Some expressions about weather in American English 美式英语中关于天气的表达探微

史天彩

你听说过“气象病”吗？如果今天阳光灿烂、和风飘飘，就会觉得精神振奋、心情舒畅;如果一连遭遇十几天的阴雨，就会感到莫名的郁闷。小编一开始以为是自己多愁善感，没想到科学家却说：天气、气候对人的情绪有很大影响，这是正常的自然现象！

那么问题来了，英语里有哪些关于阴雨天气的常用表达呢？让我们一起来看看吧。

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Ⅰ.听力理解

听下面一段录音并从题中所给的A、B、C三个选项中选出最佳选项。本题考查的重点是学生对意义的理解能力和信息获取能力。

1.According to the record， what does it mean if a person is under a cloud？

A.He happens to stand under a cloud exactly.

B.He is thinking whether it rains soon or not.

C.He maybe has done something bad or dishonorable.

2.Which expressions are not mentioned in the text？

A.A snow year， a rich year.

B.When it rains， it pours.

C.Every cloud has a silver lining.

Ⅱ.听写练习

一边听录音一边阅读以下文字材料，这些文字材料不是录音的全部内容，而是以提纲、摘要、笔记、图表等形式再现的录音的主要内容，需要补全的内容一般是录音中的关键信息。注意一空一词。

1.If you are living under a ______ of suspicion， other people believe that you have done something wrong.

2.Every cloud has a silver lining，which means there is always something ______ in even the most difficult or unhappy situation.

3.Usually， the “rain” in this expression “When it rains， it pours”is used for ______ situation.

4.According to the record， it mainly talks about some expressions about weather in American English to describe people's ______.

文本解说

一个好的天气，一个好的心情：当晴空万里，我们会感到春暖花开;当阴雨连绵，我们会感到沉闷压抑。不得不说天气确实会影响到我们的心情，所以在英语中有很多关于天气的表达可以用来表示心情。

There are some common expressions about weather to describe mood of people in American English. For example， surely most of you have heard the expression “raining cats and dogs”. We often use it when it is raining very hard！

Now， we have another useful expression about heavy rain， “When it rains， it pours！” This means that when something bad happens， other bad things usually happen at the same time. We often use this saying after someone describes a lot of bad things， one after the other， like this example：

“Boy， my sister is really having a hard time these days.”

“Why？ What's wrong？”

“First， someone stole her car. Then she broke her arm in a biking accident and a falling tree knocked in her house—all in one week！”

“What an unlucky week. When it rains， it pours！”

When using this expression， you know that it can be helpful in any situation. You can say it to your best friend or to your employer. Now， the Merriam-Webster's dictionary （韋氏词典） says that English speakers use this idiom for a series of bad things. However， other websites say you can also use it to describe many good things， though， more often than not， the “rain” in this expression is used for bad situation.

Besides， we also use the next one in bad times. If a person is under a cloud， they are thought to have done something bad or dishonorable. A person might even be under a certain type of cloud， such as a cloud of suspicion. If you are living under a cloud of suspicion， other people believe that you have done something wrong.

We use this expression for companies and organizations as well. For example， currently many scandals surround some women's gymnastic organizations and some universities in the United States. They are under a cloud of suspicion.

However， if you add a few extra words to the phrase， the meaning changes greatly. If I am living under a dark cloud， it means I am depressed and sad all the time. We even could say： “living under the dark cloud of depression” or “living under the dark cloud of poverty （贫穷）”.

So there are different types of dark clouds you can live under. But even for people living under a dark cloud， there is hope. And that brings us to the last expression：“every cloud has a silver lining”. This expression means there is always something hopeful in even the most difficult or unhappy situation.

A silver lining on a cloud shows that the sun is behind it. Even a really terrible， bad event may produce something happy or hopeful. For example， if you work hard all the time but only get low salary， so you feel very disappointed. One day， your boss has promoted your position and raised your salary because of your hard working. At this time， you must say： “every cloud has a silver lining”！

Ⅰ.Important language points in the text

1.idiom n. 成语;习语;惯用语

2.dishonorable adj. 不名誉的;无耻的

3.suspicion n. 怀疑;嫌疑;疑心

4.scandal n. 丑闻;流言蜚语;诽谤

5.depressed adj. 沮喪的;意志消沉的;萧条的

6.rain cats and dogs 倾盆大雨

7.more often than not 通常;往往;多半

Ⅱ.Complete the following sentences in correct forms with the language points given above.

1.Now you you'd better not go out because it is raining _____________ outside.

2.If I am living under a dark cloud， it means I am _____________ and sad all the time.

3.There are many _____________ in Chinese， which imply Chinese culture.