People have been passionate
The rose is a legend on its own. The story goes that during the Roman Empire, there was an incredibly beautiful maiden named Rhodanthe. Her beauty drew many zealous suitors who pursued her relentlessly. Exhausted by their pursuit, Rhodanthe was forced to take refuge from her suitors in the temple of her friend Diana. Unfortunately, Diana became jealous. And when the suitors broke down her temple gates to get near their beloved Rhodanthe, she became angry turning Rhodanthe into a rose and her suitors into thorns.
In Greek legend, the rose was created by Chloris, the Greek goddess of flowers. It was just a lifeless seed of a nymph2 that Chloris found one day in a clearing in the woods. She asked the help of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, who gave her beauty? Dionysus, the god of wine, added nectar3 to give her a sweet scent, and the three Graces4 gave her charm, brightness and joy. Then Zephyr, the West Wind, blew away the clouds so that Apollo, the sun god, could shine and made this flower bloom. And so the Rose was born and was immediately crowned the Queen of Flowers.
The first true primary red rose seen in Europe was “Slater’s Crimson China” introduced in 1792 from China, where it had been growing wild in the mountains. Immediately, rose breeders began using it to hybridize5 red roses for cultivation. Ever since, the quest for the perfect red rose has been the Holy Grail6 of rosarians： a fragrant, disease-resistant, long-lasting, long-stemmed, reblooming, perfectly formed rose with a clear non-fading vivid red color. Absolute perfection still hasn’t been attained, and of course never will!
There is a special rose language invented as a secret means of communication between lovers who were not allowed to express their love for one another openly. In the mid 18th century the wife of the British ambassador in Constantinople described this in her letters, which were published after her death. These letters inspired many books on the language of flowers, each describing the secret message hidden in each flower. A red rose bud stands for budding desire? an open white rose asks “Will you love me﹖” An open red rose means “I’m full of love and desire,” while an open yellow rose asks “Don’t you love me any more﹖”
玫瑰的传说
人类有史以来就钟情于玫瑰。据说，克娄巴特拉的宫殿的地面就铺满了娇嫩的玫瑰花瓣，博学的孔子有600册藏书专门讲述如何培育玫瑰。
玫瑰本身就是一个传说。在罗马帝国时代，有一个名叫罗丹斯的美丽绝伦的少女。她的丽姿引来了无数狂热的求婚者锲而不舍地追求她。罗丹斯实在招架不住了，不得不到朋友狄安娜的神庙里躲避她的求婚者。不幸的是，狄安娜产生了嫉妒之心。当求婚者冲进了神庙的大门，要接近他们所爱恋着的罗丹斯时，狄安娜一怒之下将罗丹斯变成了一枝玫瑰花，将她的求婚者变成了花刺。
在希腊传说中，玫瑰是希腊花神克罗斯创造的。当初玫瑰只是林中一个仙女的尚无生命的一粒种子。一天，花神克罗斯偶然在森林的一块空地上发现了它。克罗斯请求爱神阿佛洛狄特赋予了它美丽的容貌；让酒神狄俄尼索斯浇洒了神酒，使它拥有了芬芳的气味。又有美惠三女神将魅力、聪颖和欢乐赐予了它。随后，西风之神吹散了云朵，太阳神阿波罗得以照耀它并使它开花。玫瑰就这样诞生了，并立即被封为花中之皇后。
欧洲见到的第一枝真正的原色红玫瑰叫做“斯莱特中国深红”，于1792年从中国引进。当时，它一直生长在中国山区的野地里。玫瑰培育者马上开始用它进行杂交种植。从此，寻求完美的红玫瑰一直是玫瑰栽培者所追求的理想。这种玫瑰应具有芳香的气味、抵御疾病的能力、持久的花期、修长的花茎、反复开花的本领、优美的体态以及不褪色的纯鲜红颜色。然而，绝对的完美却始终未达到，当然也永远无法达到！
人们发明了一种特殊的玫瑰语言，作为不被允许公开示爱的情侣间秘密交流的方式。18世纪中期，英国驻君士坦丁堡大使的夫人在信中对此做了描述。这些信件在她死后出版，激发了许许多多关于花草语言书籍的问世，每一本书都对每种花所隐藏的信息进行了描述。一朵红玫瑰花蕾代表萌发中的情欲；一枝盛开的白玫瑰则是在探问：“你会爱我吗？”一枝绽开的红玫瑰的含义是：“我对你满怀着爱意和渴望”，而一枝开放的黄玫瑰则是在询问：“你是不是不再爱我了？”
相关单词：passionate
passionate解释：adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的
passionate例句：
He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
He is very passionate
相关单词：petals
petals解释：n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 )
petals例句：
white petals tinged with blue 略带蓝色的白花瓣
The petals of many flowers expand in the sunshine. 许多花瓣在阳光下开放。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
相关单词：maiden
maiden解释：n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的
maiden例句：
The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。
相关单词：zealous
zealous解释：adj.狂热的，热心的
zealous例句：
She made zealous efforts to clean up the classroom.她非常热心地努力清扫教室。
She is a zealous supporter of our cause.她是我们事业的热心支持者。
相关单词：relentlessly
relentlessly解释：adv.不屈不挠地；残酷地；不间断
relentlessly例句：
The African sun beat relentlessly down on his aching head. 非洲的太阳无情地照射在他那发痛的头上。
He pursued her relentlessly, refusing to take 'no' for an answer. 他锲而不舍地追求她，拒不接受“不”的回答。
相关单词：exhausted
exhausted解释：adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的
exhausted例句：
It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。
相关单词：scent
scent解释：n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉
scent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。
相关单词：zephyr
zephyr解释：n.和风，微风
zephyr例句：
I feel very comfortable in the zephyr from the sea.从海上吹来的和风令我非常惬意。
Zephyr,the West Wind,blew away the clouds so that Apollo,the sun god,could shine and made this flower bloom.西风之神吹散了云朵，太阳神阿波罗得以照耀它并使它开花。
相关单词：crimson
crimson解释：n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色
crimson例句：
She went crimson with embarrassment.她羞得满脸通红。
Maple leaves have turned crimson.枫叶已经红了。
相关单词：cultivation
cultivation解释：n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成
cultivation例句：
The cultivation in good taste is our main objective.培养高雅情趣是我们的主要目标。
The land is not fertile enough to repay cultivation.这块土地不够肥沃，不值得耕种。
相关单词：fragrant
fragrant解释：adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的
fragrant例句：
The Fragrant Hills are exceptionally beautiful in late autumn.深秋的香山格外美丽。
The air was fragrant with lavender.空气中弥漫薰衣草香。
相关单词：perfectly
perfectly解释：adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地
perfectly例句：
The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
相关单词：attained
attained解释：（通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况）
attained例句：
She has attained the degree of Master of Arts. 她已获得文学硕士学位。
Lu Hsun attained a high position in the republic of letters. 鲁迅在文坛上获得崇高的地位。
相关单词：mid
mid解释：adj.中央的，中间的
mid例句：
Our mid-term exam is pending.我们就要期中考试了。
He switched over to teaching in mid-career.他在而立之年转入教学工作。
