BESIDE the lordly manor－house lay a lovely,well－kept garden with rare trees and flowers;the guests of thehouse expressed their admiration¹ of it;the people of thedistrict,from town and country,came on Sundays and hol－idays and begged permission to see the garden,even wholeschools came to visit it. Outside the garden,close to the palings beside thefield path,stood a huge thistle;it was very big and spreadfrom the root in several branches,so that it might be calleda thistle-bush.No one looked at it except the old ass² whichdrew the milk－cart.It stretched out its neck to the thistle,and said,"You are lovely!I could eat you!"but the halterwas not long enough for the ass to get near enough to eat it. There was a great deal of company at the manor－house—some very noble people from the capital,youngpretty girls,and amongst them a young lady who came froma distance;she came from Scotland,was of high birth,rich in lands and gold,a bride worth winning,more thanone young gentleman said,and their mothers said the samething. The young people amused themselves on the lawn andplayed croquet:they walked about amongst the flowers,and each of the young girls picked a flower and put it inthe button－hole of one of the young gentlemen.But theyoung Scottish lady looked round for a long time,rejectingone after the other;none of the flowers seemed to pleaseher;then she looked over the paling,outside stood thegreat thistle－bush with its strong,purple flowers;she sawit,she smiled and begged the son of the house to pick oneof them for her. "It is the flower of Scotland,"said she,"it blooms inthe Scutcheon of the country,give it to me!" And he brought her the most beautiful of the thistles,and pricked³ his fingers,as if it were the most prickly rose-bush that it grew on.

She fastened the thistle－flower in the button－hole ofthe young man,and he felt himself highly honoured.Each of the other young men would willingly have givenhis own beautiful flower to have worn the one given by theScottish girl's fair hand.And if the son of the house felthimself honoured,what did not the thistle-bush feel?Itseemed as if the dew and the sunshine were goingthrough it. "I am something more than I thought!"it said to it－self."I really belong inside the paling and not outside!Oneis strangely placed in the world!but now I have one ofmine over the paling,and even in a button-hole!" Every bud which came forth

点击收听单词发音  

1 admiration
n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕
参考例句：
He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。 We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

2 ass
n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人
参考例句：
He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。 An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。

3 pricked
刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛
参考例句：
The cook pricked a few holes in the pastry. 厨师在馅饼上戳了几个洞。 He was pricked by his conscience. 他受到良心的谴责。

4 forth
adv.向前；向外，往外
参考例句：
The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。 He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

5 retired
adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的
参考例句：
The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。 Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

6 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。

7 scent
n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉
参考例句：
The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。 The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

8 apprentice
n.学徒，徒弟
参考例句：
My son is an apprentice in a furniture maker's workshop.我的儿子在一家家具厂做学徒。 The apprentice is not yet out of his time.这徒工还没有出徒。

9 pointed
adj.尖的，直截了当的
参考例句：
He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。 She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

10 remains
n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹
参考例句：
He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。 The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 honourable
adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的
参考例句：
I don't think I am worthy of such an honourable title.这样的光荣称号，我可担当不起。 I hope to find an honourable way of settling difficulties.我希望设法找到一个体面的办法以摆脱困境。