又中又英 | Autumnal Equinox - 秋分 | 褚簡寧

　　Autumn is officially here, but it is still as hot as hell. The expression “hot as hell” means extremely hot. Blame it on climate change, which is making Earth hotter. Every summer is now hotter than the previous summer. Warmer oceans and a warmer atmosphere make typhoons even more fierce. Climate change plays a big part in causing fierce typhoons such as Super Typhoon Ragasa which hit Hong Kong this week, and the 2018 Super Typhoon Mangkhut. Some countries are trying hard to reverse climate change by using cleaner energy, but others don’t seem to care.

　　The Autumnal Equinox, which marks the start of autumn, arrived on September 22. That's when the sun was directly over Earth's equator, resulting in equal hours of day and night. The word "equinox" comes from the Latin expression "equal night". Thereafter, daylight gets shorter and the nights longer. After the Autumnal Equinox, the sun is in the southern hemisphere, where the spring and summer months begin. Climate change is also warming the southern hemisphere, but not as fast as in the northern hemisphere. Summer in Australia, which is in the southern hemisphere, begins in December. Australians celebrate Christmas with beach parties and barbecues!

　　I loved the cold weather during winter when I lived in the US. I always hoped for a White Christmas, which means snow on Christmas Day. That's why it would be difficult for me to get into the spirit of the season in the southern hemisphere where Christmas is in the summer. The spirit of the season normally refers to the happy, generous, and religious feelings people have during the Christmas season when they celebrate the holidays with family and friends. Climate change won’t slow down unless all countries join to fight it.

　　秋天已經來到，但天氣仍然是hot as hell——習語hot as hell是指非常酷熱。歸咎於氣候變遷，地球越發炎熱。現在每個夏天都比前一個夏天要炎熱。更暖的海洋與更暖的大氣層令颱風變得更為凶猛。氣候變化在導致強烈颱風中扮演重要角色，例如今周吹襲香港的超級颱風「樺加沙」，以及2018年的超級颱風「山竹」。一些國家都在使用更清潔的能源，努力逆轉氣候變化，但其他國家卻看似漠不關心。

　　秋分（Autumnal Equinox），就是秋天的開始，於9月22日到臨。這一天，太陽直射赤道，全球晝夜等長。Equinox來自拉丁習語「equal night」，即相等的夜長。在這天之後，日照漸短，而黑夜漸長。在秋分（Autumnal Equinox）過後，太陽主要在南半球，那邊的春天和夏天月份開始。氣候變遷也令南半球暖化，但沒有北半球那麼迅速。在南半球的澳洲，夏天於12月開始。澳洲人會以沙灘派對和燒烤來歡慶聖誕！

　　我住在美國的時候，喜愛冬天的寒冷天氣。我常常期盼白色聖誕（White Christmas），意即在聖誕日那天有雪。因此在南半球，聖誕落在夏季，我就較難投入the spirit of the season——the spirit of the season通常是指在聖誕季節期間，人們與家人好友歡度佳節時所感受到的愉悅、慷慨與宗教的情懷。除非所有國家都加入抵抗，否則氣候變化不會放緩。

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Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻