Michael Chugani 褚簡寧 - spring is in the air｜又中又英

It’s been more than seven months since I left Hong Kong for the US. I have been on the road for much of those seven months. The expression “on the road” means to continuously travel to different places. Since I left Hong Kong I have been to California, Texas, Georgia, Indiana, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. I stayed put in New York for several months, then went back on the road again. To stay put means to remain in the same place. Last week I went back to Indianapolis in Indiana to stay at my elder sister’s house. Indianapolis has very cold winters but not as cold as New York.
I was in New York for part of the winter. At times it got so cold with so much snow that I wanted to go on the road again to Florida, a warmer state where my younger brother has a house. I didn’t go because I didn’t want to pack my suitcase yet again. I finally decided to go to my elder sister’s house because she had asked me many times to visit her again. She has a large backyard. Last week I saw some pretty birds in the backyard. These birds normally fly to warmer places in the winter and return in the spring. It was a pleasant and sunny day when I saw the birds. It was a sign that spring is in the air.

If spring is in the air, it means people can feel that spring will be arriving soon. Of the four seasons I love spring the most. The air is fresh and cool, the flowers start growing again, and the birds will return. When I lived in Washington DC many years ago, I had a big two-level house with a large backyard. Every spring I would plant the seeds for vegetables such as tomatoes and eggplant. The flower plants would grow new flowers and the trees would grow new leaves. Spring is a cheerful time of year.
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  自我離開香港到美國，已經七個月有多。這七個月以來，許多時間我都是on the road——習語“on the road”是指持續在旅途上，遊歷不同的地方。自我離開香港，我已到過加州、德州、佐治亞州、印第安納州、特拉華州、馬利蘭州、賓夕凡尼亞州以及紐約。我留在（stayed put）紐約好幾個月，然後又再重新上路（on the road）。To stay put是指待在同一個地方。上星期我回到印第安納州的印第安納坡里斯，住在我姊姊的屋裏。印第安納坡里斯有着非常冷的寒冬，但沒有紐約那麼冷。
  過去的冬天，有一部份時間我在紐約，到了嚴冬，冷得直下雪之際，我就很想再次踏上旅途（on the road）去佛羅里達，那是較為暖和的州份，我弟弟在那兒有間屋，但我並未成行，因為我不想再執拾行李。我最終決定去我姊的住處，因為她多次叫我再去探訪她。她有一個偌大的後院，上星期，我在後院見到一些美麗的雀鳥，這些鳥通常會飛往較暖的地方過冬，在春天的時候回來。我見到雀鳥的那一天，是個和煦而陽光燦爛的一天，那就是spring is in the air的迹象。
  若spring is in the air，意即春意盎然，空氣中瀰漫着春天的氣息。四季之中，我最愛春季。空氣是那麼清新涼爽，花兒又開始綻放，雀鳥又會回來。我多年前住在華盛頓特區之時，有一間兩層大屋，也有一個大大的後花園。每年春季我都會種一些蔬菜的種子，例如番茄和茄子。花卉植物會再長出新花朵，樹木又長新葉。在一年之中，春天是令人愉快的時節。
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧