinds of roses without thorns.
事实上，有些玫瑰不带刺。
But let's not go down that garden path and just stay with our expression for today.
但我们不要沿着花园小径走下去，继续讲解我们今天的短语。
Now, here is an example of how to use the expression, every rose has its thorns.
下面有一个如何使用短语every rose has its thorns（没有尽善尽美的东西）的例子。
Let's say you were on a game show and won a new car and a trip to Mexico.
假设你在一个游戏节目中赢得了一辆新车和一次墨西哥之旅。
You are very excited but then find out that you must pay taxes on all the winnings.
你很兴奋，但后来发现你必须为所有的奖励缴税。
As you get ready to pay the big tax bill, you could say: "Well, every rose has its thorns."
当你准备支付一大笔税款时，你可能会说：“好吧，没有尽善尽美的东西。”
"Thorn" has another meaning.
“Thorn”还有另一个意思。
It can also be something or someone that bothers you.
它也可以指困扰你的某件事或某人。
A thorn in your side is a small problem, not a serious one.
“你的眼中钉”是个小问题，不是大问题。
After all, thorns cause pain, but they are not going to kill you.
毕竟，刺会带来疼痛，但它们不会杀死你。
A friend who always borrows money from you could become a thorn in your side.
一个总是向你借钱的朋友可能会成为你的眼中钉。
She is annoying but not a serious problem.
她很烦人，但不是一个严重的问题。
But what if her money troubles led to bigger problems for her?
但如果她的金钱问题给她带来了更大的问题呢？
Let's say she cannot pay her bills, and she is in danger of losing her home.
比方说，她付不起账单，她面临着失去房子的危险。
In that situation, we can say she has made for herself a bed of thorns.
在这种情况下，我们可以说她为自己铺了一张荆棘床。
This expression describes a painful, difficult, or unpleasant situation.
这个短语用来描述痛苦、困难或令人不快的情况。
On the other hand, if she finds a way to make a lot of money, and she can pay off her debt, we can say she is now sleeping in a bed of roses.
另一方面，如果她找到了赚大钱的方法，她可以还清债务，我们可以说她现在睡在安乐窝上。
That is a really pleasant place to be.
那真的是一个令人愉快的地方。
Sometimes though, we use a bed of roses in a negative form to describe an unpleasant situation, like in this example:
但有时，我们会用“a bed of roses”的否定形式来描述不愉快的情况，就像下面这个例子：
Hey, how's everything going? A couple of months ago you told me you were struggling to pay your bills.
嘿，一切都好吗？几个月前，你告诉我你在为支付账单而发愁。
I was totally broke. I had no money at all.
我彻底破产了。我身无分文。
That sounds really stressful.
听起来压力很大。
It was no bed of roses; I can tell you that! I can't tell you how happy I am to be out of debt!
我可以告诉你，这件事不尽如人意！我无法告诉你能还清债务我有多高兴！
And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories.
以上就是本期《词汇掌故》节目的全部内容。
We hope that your English studies have not become a thorn in your side.
我们希望你的英语学习没有成为你的眼中钉。
Until next time … I'm Anna Matteo.
下次见……我是安娜·马特奥。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
