每日英語 #055: Dog Days of Summer

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Dog Days of Summer

We often refer to the hot days between early July and early September as the dog days of summer.

我們常常把從七月初到九月初的炎熱天氣稱為「三伏天」。

Why “dog” and not “cat” or some other animal?

為什麼是「狗」而不是「貓」或其他動物呢？

In “ancient times” (very long time ago), people “associated” (connected in their minds) hot summer weather with one of the brightest stars in the night sky, Sirius, which is also called the Dog Star.

在「古代」（很久以前），人們把炎熱的夏天天氣與夜空中最亮的星之一聯繫起來，這顆星叫天狼星，也稱為狗星。

People believed that because Sirius was close to the sun during the summer months, that caused the “sweltering” (feeling uncomfortably hot) temperatures.

人們認為，由於天狼星在夏季接近太陽，這導致了「酷熱」（感到不舒服的熱）的溫度。

Not surprisingly, “comedians” (people whose job is to make people laugh) like to make jokes about the hot weather.

不足為奇的是，「喜劇演員」（以逗人笑為職業的人）喜歡拿炎熱天氣開玩笑。

A very common type of joke goes like this:

一種非常常見的笑話是這樣的：

Comedian: “It’s hot outside.”

喜劇演員：「外面很熱。」

Audience: “How hot is it?” (with the entire audience shouting it at the comedian “in unison” (at the same time))

觀眾：「有多熱？」（整個觀眾一起喊出來，「齊聲」（同時）問喜劇演員）

Comedian: “It’s so hot that + [punchline, the funny part of a joke]...

喜劇演員：「熱到......」（加上「包袱」（笑話的有趣部分））

Here are a few punchlines from popular comedians that may make you laugh or at least “chuckle” (laugh a little; laugh quietly), and help you get through the dog days of summer.

以下是一些流行的喜劇演員的包袱，可能會讓你笑出聲，或者至少「偷笑」（輕輕地笑），幫助你度過炎熱的夏天。

• “It’s so hot that I saw a chicken lay a fried egg.”
  「熱到我看到一隻雞下了一個煎蛋。」
• “It’s so hot that I saw two trees “fighting over” (competing for) a dog.”
  「熱到我看到兩棵樹在『爭奪』（競爭）一隻狗。」
• “It’s so hot that I discovered that I need only two fingers to drive my car.”
  「熱到我發現開車只需要兩根手指。」
• “It’s so hot that hot water now comes out of both “taps” (faucets).”
  「熱到現在兩個水『龍頭』（水龍頭）都出熱水。」
• “It’s so hot that when it falls below 95 (35 degrees Celsius), I feel “chilly” (a ittle cold).”
  「熱到當溫度降到95度（攝氏35度）以下時，我覺得『涼颼颼』（有點冷）。」

重點單字

• 1. Dog days [dɔɡ deɪz] 三伏天
• 2. Ancient times [ˈeɪnʃənt taɪmz] 古代
• 3. Associated [əˈsoʊʃieɪtɪd] 聯繫
• 4. Sirius [ˈsɪriəs] 天狼星
• 5. Sweltering [ˈswɛltərɪŋ] 酷熱
• 6. Comedians [kəˈmidiənz] 喜劇演員
• 7. In unison [ɪn ˈjunɪsən] 齊聲
• 8. Punchline [ˈpʌntʃˌlaɪn] 包袱
• 9. Chuckle [ˈtʃʌkəl] 偷笑
• 10. Taps [tæps] 水龍頭
• 11. Chilly [ˈtʃɪli] 涼颼颼