雙語有聲閱讀 | 為什么2020年被稱為閏年（leap year）?

Why Is 2020 Called a Leap Year?

為什么2020年被稱為閏年?

?

Now, it's time for Words and Their Stories -- our weekly program about common, everyday expressions in American English.

你正在收聽的是詞匯掌故節(jié)目，這是我們每周關于美式英語中常見的日常表達的節(jié)目。

Today we are talking about the somewhat unusual day of February 29. It comes up on the calendar only every four years. A year with a February 29 might be good news if you are paid by the day or the week. But it might be bad news if you were born on a February 29. You have to wait three years in between birthdays!

今天我們要談論的是2月29日這個有點不尋常的日子。這個日子每四年才出現(xiàn)在日歷上。如果你的工資是按天或周計算的，那么2月29日也許是個好消息。但如果你出生在2月29日，這可能是個壞消息。生日與生日之間你得等三年!

In any case, American English has a term for the unusual situation. February 29 is called a leap day. And the entire 12 month period with a February 29 in it is called a leap year. This year, 2020, is such a year.

無論如何，美式英語有一個詞語來描述這種不尋常的情況。2月29日被稱為“閏日”(leap day)。12個月的時間里擁有2月29日的那一年被稱為“閏年”(leap year)。今年，2020年，就是這樣的一年。

As a verb, the word "leap" means to jump, or to move quickly. "Leap" can also be a noun, meaning a jump, or a sudden move.

“leap”這個詞作為動詞的意思是跳，或者快速移動。“Leap”也可以是名詞，意思是一個跳躍或突然的移動。

In a leap year, the dates jump over one day of the week. Let me explain. In 2017, the last day of the year, December 31, fell on a Sunday. In 2018, it fell on a Monday. In 2019, it fell on a Tuesday. But in 2020, December 31 will fall on a Thursday. It just leaped right over Wednesday.

在閏年，日期會跳過一周中的一天。讓我解釋一下。在2017年，一年中的最后一天12月31日正好是周日。在2018年，最后一天是周一。在2019年，最后一天變成了周二。但在2020年，12月31日將是一個周四。它剛好跳過了周三。

The reason for a leap day or a leap year is because our calendar does not follow the Earth's orbit around the sun exactly. Each year, we have a little time left over. So every four years, we put all that time together into an extra day – or, what is officially called an intercalary day. But I have never, ever heard an English speaker use that term. "Leap day" is fine.

閏日或閏年之所以出現(xiàn)，是因為我們的日歷并不完全按照地球繞太陽的軌道運行來算的。每年，我們都有一點剩余的時間。因此，每四年，我們把所有的剩余時間放在一起，成為一個額外的一天，或者正式地稱其為“intercalary day”。但是我從來沒有聽一個說英語的人用過這個詞語。“Leap day” 這種表達方式就很好。

Leap is also an important word for two other common – but opposing – American expressions. One is a kind of warning. If you want someone to investigate a situation completely before taking action, you might say, "Look before you leap."

“Leap”也是另外兩個常見但意思卻截然不同的美式表達的重要組成詞匯。一種是表示警告。如果你想讓某人在采取行動前徹底調(diào)查一下情況，你可以說，“Look before you leap(三思而后行)”。

The other expression is a phrase of hope. Urging someone to "take a leap of faith" invites the person to take action, even if not everything about a situation is known.

另一個表達是表示希望。敦促某人“take a leap of faith(放手一搏)”會促使他采取行動，即使他對某一情況并不完全了解。

Interestingly, both phrases are completely reasonable to say to someone who is about to get married.

有趣的是，這兩個短語對即將結婚的人來說都是完全合理的。

On that note, some people choose to marry on February 29 because it is an unusual date. One wedding chapel in the U.S. city of Las Vegas is even offering a free ceremony for those who decide to "take the leap" into marriage on the last day of this month. The ceremony is followed by a chance to skydive together – that is, jump out of an airplane with a parachute.

因此，有些人選擇在2月29日結婚，因為這是一個不尋常的日子。美國拉斯維加斯的一家婚禮小教堂甚至為那些決定在本月(2020年2月)的最后一天結婚的人提供免費的婚禮儀式。儀式之后有一個一起跳傘的機會，也就是帶著降落傘跳出飛機。

But some ancient peoples would likely tell couples not to do it. Leap years were believed to be difficult, and leap days unlucky and a bad time to begin anything new.

但是一些古老的民族可能會告訴夫婦們不要這樣做。閏年被認為是很艱難的一年， 而閏日是不吉利的，不是開始新事物的好時機。

Whatever you think about them, the change in the calendar will be gone soon enough. Then we can return to normal, and leap over February 29 as usual.

不管你怎么想，日歷上的變化很快就會消失。然后我們就可以恢復正常，像往常一樣跳過2月29日。

I'm Kelly Jean Kelly.

凱利·吉恩·凱利為您播報。