Talking About the Weather: Weather-Related Sayings in English

谈论天气：与天气相关的英语俗语 It is a truth universally acknowledged that the British are obsessed with the weather. Although the people of the British Isles seem reserved and restrained, upon mentioning the weather they immediately jump into conversation. 全世界的人都知道英国人喜欢谈论天气。虽然英伦三岛的人看起来似乎十分冷淡、拘谨，但是一提到天气，他们会立即加入谈话。 Undoubtedly, the fascination of the Brits with the weather comes as a result of its unpredictability. From one hour to the next, it is almost impossible to predict whether you’ll need an umbrella or a pair of sunglasses. And, if you ever visit Britain’s capital, don’t be surprised if you wake up on a gloriously sunny morning only to be prevented from your afternoon walk because of a drizzle. 毫无疑问，英国人对于天气的这种迷恋源于其不可预测性。从这一小时到下一小时，几乎不可能预知你需要的是一把伞还是一副太阳镜。而且，如果你曾在英国的首都逗留过，不要对你自己在阳光明媚的早晨醒来，却因蒙蒙细雨放弃午后散步这种事情感到惊讶。 However, talking about weather is not only a result of a necessity and an everlasting need to prepare for what the day may bring. It is a nice way to engage in a casual conversation, avoiding matters that are too personal. Certainly, weather is a common ground even for strangers. Hence, it is a perfect topic for small talks where it is essential to establish a connection and build a relationship in just a couple of minutes. 然而，谈论天气不仅仅是为了持续应对天气将会带来何种影响所需的结果。它还是用来展开一个轻松的交流的好方法，避免了一些过于私人的话题。当然，天气甚至可以是陌生人的共同话题。因此，当你想要在短短几分钟内与人攀上联系、并建立一个关系时，天气这个话题对于闲聊来说，是十分完美的。 As any other social skill, making a small talk can be easily learned. Here we explain the most common conversation starters related to weather as well as some phrases useful for providing your conversation with the elements from the native speaker atmosphere. 至于其他社交技巧，通过闲聊就可以很容易地学会。在这里我们解释了与天气相关的最常见的入门对话、以及一些对你聊天有用的短语，其元素来自于那些母语说话者的氛围。 If you wish to bring the weather into the conversation, probably the best way to start off is to simply ask: “How do you like this weather?” 如果你想要谈论天气，可能最好的开始方式就是简单地问：“你喜欢这样的天气吗？” Of course, the responses may vary depending on the attitude of the other speaker, but you’ll often hear something like: “You can have it”, by which it is meant that the weather is not too good for the speaker. It is also a fine idea to introduce a dose of sarcasm into your conversation. For instance, on a dull rainy day you could say: 当然，反应可能不一而同，这取决于其他说话者的态度，但你经常会听到这样的回答：“你慢慢享受”，这意味着对于说话者来说这个天气不是很好。当然，在你的谈话中加一小剂量的挖苦也是不错的主意，比如，在一个沉闷的阴雨天，你可以说： “Nice weather we’re having”. “这天气真不错”。 You can expect the answer to be as sarcastic as your question: 你可以想象答案会与你的问题一样充满讽刺意味： “Yes, lovely weather for ducks”. “是的，对于鸭子们来说天气真不错”。 By saying this, the speaker implies that there must be someone who likes the weather. It’s just not him. 通过这个答案，说话者暗示了肯定有人喜欢这样的天气，只是不是他。 If you want to be more illustrative of the weather, you could useraining cats and dogsorraining stair-rodsto say that is raining heavily. 如果你想将天气描述得更直观一点，你可以使用raining cats and dogs或raining stair-rods来表示大雨倾盆。 On the other hand, there is the time of the year when it is unusually hot and dry. This is called Indian summer. 另一方面，每一年都有一段时间气候变得不同寻常的炎热和干燥。这种现象叫做印第安的夏天 It is often the case the case that weather prevents us from completing some daily tasks or plans. The phraseweather permittingis used to express our fears that something will not go as planned because of the weather. Hence, you may hear: 因为天气原因我们无法完成一些日常任务或计划是常事。weather permitting 这句话被用来表达我们害怕因为天气的原因有些事情不能按计划进行，所以你可能会听到： “Weather permitting, we’ll go on picnic”. “如果天气允许，我们将去野餐”。 On the other hand, we can use the phrasecome rain and shineto imply that something will happen despite the circumstances. For example, you can tell your beloved one: “I’ll be there for you, come rain or shine”. 另一方面，我们可以用come rain and shine这个短语来暗示尽管环境原因，有些事情仍会发生。例如，你可以告诉你心爱的人：“我会在那里等你，风雨无阻”。 There are some idioms not directly related to expressing weather conditions, but the way someone feels. For instance, if someone isunder the weather, then that person is probably ill. 还有一些成语与天气状况的表示不直接相关，但表达了当事人的感受。举例来说，如果有人under the weather，那么这个人很可能是生病了。 And, if you havea fair weather friend, then this friend, being present only on happy occasions, is not very reliablecompany. 又比如，如果你有a fair weather friend，那么这个朋友，是个只会同安乐却不能共患难的人。 Also, every once in a while weride out the storm. This means that we have successfully overcome some difficulty in our lives. 此外，我们时常ride out the storm。这意味着，我们已经成功地克服了生活中的一些困难。 Occasionally, we lovemaking heavy weather of doing something. This happens when it takes longer time than it is necessary to complete something. 有时候，我们喜欢making heavy weather of doing something（对某事小题大做）。这种情况是指我们花费了过多的时间去完成某事。 Similarly, if there’sa tempest in a teapot, this means that a lot of exaggeration has been made to an unimportant event. 同样的，如果说a tempest in a teapot，也意味着一个普通的事件被大幅地夸张。 Sometimes, it seems that words alone are not enough to provide comfort and consolation for those in need. Therefore, if you wish to encourage your fellow friend, it would be nice to say“Every cloud has a silver lining”. By this, it is meant that there is certainly a way forward for anyone struggling with difficulties. 有时候，单词本身看起来并不足以鼓舞、安慰那些需要的人。因此，如果你想鼓励你的同事或朋友，Every cloud has a silver lining（黑暗中总有一线曙光）是个很好的说辞。这句话的意思是对于那些与困难斗争的人来说，前方定有一条光明大道。 Undoubtedly, weather plays an important part in our lives, hence so many phrases directly or indirectly connected with it. Why wouldn’t we take the best out of it and have a fine conversation even with some strangers? Who knows--perhaps an effortless conversation about the weather could even become a lasting friendship. 毫无疑问，天气在我们生活中扮演了一个十分重要的角色，因此才会有这么多直接或者间接与其相关的短语。为什么我们不筛其精华来与他人甚至一些陌生人作一个愉快的交谈？谁知道呢 - 也许关于天气这种轻松的聊天甚至可以发展出一个持久的友谊。 Are you familiar with some additional useful weather phrases? Share them in the comments. 你还熟悉一些其他与天气相关的有用短语吗？请在评论中分享一下。http://www.douban.com/group/523669/