又中又英——Brumation

　　Last week, while watching a TV show, I came across an unfamiliar word. The word was "brumation". I am a fluent English speaker but have never heard of this word and didn't know its meaning. My research on the internet taught me several interesting things about brumation and other related words. The word "brumation" has similarities but also differences with the word "hibernation". Both these words have similarities but also differences with the word "estivation". Most people are familiar with the word "hibernation". Many creatures, such as bears, squirrels, and bats go into hibernation during the winter. This means they become far less active to preserve their energy or even sleep until spring when it is easier to find food.
　　The word "brumation" also means creatures going into a state of sleep in the winter to preserve their energy. The difference is hibernation is used for warm-blooded creatures and brumation is used for cold-blooded creatures such as snakes, turtles, and crocodiles. Another difference is some warm-blooded creatures eat a lot before going into hibernation. But cold-blooded creatures do not eat before brumation because they can't digest so much food. Also, some warm-blooded creatures go into a deep sleep during the winter but some cold-blooded creatures come out of brumation during warm winter days to find food. The word "estivation" is related to hibernation and brumation but has a different meaning.
　　Some warm-blooded and cold-blooded creatures go into estivation when the weather is very hot and dry. This means they become inactive and find places to keep cool. It is like hibernation and brumation but it happens in the summer instead of winter. They go into a state of "torpor" or "dormancy". The word "torpor" means not having enough energy or enthusiasm to be active. Very hot and dry weather can also make humans go into a state of torpor. The word "dormancy" comes from the word "dormant", which means being inactive for a while but can become active again. Volcanoes can be dormant but can erupt again.
＊＊＊＊＊
　　上星期，我在看一个电视节目时，遇到一个陌生的字，那就是“brumation”。我是操流利英语的人，却从未听过这个字，也不知道它的意思。我上网研究，学会了几样有关brumation和其他相关字词的有趣事儿。“Brumation”跟“hibernation”大同小异，而这两个字都跟另一个字“estivation”有些相似之处，但亦有差异。大部份人会比较熟悉“hibernation”一字。许多生物，例如熊、松鼠和蝙蝠，在冬天都会冬眠（hibernation），即是说牠们不会那么活跃甚至休眠，去保存能量，直到春天更易找食物时才出来活动。
　　“Brumation”也是指生物在冬天进入休眠状态以保存能量，分别是，hibernation是指恒温动物，brumation则是用于冷血动物如蛇、龟和鳄鱼。另一个分别是，一些恒温动物进入冬眠（hibernation）前会吃很多，但冷血动物在冬眠（brumation）前则不会吃东西，因为牠们不能消化那么多的食物。同样，一些恒温动物在整个冬天都会进入深度睡眠，但一些冷血动物会在冬季较温暖的日子，从冬眠（brumation）中醒来去找食物。“Estivation”跟 hibernation和brumation相关，意思却不尽相同。
　　当天气非常炎热和干燥，一些恒温和冷血动物会夏蛰（estivation），意即牠们会较不活跃，找阴凉的地方休眠。它跟hibernation和brumation相似，但发生在夏季而非冬季。牠们会进入“torpor”或“dormancy”的状态。“Torpor”是指没有足够的能量去活动，有点迟钝或懒散；“dormancy”则来自“dormant”一字，意即暂时的静止或休眠状态，但可以重新活动的。睡火山便是休眠的（dormant），但又可能会再爆发的火山。中译：七刻

Michael Chugani 褚简宁