be at pains

The whole village came running out to his assistance when all the return they got was to be laughed at for their pains.

全村的人都跑来帮忙，而他们所得到的回报却是一顿嘲笑，白费了心力。

Eg. but Australia also walks a fine line and will be at pains not to upset its largest trading partner.

但是澳大利亚也是在走钢丝，需要尽力别去惹恼其最大的贸易伙伴。

It's not luckiness to get the best finally. Sometimes, you should be at pains to have the haphazard meeting.

最后得到好东西，不是幸运，有时候，必须有前面的苦心经营，才有后面的偶然相遇。

No doubt many participants will be at pains to stress how much progress has been made over the past year in response to the AIG shock.

毫无疑问，许多参与者不遗余力地强调，作为对AIG冲击的回应，过去一年取得了诸多进步。