英语听力精选进阶版 6341（在线收听）

Get into conversation with someone from Britain and they will invariably mention the weather.

It plays an important role in people's lives and determines their mood. But there is one climatic condition that is bound to make us complain – the rain.

Britain is currently splashing and squelching its way through probably the wettest June on record. Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised as the UK is used to the wet stuff, coming in all forms from light drizzle to a heavy downpour.

With so many outdoor events and festivals taking place this summer you would think all the British want is a long spell of warm sunshine. But London's Olympic opening ceremony next month will see fake clouds hovering over the stadium providing a dampening just in case the real stuff fails to rain on the parade.

But despite our familiarity with precipitation our vocabulary to describe it is limited. The Inuit people allegedly have 50 words to describe snow because they see so much of it, although Geoff Pullman, a linguist from Edinburgh University says "…the idea is neither empirically true nor practically necessary… as humans we experience lots of variety in everyday life but we don't try to bring it under linguistic observation."

Given that, the British could be forgiven for having just a handful of words. However colloquial English gives meteorological terms a bit more colour. A few drops of rain is described as spitting and one of the most descriptive phrases for heavy rain is it's raining stair-rods. There's also chucking it down and bucketing down which conjures up a picture of some heavenly creature emptying buckets of water from above, drenching the miserable folk below. But the weather you might want to most avoid is when it's raining cats and dogs– a rather cruel way of describing torrential rain.

Quiz 测验

1. According to the article, what weather do British people complain most about?

The British complain most about the rain.

2. In terms of rainfall, what is June most likely to be?

Probably the wettest June on record.

3. What will hover above the Olympic stadium during the opening ceremony?

Fake rain clouds.

4. True, false or not given: The Inuit people have 50 words to describe rain.

False. The Inuit people allegedly have 50 words to describe snow.

5. What colloquial expression is used when there are just a few drops of rain?

It's spitting with rain.

Glossary 词汇表

climatic condition 天气状况

splashing 溅水的声音

drizzle 小雨

spell (of weather) 一段时间

precipitation 雨水

meteorological 气象的

(raining) stair-rods 倾盆大雨

bucketing down 大雨倾盆

drenching 全身浸透

raining cats and dogs 倾盆大雨