再见,夏天,你好,秋天

Goodbye, Summer. Hello, Autumn. Or Is It Fall? 再见,夏天,你好,秋天

Now the VOA Learning English program, Words and Their Stories.

This is the program that explores the origin and uses of popular words and expressions in American English. Today, we are going to talk about “autumn.”

In half of the world, summer has come to an end. Swimming pools have closed. Children are back in school. The days grow shorter, and the weather cooler.

In many parts of the United States, trees appear on fire as their leaves turn brilliant shades of gold, orange and red.

From the Pacific Northwest to New England to the Mid-Atlantic and Appalachian states -- the autumn leaf-changing scenery is breath-taking.

Autumn is also called “fall.” This is probably because it is the time when trees lose their leaves and they fall to the ground.

But why do we have two names for one season?

In the English language, calling the season “autumn” first began in the 12th century. But the word was not commonly used until about the 16th? century. This is about the same time that people began using the word “fall” to mean autumn.

However, even earlier, the season was called “harvest.”

In the early days of the United States, autumn was a time for preparing for the winter months by collecting and preserving food. People gathered corn, nuts and berries. They also dried and salted meats to feed them through the long, cold winter.

In modern times, refrigeration, grocery stores and pizza delivery help us survive through winter. But in autumn we still need to prepare.

If you have a fireplace or a wood stove in your home, you will collect, chop or buy firewood. You may also need to prepare your home by fixing or weather-proofing doors and windows.

If you have a car, you make sure the tires and fluids are also ready for the cold winter months. These preparations are called winterizing.

Actually, many people winterize their wardrobes, too. They put away their lightweight summer clothes and flip¹ flops², and bring out their coats, sweaters and boots.

To prepare for the winter months, some animals gather food. The squirrel is well known for its skill in this activity.

Squirrels gather and store seeds and nuts in their nests. They search the ground for fallen nuts. They pick nuts from tree limbs, sometimes throwing them down to the ground below.

This hoarding⁴ helps them survive the winter. And it gives us a common expression.

To squirrel something away means to save it for future use. Things you squirrel away become your stash⁵. We often use this expression when talking about money and food. But any resource you may need later can be squirreled away.

For example, a child might squirrel away chocolate, hiding their stash from brothers and sisters. This guarantees the child can satisfy their sweet tooth at any time.

Unlike squirrels, you can squirrel things away during any time of the year. Also, unlike squirrels -- who are furry⁶ flurries of activity during the autumn -- many people slow down during this time. The expression autumn years refers to the later years of a person’s life, especially after a person has stopped working.

For example, “She worked hard her entire life. She saved her money and invested it wisely. So, she was able to enjoy her autumn years in comfort. She was finally able to travel around the world.”

This time of life can also be called “twilight years.” Regardless of your age, autumn can be a sad time for gardeners. People who spent the entire summer cultivating their gardens may feel sad to see the empty garden beds of autumn.

The poem “September Tomatoes” is for those people.

(("September Tomatoes” by Karina Borowicz))

The whiskey stink⁷ of rot has settled

in the garden, and a burst of fruit flies rises

when I touch the dying tomato plants.

Still, the claws of tiny yellow blossoms

flail⁸ in the air as I pull the vines up by the roots

and toss them in the compost.

It feels cruel. Something in me isn’t ready

to let go of summer so easily. To destroy

what I’ve carefully cultivated all these months.

Those pale flowers might still have time to fruit.

My great-grandmother sang with the girls of her village

as they pulled the flax. Songs so old

and so tied to the season that the very sound

seemed to turn the weather.

As summer ends, so does this episode of Words and Their Stories. And like summer, we will return, not in a year, but rather next week!

Words in This Stories

brilliant – adj. (of light or color) very bright and radiant.

scenery – n. view of natural features (such as mountains, hills or valleys) that is pleasing to look at

preserve – v. to prevent (food) from decaying

winterize – v. to make (something) able to resist the effects of winter weather

wardrobe – n. a collection of clothes that a person owns or wears

flip flops – n. a type of loose rubber sandal

hoard³ – v. to collect and hide a large amount of (something valuable)

stash – n. an amount of something that is stored or hidden

sweet tooth – n. a liking⁹ for sweet foods

furry – adj. covered with fur

flurry – n. a brief period of excitement or activity

cultivate – v. to prepare and use (soil) for growing plants

whiskey – n. a strong alcoholic¹⁰ drink made from a grain (such as rye, corn, or barley)

claw – n. a body part of an animal (such as a lobster¹¹ or crab) that is used for gripping and holding things : Note: in the poem, the plants are given “claws,” an animal feature, to show they are hanging on.

blossom – n. a flower especially of a fruit tree

compost – n. a decayed mixture of plants (such as leaves and grass) that is used to improve the soil in a garden

cruel – adj. causing or helping¹² to cause suffering

flax – n. a plant that has blue flowers and that is grown for its fiber and its seed

1 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

2 flops   

n.失败( flop的名词复数 )v.（指书、戏剧等）彻底失败( flop的第三人称单数 )；（因疲惫而）猛然坐下；（笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地）移动或落下；砸锅

参考例句：

• a pair of flip-flops 一双人字拖鞋
• HPC environments are often measured in terms of FLoating point Operations Per Second (FLOPS) . HPC环境通常以每秒浮点运算次数(FLOPS)加以度量。 来自互联网

3 hoard   

n./v.窖藏，贮存，囤积

参考例句：

• They have a hoard of food in the basement.地下室里有他们贮藏的食物。
• How many curios do you hoard in your study?你在你书房里聚藏了多少古玩？

4 hoarding   

n.贮藏；积蓄；临时围墙；囤积v.积蓄并储藏（某物）( hoard的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• After the war, they were shot for hoarding. 战后他们因囤积而被枪决。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Actually he had two unused ones which he was hoarding up. 其实他还藏了两片没有用呢。 来自英汉文学

5 stash   

v.藏或贮存于一秘密处所；n.隐藏处

参考例句：

• Stash away both what you lost and gained,for life continues on.将得失深藏心底吧，为了那未来的生活。
• That's supposed to be in our private stash.这是我的私人珍藏。

6 furry   

adj.毛皮的；似毛皮的；毛皮制的

参考例句：

• This furry material will make a warm coat for the winter.这件毛皮料在冬天会是一件保暖的大衣。
• Mugsy is a big furry brown dog,who wiggles when she is happy.马格斯是一只棕色大长毛狗，当她高兴得时候她会摇尾巴。

7 stink   

vi.发出恶臭；糟透，招人厌恶；n.恶臭

参考例句：

• The stink of the rotten fish turned my stomach.腐烂的鱼臭味使我恶心。
• The room has awful stink.那个房间散发着难闻的臭气。

8 flail   

v.用连枷打；击打；n.连枷（脱粒用的工具）

参考例句：

• No fence against flail.飞来横祸不胜防。
• His arms were flailing in all directions.他的手臂胡乱挥舞着。

9 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

10 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

11 lobster   

n.龙虾，龙虾肉

参考例句：

• The lobster is a shellfish.龙虾是水生贝壳动物。
• I like lobster but it does not like me.我喜欢吃龙虾，但它不适宜于我的健康。

12 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。