密歇根新闻广播 神奇的雪季

The snowflakes fell one by one at first, but then their numbers increased, two by two, 10 by 10, then more than I could possibly count.

If I let go of the focus in my eyes the falling show would look a driving torrent² of snowflakes, but when I zeroed in on them, they changed form. Now they were delicate little flakes¹ moving this way and that way as they gently drifted down past me.

They also had multiple forms when they'd hit into me. First they'd sting as the cold and the icyness of them would hit my cheek. But then just as that sensation of ever so slight pain would take hold, they'd start to melt from the warmth of my face. The cold sting became soothing³ as the melting caressed⁵ my cheek before evaporating. Then the next one would hit. Pain followed by a caress⁴.

Snow is like that. It's beautiful and it's harsh. It makes the world white and bright, but it can make even the smallest thing hard, piles to trudge⁶ through, roads a nightmare to drive.

There are so many ways to look at snow, so many things to feel with snow, so many ways it changes the world and everything in it. It's like no other element of weather.

Wind you can feel but not see. Sun casts light, but does little to change the physical objects you encounter. Water is wet, but of so little substance.

Snow hits all your senses, you can see it's whiteness and you can feel its sting and its melt. You can hear how it muffles⁷ sound. You can be stopped by its substance. You can slip on it too.

Snow is real and tangible⁸ and then it can just melt away as quickly as it came, leaving no trace. Piles and piles can show up overnight and then be gone in a day.

I've realized I feel most alive when it's winter and there's snow. These little frozen bits of water piled up around touch me in some profound way. Snow makes me feel part of something bigger and yet at the same time remarkably⁹ alone in a harsh demanding world.

Snow makes the outer world reflect my inner world. It constantly changes and shifts. It's lovely and terrifying. Things hurt and are soothed¹⁰ simultaneously¹¹.

This is snow's weird¹² beauty and its weird magic.

Respond to it by loving or hating it, but know the winter snowfall is something special.

1 flakes   

小薄片( flake的名词复数 )； （尤指）碎片； 雪花； 古怪的人

参考例句：

• It's snowing in great flakes. 天下着鹅毛大雪。
• It is snowing in great flakes. 正值大雪纷飞。

2 torrent   

n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发

参考例句：

• The torrent scoured a channel down the hillside. 急流沿着山坡冲出了一条沟。
• Her pent-up anger was released in a torrent of words.她压抑的愤怒以滔滔不绝的话爆发了出来。

3 soothing   

adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的

参考例句：

• Put on some nice soothing music.播放一些柔和舒缓的音乐。
• His casual, relaxed manner was very soothing.他随意而放松的举动让人很快便平静下来。

4 caress   

vt./n.爱抚，抚摸

参考例句：

• She gave the child a loving caress.她疼爱地抚摸着孩子。
• She feasted on the caress of the hot spring.她尽情享受着温泉的抚爱。

5 caressed   

爱抚或抚摸…( caress的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His fingers caressed the back of her neck. 他的手指抚摩着她的后颈。
• He caressed his wife lovingly. 他怜爱万分地抚摸着妻子。

6 trudge   

v.步履艰难地走；n.跋涉，费力艰难的步行

参考例句：

• It was a hard trudge up the hill.这趟上山是一次艰难的跋涉。
• The trudge through the forest will be tiresome.长途跋涉穿越森林会令人疲惫不堪。

7 muffles   

v.压抑，捂住( muffle的第三人称单数 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己）

参考例句：

• Snow muffles the shriek of metal and the rasp of motion. 大雪掩盖了金属的尖叫声和机器的刺耳声。 来自互联网

8 tangible   

adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的

参考例句：

• The policy has not yet brought any tangible benefits.这项政策还没有带来任何实质性的好处。
• There is no tangible proof.没有确凿的证据。

9 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

10 soothed   

v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦

参考例句：

• The music soothed her for a while. 音乐让她稍微安静了一会儿。
• The soft modulation of her voice soothed the infant. 她柔和的声调使婴儿安静了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

12 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。