又中又英 | Autumnal Equinox - 秋分 | 褚简宁

　　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.

　　秋天已经来到，但天气仍然是hot as hell——习语hot as hell是指非常酷热。归咎于气候变迁，地球越发炎热。现在每个夏天都比前一个夏天要炎热。更暖的海洋与更暖的大气层令台风变得更为凶猛。气候变化在导致强烈台风中扮演重要角色，例如今周吹袭香港的超级台风「桦加沙」，以及2018年的超级台风「山竹」。一些国家都在使用更清洁的能源，努力逆转气候变化，但其他国家却看似漠不关心。

　　秋分（Autumnal Equinox），就是秋天的开始，于9月22日到临。这一天，太阳直射赤道，全球昼夜等长。Equinox来自拉丁习语「equal night」，即相等的夜长。在这天之后，日照渐短，而黑夜渐长。在秋分（Autumnal Equinox）过后，太阳主要在南半球，那边的春天和夏天月份开始。气候变迁也令南半球暖化，但没有北半球那么迅速。在南半球的澳洲，夏天于12月开始。澳洲人会以沙滩派对和烧烤来欢庆圣诞！

　　我住在美国的时候，喜爱冬天的寒冷天气。我常常期盼白色圣诞（White Christmas），意即在圣诞日那天有雪。因此在南半球，圣诞落在夏季，我就较难投入the spirit of the season——the spirit of the season通常是指在圣诞季节期间，人们与家人好友欢度佳节时所感受到的愉悦、慷慨与宗教的情怀。除非所有国家都加入抵抗，否则气候变化不会放缓。

[email protected]
Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻