Michael Chugani 褚简宁 - Old Man Winter｜又中又英

Spring officially started on March 20 in the US but Old Man Winter is refusing to go away. There is lingering cold weather and even snow in the north and northeast parts of the US. As I am writing this I can see hail the size of tiny balls coming down in the backyard of my elder sister's home in Indianapolis. I hope Old Man Winter will go away so spring can really start. To linger means to take a long time to leave. Old Man Winter is lingering longer than necessary. The word“hail”means small and hard balls of ice that fall like rain.

The expression“Old Man Winter”has an interesting origin. It means a personification of winter. The word “personification”has two meanings. It can mean a person who is the perfect example of something. You can say Gandhi was the personification of a leader who cared about freedom and independence for his country. But the word“personification”when used about Old Man Winter means giving a human quality or characteristic to something that is not human. Winter is not human but Greek mythology gave it a human quality. In Greek mythology Boreas is the god of winter. Mythology is a collection of myths（ancient stories）.

Old Man Winter simply means winter that is shown with a human face. You can find many caricatures of Old Man Winter on the internet. A caricature is a drawing of a person or thing with exaggerated or distorted features. For example, there are many caricatures of former US President Barack Obama with huge ears. Caricatures of Old Man Winter usually show old men with beards blowing out ice cold wind with a snowy background. My hope is that Old Man Winter will go away soon so I can sit in my sister's backyard with a martini!
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美国的春天已在三月二十日正式开始，「冬老头」（Old Man Winter）却不肯离去。在美国北部和东北地区，寒冷天气久久不去（lingering），甚至还下起雪来。我现在执笔之际，在印第安纳坡里斯我姊的家中，还可以见到后院落着小球般大的冰雹（hail）。还望冬老头（Old Man Winter）早日离去，好让春天可以真正开始吧。To linger即是持续逗留，拖很长时间才离开。冬老头（Old Man Winter）逗留（lingering）得实在太久了。Hail就是如雨般降下、小而坚硬的冰雹。

习语“Old Man Winter”有一个有趣的来源。它是冬天的personification。Personification一字有两个意思，它可以指某人是某事物的典型、化身：你可以说甘地关心自己国家的自由与独立，是一个领袖的模范（personification）。但当谈到「冬老头」（Old Man Winter）之时，“personification”就是拟人法，即为某样事物赋予人的特征。冬天并非人类，但希腊神话（mythology）则把它人格化，令它具有人的特质。在希腊神话（mythology）中，波瑞阿斯是冬天之神。Mythology就是神话故事（myths）的汇集。

Old Man Winter简单来说就是冬季，只是配上了人的面孔。你可以在网上找到许多冬老头（Old Man Winter）的caricatures。A caricature就是某人或物的漫画，特别是把其特征夸张甚或扭曲。譬如，前美国总统巴拉克‧奥巴马许多「似颜绘」肖像漫画（caricatures），都会将他的耳朵画得特别大。冬老头（Old Man Winter）的漫画（caricatures），多会呈现出一个留胡须的老头，在冰天雪地之中，猛吹着冰冷的风雪。我的希望是冬老头（Old Man Winter）快快离去，好让我能安坐于我姊的后院中，叹一杯马天尼！
中译:七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁