【英语趣味课堂】天气-Weather

 Todd: Hey, James!

James: Yeah!

 

Todd: Let's talk about seasons.

 

James: OK.

 

Todd: James, what is your favorite season?

 

James: My favorite season is spring.

 

Todd: Yeah, why is that?

 

James: Because it's not so cold but it's not so hot that I'm sweating¹ on the train. I can go to the beach. I can relax with my friends outside. It's very nice.

 

Todd: OK. What is your least favorite season?

 

James: My least favorite season in Japan is the rainy season ...because I don't like rain at all.

 

Todd: OK. What season are we in right now?

 

James: Right now it is the very end of winter. It is just starting to become spring.

 

Todd: What's the weather like today?

 

James: Today, it's very sunny. It's a little cool. A little breezy. It's very nice. I enjoy it.

 

学习内容：

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

why is that?

 

[My favorite season is spring.] Why is that?

 

When we ask someone 'Why is that?' we want to know the reason for an answer or a statement² they made.  It can basically³ be used the same way as 'Why?'  Notice the following:

 

"Really. Why is that?" Because I love to watch the flowers bloom⁴.

"I don't want to go anywhere tonight." Why is that?

not so

 

In spring, it's not so cold but it's not so hot.

 

We use the phrase⁵ 'not so' to compare what we are talking about to something else.  We can replace this phrase with 'not too' in many situations to show that what we are talking about is between two known⁶ extremes⁷.  Notice the following:

 

She's not so angry that she won't talk to you.

It's not so cold that you need a hat.

end of winter

 

Right now, it is the very end of winter.

 

The 'end of winter' is the final part of the season of winter, which comes between fall and spring and usually has colder weather.  Notice the following:

 

You must be very excited for the end of winter.

There is usually a lot of mud⁸ at the end of winter.

just starting

 

It is just starting to become spring.

 

If something is 'just starting' the action began very recently and is not completed yet.  Notice the following:

 

It was just starting to get dark when he left.

I was just starting to fall asleep when you called.

breezy

 

It's sunny, cool, and breezy.

 

When the weather is 'breezy' there is wind but it is not very strong.  It is a comfortable movement of the air outside.  Notice the following:

 

We sat on a comfortable, breezy beach and had a picnic lunch.

It is a little breezy outside so you may want to bring a jacket.

1 sweating   

n.发汗v.（使）出汗( sweat的现在分词 )；（使）流汗；（使）发汗；焖

参考例句：

• We were sweating profusely from the exertion of moving the furniture. 我们搬动家具大费气力，累得大汗淋漓。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• When the spasm passed, it left him weak and sweating. 一阵痉挛之后，他虚弱无力，一直冒汗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 statement   

n.陈述；声明；综述

参考例句：

• The government will put out a new statement tomorrow.政府将于明天发布一项新声明。
• Put down your statement in black and white.把你的话用白纸黑字写下来。

3 basically   

adv.基本上，从根本上说

参考例句：

• His heart is basically sound.他的心脏基本上健康。
• Basically I agree with your plan.我基本上同意你的计划。

4 bloom   

n.花，花期；vi.开花；容光焕发，显露出健康

参考例句：

• The park is a picture when flowers are in bloom.当鲜花盛开时，这个公园的景色美极了。
• The flowers in the garden are now in full bloom.花园里的花盛开。

5 phrase   

n.短语，词组；成语，习语

参考例句：

• The phrase was caught on and immediately became popular.这个短语被采用后很快就流行了。
• That's exactly the phrase I was looking for.这就是我一直找的那个短语。

6 known   

adj.大家知道的；知名的，已知的

参考例句：

• He is a known artist.他是一个知名的艺术家。
• He is known both as a painter and as a statesman.他是知名的画家及政治家。

7 extremes   

极端( extreme的名词复数 )； 极端政策（或办法、手段、行动、措施等）； 极端不同的感情（或境况、行为方式等）； [常用复数]在两末端的事物

参考例句：

• He could not tolerate the extremes of heat in the desert. 他忍受不住沙漠的酷热。
• It's a difficult place to live because of its climatic extremes. 该地气候极端，很难让人生存。

8 mud   

n.泥，泥浆

参考例句：

• The swimming pool is filled up with mud.游泳池里全是泥。
• A car ran past,spotting my coat with mud.一辆汽车驶过，给我的外衣溅上了泥点。