VOA慢速英语2016--你是Snowbird 还是 Snow Bunny?

Are You a Snowbird or Snow Bunny? 你是Snowbird 还是 Snow Bunny?

Hello and welcome to Words and Their Stories from VOA Learning English!

Winters in parts of the United States can be cold and, at times, snowy. Sometimes violent storms with high winds combine with low temperatures to produce heavy snowfall. This creates blizzard¹ conditions.

In 2016, a blizzard hit the Northeast U.S. It dropped record amounts of snow in many areas, including New York City and Washington, D.C.

A blizzard can be dangerous. But some people like them. Even people who do not like blizzards² enjoy watching the falling snow.

When a heavy snow blankets an area, it turns everything magical.

It turns a dirty city into a winter wonderland overnight. A blanket of snow softens³ a city’s hard edges. It quiets loud noises.

There is little or no traffic and no car horns sounding.

Everything is white, quiet and peaceful.

Often snow leads to school cancellations. That is the best news to a child’s ears. I remember when I was a young schoolgirl. I would wake up very early and listen to the news to find out if my school was among those canceled.

Boys and girls put on their warmest clothes, and go outdoors for winter fun. A popular winter activity for children is sled riding. You find the closest snow-covered hill, grab⁴ a sled and head out for a day of ups and downs.

Another favorite activity is building a snowman or snow woman, depending on what clothing you have available.

Building a snow cave is also fun. If you have many friends in your neighborhood, you can build a snow fort⁵ and have a big snowball fight.

This brings us to a useful winter expression. A snowball is something that a child makes to throw at a friend in a fight. But as a verb, snowball is very different. When a problem snowballs, it grows very big, very quickly.

Close your eyes and imagine a ball of snow that starts off rolling down a hill very slowly. But with every roll, it picks up more and more snow until it becomes a big snowball rolling very fast down the hill.

You could say, “What began as a small problem snowballed into a huge problem very quickly.”

Here is the verb "snowball" used in a dialogue:

"He seemed to be doing well in school but his test grades in mathematics dropped quickly."

"I’ll tell you what happened. He missed a week of school and had lots of catching⁶ up to do in math. Things just snowballed from there. He is really behind now."

Many people love a big snowstorm, such as snow bunnies.

Snow bunnies are not cute little animals that hop⁷ around on the ground.

A snow bunny is a young, attractive female skier⁸.

But many people do not like the cold and snow.

In fact, some Americans dislike cold weather so much they go to a warmer climate to escape it. These people are called snowbirds.

Snowbirds are like some birds in that they move to warmer climates in the winter months. Snowbirds flee northern states in the winter for the South or Southwest.

Most snowbirds are older Americans who have retired⁹. They just simply cannot deal with the cold or harsh¹⁰ winters any longer.

So now when you hear someone use the words snowbird and snow bunny you will know they are not talking about woodland creatures.

Join us again next week for another Words and Their Stories.

Words in This Story

blanket  - v. to cover with or as if with a blanket

magical - adj. giving a feeling of enchantment¹¹

sled - n. a small steerable¹² one used especially by children for coasting down snow-covered hills : v. to ride on a sled or sleigh

cave - n. a usually underground chamber for storage

1 blizzard   

n.暴风雪

参考例句：

• The blizzard struck while we were still on the mountain.我们还在山上的时候暴风雪就袭来了。
• You'll have to stay here until the blizzard blows itself off.你得等暴风雪停了再走。

2 blizzards   

暴风雪( blizzard的名词复数 )； 暴风雪似的一阵，大量（或大批）

参考例句：

• Even in the summertime we might be struck by blizzards. 甚至在夏天，我们也可能受到暴风雪的袭击。
• Blizzards battered Britain for the third day. 大风雪袭击英国已进入第三天。

3 softens   

（使）变软( soften的第三人称单数 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰

参考例句：

• Iron softens with heat. 铁受热就软化。
• Moonlight softens our faults; all shabbiness dissolves into shadow. 月光淡化了我们的各种缺点，所有的卑微都化解为依稀朦胧的阴影。 来自名作英译部分

4 grab   

vt./n.攫取，抓取；vi.攫取，抓住(at)

参考例句：

• It is rude to grab a seat.抢占座位是不礼貌的。
• The thief made a grab at my bag but I pushed him away.贼想抢我的手提包，但被我推开了。

5 fort   

n.要塞，堡垒，碉堡

参考例句：

• The fort can not be defended against an air attack.这座要塞遭到空袭时无法防御。
• No one can get into the fort without a pass.没有通行证，任何人不得进入要塞。

6 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

7 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

8 skier   

n.滑雪运动员

参考例句：

• She is a skier who is unafraid of danger.她是一名敢于冒险的滑雪者。
• The skier skimmed across the snow.滑雪者飞快地滑过雪地。

9 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

10 harsh   

adj.严厉（酷）的，刺耳的，刺目的，毛糙的

参考例句：

• The sunlight is very harsh.太阳光很刺眼。
• Although his words are harsh,there is positiveness in them.虽然他的话很苛刻，但有建设性。

11 enchantment   

n.迷惑，妖术，魅力

参考例句：

• The beauty of the scene filled us with enchantment.风景的秀丽令我们陶醉。
• The countryside lay as under some dread enchantment.乡村好像躺在某种可怖的魔法之下。

12 steerable   

可驾驶的，易操纵的；可控

参考例句：

• The MBHW04 is the first well using geometry steerable drilling technology in China. 新疆油田MBHW04水平井是国内第一口使用地质导向钻井技术的井。 来自互联网