英語漫談系列 (2)
英語「很冷、很熱、或很潮濕」該如何表達?
相較於一般人，古今中外，文人墨客一向多愁善感(sentimental) ，對於自然界的風、寒、濕、熱的感受也較深刻。有時未免誇大(exaggeration) ，但尚可接受(acceptable)。
一、英語如何說：「很冷」?
It beingbitingcold, (=Because it is biting cold.), there is hardly a soul to be seen in the street.
因為天氣嚴寒；路上行人絕跡。
【註】：
1. bite v. 咬人其動詞變化為： bite bit bitten。n. 咬人，frostbite 凍傷。見系列(1) ：
“Barking dogs won’t bite.”-吠狗不咬人
2. 『a soul=a person, 一個人；soul n.原作靈魂解但此處作「魔神仔」-台語，乃指未成ghost
(成鬼)之遊魂』
*It is bitingcold = It is as cold as it is biting. (凍得咬人)；biting 作adverb 修飾 cold。
類似用法如：
*It is piercing cold = It is as cold as it is piercing. 冷得刺骨。以上兩句用bite (咬人，) ，pierce (刺入)二字形容。另外
The temperature fell well below zero in thebiting wind. 在寒風中溫度已降到零下好幾度。
(wind 也冷得咬人?)
【笑話】：
有人說夏天的風是圓扁的，怎麼趕也不走，冬天的風則是尖銳的，無孔不入。
比較：
a bone-chilling morning 酷寒的上午(與中文同-刺骨) = a morning which is as cold as it causes chilling bone
afreezing night 寒夜 (freezing a.氷凍的) = a night which is as cold as it is freezing 似結冰那麽冷的
晚上
他例:
《On a bone-chilling Christmas Day, a single father set out to drive his two young children
to their mother's home, but the trip came to an abrupt halt when his car got stuck in a snowdrift.》
在嚴寒的耶誕節，一位單親父親動身要送兩個幼兒去見孩子的母親，但，走到半途因車子
卡在雪堆中而突然停頓下來。
二、若形容天氣的炎熱，可用burn, scorch,boil：
It is burning hot. = It is as hot as it is burning. 熱得燙人。
It is scorching hot. = It is as hot as it is scorching. 熱得如同燒焦一般。
l Some people died in thescorching heat wave in California. 有些人死於加州的酷暑。(heat wave熱浪，但冷鋒叫cold front) 。
“Wearing cotton in the night, dressed in silk in the daytime, people hang around the stove
while eating watermelons.”
『夜穿棉，日穿紗，抱著火爐吃西瓜』。-描述吐魯番盒地早晚温差之大。
Onburning hot days, people stay in the hotel with double doors. 酷暑天，人們待在有双重門
的旅舘內。
三、若指“潮濕”可用soak, drench：
We are soaking wet = we are as wet as we are soaking. 我們濕透了。(中國人用落湯雞修飾)
《英文老歌》：「雨中行 」
“Just walking in the rain. Getting soaking wet，torturing my heart, somehow I can’t forget.”
(雨中失戀者獨行，全身濕漉漉，內心痛楚，無法忘記舊日戀情) 。
It is drenching wet. = It is as wet as it is drenched. 它濕透了。soak = drench。
他例：
《Shock, relief, gratitude. Most of all, the soaked andfreezing passengers of Flight 1549 just seemed amazed to be alive.》
1549號航班的旅客們，先是感到震驚，繼之如釋重負，最後心存感激。特別是，他們
似乎不敢相信全身濕透又凍僵了的乘客們，竟還能存活下來。
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