A wild plant with sharp points along its leaves, and a soft round purple or white flower on top. It grows by itself in fields, on waste ground, by the side of roads — nobody plants it. Farmers treat it as a weed and pull it out. The word is a countable noun: 'a thistle', 'a field full of thistles'.

A wild plant with sharp points along its leaves一種野生植物，葉子邊緣有尖刺，and a soft round purple or white flower on top頂端開著柔軟圓圓的紫色或白色花朵。 It grows by itself in fields, on waste ground, by the side of roads它會自己長在田野、荒地、路邊——nobody plants it——沒有人特地去種它。 Farmers treat it as a weed農夫把它當雜草，and pull it out拔掉它。 The word is a countable noun這個字是可數名詞：'a thistle', 'a field full of thistles'像 'a thistle'（一株薊）、'a field full of thistles'（長滿薊的田野）。

What makes this word worth learning is not the plant but what it stands for. The thistle is the national flower of Scotland — you will see it on shirts, on coins, on the badges of Scottish teams.

What makes this word worth learning這個字值得學的原因，is not the plant but what it stands for不是這種植物本身，而是它所代表的意義。 The thistle is the national flower of Scotland薊花是蘇格蘭的國花——you will see it on shirts, on coins, on the badges of Scottish teams你會在球衣、硬幣、蘇格蘭球隊的隊徽上看到它。

There is an old story that an invading army crept up at night, one soldier stepped on a thistle, shouted with pain, and woke the Scots, who won. Nobody knows if it is true, but it is why the plant means 'Scotland' in English.

There is an old story that an invading army crept up at night有個古老的故事說，有支入侵的軍隊在夜裡偷偷逼近，one soldier stepped on a thistle一個士兵踩到了一株薊，shouted with pain痛得大叫出聲，and woke the Scots, who won驚醒了蘇格蘭人，結果蘇格蘭人打贏了。 Nobody knows if it is true沒人知道這是不是真的，but it is why the plant means 'Scotland' in English但這就是為什麼在英文裡這種植物代表「蘇格蘭」的原因。

It also gives us a way of thinking about hard beauty: something sharp that hurts if you grab it, but with a soft flower on top. Poets like that.

It also gives us a way of thinking about hard beauty它也給了我們一種思考「堅硬之美」的方式：something sharp that hurts if you grab it一樣尖銳到你一抓就會受傷的東西，but with a soft flower on top頂端卻開著柔軟的花。 Poets like that詩人很喜歡這種意象。

And it turns up in a very old English saying, from the Bible: 'do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?' — meaning you cannot get something good from something bad.

And it turns up in a very old English saying, from the Bible它也出現在一句很古老的英文諺語裡，出自聖經：'do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?''do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?'（人豈能從荊棘上摘葡萄，從蒺藜裡摘無花果呢？）——meaning you cannot get something good from something bad意思是好東西不可能從壞的源頭長出來。