又中又英｜It looks picturesque. - Michael Chugani 褚簡寧

It’s been four months since I settled temporarily in Manhattan. I have shivered through four snowfalls. It is wondrous to be in a warm home at the window when it is snowing. If it snows for a long time, everything is blanketed in snow, including trees, roads, and cars. It looks picturesque, like a picture on a Christmas card. When it snows, snowplows come out either during or immediately after the snowfall to clear the snow so drivers can drive safely. The snowplows remove the snow to the sides of the roads, creating high piles of snow. After a day or two these piles of snow turn black, caused by traffic and dirt on the roads. The snowfall is no longer picturesque.

To shiver means to shake because it’s cold. The word snowfall has two meanings. It means snow falling or the amount of snow that falls. One of the recent snowfalls in Manhattan was about nine inches. The word “wondrous” means very wonderful or marvelous. The word “blanketed” means completely covered. If something is picturesque it means it is very attractive or beautiful. A snowplow is a vehicle with something in front that clears the snow to the sides when the vehicle is driven on the roads. When the snow turns black after the snowplows remove it to the sides of the roads, the snow is no longer picturesque. It looks dirty.

New York winters are extremely cold with an icy wind but I need to exercise by going out for long walks and to the supermarket. I cannot be cooped up at home every single day. To be cooped up means to be inside a small place for a long time. You are cooped up if you are quarantined in Penny’s Bay. Even though it’s cold I go out almost every day by bundling up. To bundle up means to wear enough clothing to keep warm. I wear two undershirts, a shirt, two thick jackets, two pairs of pants (trousers), scarf, woolen hat, and gloves!

我暫居曼哈頓以來，已經有四個月了。我已顫抖着（shivered）度過了四場雪落（snowfalls）。能夠在溫暖的家中看着窗外下雪的情景，實在很奇妙（wondrous）。若那一場雪下了很久，包括樹木、道路與車輛的一切一切，都會覆蓋在（blanketed）白雪之下，看起來美麗如畫（picturesque），就如聖誕卡上的圖畫一樣。下雪的時候，在降雪（snowfall）期間或之後，鏟雪車（snowplows）就會立即出動去推雪，好讓駕駛者能安全駕駛。那些鏟雪車（snowplows）會將雪推到路旁，而積疊成高高的雪堆。過了一兩天，這些雪堆會逐漸因為道路上的交通和灰塵而變黑，那場下雪（snowfall）的景象就不再如畫般秀麗（picturesque）了。

To shiver是指冷得發抖。Snowfall有兩個意思，一是指下雪，一是指降雪量。曼哈頓最近有一次的降雪量（snowfalls）便有約九吋。Wondrous是指非常奇妙或令人驚嘆的。Blanketed即是全面覆蓋、籠罩的。若某事物是picturesque即是風光如畫，非常別致、美麗。A snowplow就是前方安裝了雪鏟的車，它在道路上行駛的時候可以將雪推到路旁。鏟雪車（A snowplows）將雪清除到路邊後，雪堆會逐漸變黑，那時候雪景就不再美麗如畫（picturesque）了，看起來很骯髒。

紐約的冬季多伴着刺骨寒風，都是非常寒冷的，但我仍然需要做運動，就是外出散個長步，以及去超市。我不能每一天都 cooped up在家—— to be cooped up意即長時間關在一個狹小的空間裏。若你要在竹篙灣隔離，你便是cooped up。雖然天氣寒冷，但我差不多每天都會 bundling up再出外——to bundle up即是穿得很暖和，裹得嚴嚴實實的。我通常會穿兩件裏衣、一件上衣、兩件厚外套、兩條褲（pants）、頸巾、羊毛帽還有手套才外出！
中譯：七刻

Michael Chugani 褚簡寧