Michael Chugani 褚簡寧 - wild swings｜又中又英

In my previous column I said I left Manhattan to stay at my elder sister's home in Indianapolis in the state of Indiana. This state is in the Midwest, which is the northern central part of the US. I said in my previous column I saw pretty birds chirping in my sister's backyard. This meant spring is coming. The word “chirp” means the short, sharp singing sounds small birds make. In the past few weeks Indianapolis has gone through wild swings in the weather. Manhattan was the same during my time there. The expression“wild swing”means a very noticeable and extreme change in something.

It's been three weeks since I arrived in Indianapolis. During this time the weather has changed from cool and sunny on some days to very cold with light snow on other days. These wild swings in the weather from warm to cold can take a toll on a person's health. The expression“take a toll”used this way means to have a serious or bad effect. I went for a walk in a nearby park last week when the weather was pleasantly cool and sunny. I saw a flock of geese that had not been there during previous walks. The word“flock”means a group of birds of the same kind that feed or travel together.

The word “flock” can also be used to describe a group of animals such as sheep. The word“geese”is the plural of goose, which is a type of bird. The flock of geese I saw in the park meant spring is arriving. Geese fly south from Canada during the winter to the warmer southern parts of the US. While flying south they will rest in Midwest places like Indiana. When it's spring they will fly north back to Canada to breed（give birth）and stop in places like Indiana. The geese I saw were flying back to Canada for the summer. If I am in Indianapolis next winter I will see them flying south again.
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在上一篇文章中說到，我離開了曼哈頓，前往印第安納州的印第安納坡里斯，我姊的家裏去住。這個州在中西部，就是美國地理上的中北部。我上次寫道，我見到有美麗的雀鳥，在我姊的後院吱吱喳喳地叫（chirping），這意味着春天將至。Chirp是指小鳥歌唱，短而尖的啁啾聲。過去幾個星期，印第安納坡里斯的天氣急劇變化（wild swings），我在曼哈頓的時候，曼哈頓也是一樣。習語「wild swing」意即某事物有着顯著而極端的變化。

我抵達印第安納坡里斯已有三周了。在這段時間裏，天氣變化很大，好些日子涼爽又晴朗，另一些日子則急轉為非常寒冷，還輕飄着雪。這種乍暖還寒、強烈搖擺（wild swings）的天氣，可以對一個人的健康產生不良的影響（take a toll）。習語「take a toll」在這裏解作嚴重或壞影響。我上星期趁着天氣晴朗、清爽宜人之時，去了附近一個公園散步。我見到一群鵝（flock of geese），是之前幾次散步時都沒有出現過的。Flock是指一群一同覓食或飛行的同種鳥類。

Flock也可以用來形容一群動物，例如一群羊。Geese就是goose的眾數。我在公園見到一群鵝（flock of geese），意味着春天即將來臨。冬季期間，鵝群（geese）會由加拿大南飛至美國較暖和的南部地區，而南飛途中，牠們會在中西部如印第安納州歇息；到了春天，牠們會飛返加拿大繁殖（breed），又會在印第安納等地停留。我見到的鵝（geese）正要飛回加拿大迎接夏天。要是下一個冬季，我還在印第安納坡里斯，就可以再見到牠們南飛。
中譯:七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧