VOA词汇掌故2022--'April Showers Bring May Flowers'

And now, Words and Their Stories from VOA Learning¹ English.

Rain can be annoying. It can stop you from doing activities outside. So, it is easy to complain about rain.

Of course, rain is important, especially for plants. Although rain might seem annoying, it helps flowers and other plants grow.

There are some periods of the year when it rains more than other times. In some parts of the world, for example, the month of April can be especially rainy.

That brings us to our expression for today: April showers bring May flowers.

This weather expression states that heavy rains help flowers to grow. Here "Showers" mean short periods of light rain.

As a verb², "shower" can mean that large amounts of things fall, are given off, or happen at the same time. For example, you can shower someone with praise. That means³ you say a lot of nice things about someone.

But now, let's go back to our expression: "April showers bring May flowers."

If you hear someone complain about all the rainy weather in the spring, you can remind them that April showers are helpful.

This is a literal⁴ meaning of this expression. But it also has a deeper meaning.

"April showers bring May flowers" means that even after long periods of adversity, good times will follow. "Adversity" means difficulty⁵ and hardship⁶.

In English, there is another saying that means about the same thing. Sometimes we simply say, "This too shall pass." This means that difficult situations will not last forever.

Now, let's listen to two friends using this expression.

A: Hey, I haven't seen you in months! How's everything going?

B: Well, okay, I guess.

A: You don't sound okay. What's wrong?

B: The company where I work had to cut back. So, I've lost a lot of hours at my job. And both of my parents have been sick. So, I've been taking care of them.

A: I'm sorry to hear that. Sounds like you're having a tough time.

B: It will pass. I keep telling myself April showers bring May flowers.

A: That's a great attitude! Hey, how about if I make my famous chicken soup for your parents?

B: That would be great. Thanks! See the ‘May flowers' are starting to bloom⁷.

Words in This Story

annoying – adj. causing slight anger

complain – v. to express grief⁸, pain, or discontent : find fault

praise – n. to express approval⁹ of

literal – adj. following the ordinary or usual meaning of the words

adversity – n. a state or instance¹⁰ of serious or continued difficulty or misfortune¹¹

attitude – n. a feeling or way of thinking that affects a person's behavior

bloom – v. to produce or yield flowers

1 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。

2 verb   

n.[语]动词

参考例句：

• The sentence is formed from a verb and two nouns.这句子由一个动词和两个名词构成。
• These are the finite forms of a verb.这些是一个动词的限定形式。

3 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

4 literal   

adj.照字面的，原义的，逐字的

参考例句：

• This word should not be taken in its literal sense.这个词不能按本义去理解。
• He made a literal interpretation.他逐字解释。

5 difficulty   

n.困难，费劲；难事，难题；麻烦，困境

参考例句：

• If there is any difficulty,please let us know promptly.倘有困难，请迅速通知我们。
• A little difficulty like this is nothing to us.这点困难算不了什么。

6 hardship   

n.受苦，吃苦；苦难，困苦

参考例句：

• He was willing to face any hardship in fulfillment of his duty.他愿意面对任何困难去履行他的职责。
• If other people can endure hardship,why can't I?人家能吃苦，我就不能？

7 bloom   

n.花，花期；vi.开花；容光焕发，显露出健康

参考例句：

• The park is a picture when flowers are in bloom.当鲜花盛开时，这个公园的景色美极了。
• The flowers in the garden are now in full bloom.花园里的花盛开。

8 grief   

n.悲伤，悲痛，悲伤的事，悲痛的缘由

参考例句：

• Don't allow yourself to sink into grief,it can do no good.不要使自己陷入悲哀之中，这样一点好处也没有。
• After her mother died,she abandoned herself to grief.母亲死后，她沉浸于悲痛之中。

9 approval   

n.赞成，同意；批准，认可

参考例句：

• The audience has expressed its approval.观众已经认可。
• The teacher signed his approval.老师做了手势表示同意。

10 instance   

n.例，例证，实例

参考例句：

• Can you quote me a recent instance?你能给我举一个最近的例子吗？
• He's a greedy boy,yesterday,for instance,he ate all our biscuits!他是个贪吃的孩子――比如，他昨天把我们的饼干都吃了！

11 misfortune   

n.不幸，厄运，逆境，不幸事故，灾难

参考例句：

• It is said to be an omen of misfortune.那被认为是一种不幸的先兆。
• She had the misfortune to break her leg.她不幸摔断了腿。