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

现在是美国之音慢速英语单词故事节目。

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.

它们为蜜蜂和其他传粉者提供食物。花是美丽的。

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

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.

许多父母以花为女儿命名。

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

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.

在今天的节目中，我们将讨论最后一个名字——Violet（紫罗兰）。

The name Violet is found in an English expression.

Violet这个名字出现在一个英语表达中。

A shrinking violet describes someone who is very shy.

A shrinking violet 是指非常害羞的人。

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

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.

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。

Shrinking violets are not bold. They are afraid to speak their minds.

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.

当面对困难时，一个羞怯的人似乎变得更渺小了。

They shrink away from the problem.

他们回避问题。

Another adjective to describe a shrinking violet is modest.

另一个形容羞怯的形容词是“modest”。

They do not like to be the center of attention.

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.

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。

And we often say it a special way.

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."

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

Let me give you an example.

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!

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!

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

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!

只要给她麦克风和观众，她就准备好表演了!

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

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.

当谈到分享自己的想法时，她也一点不羞涩。

You always know where you stand with Olga.

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.

“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。

They share their thoughts and feelings freely.

他们自由地分享他们的思想和感受。

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

现在，我们来谈谈另一种花——壁花。

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

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 hardy herbs often grown for their showy, sweet-smelling flowers.

《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。

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

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.

这就是它们的名字——壁花的由来。

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

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.

但奇怪的是，被形容为壁花的人并不引人注目。

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

事实上，壁花者正好相反!

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

像羞怯的紫罗兰一样，这些人也很安静和害羞。

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

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.

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。

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

以上就是本期单词故事的全部内容。

Practice using these two expressions: shrinking violet or wallflower.

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

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

下次再见，安娜·马特奥为您播报。