常春藤生活英語：Groundhog Day 土撥鼠節(jié)

In the 1700s, a lot of German immigrants moved to the US. According to German folklore, certain animals have special powers on certain days. The groundhog is one of those animals. Its special day was previously on Candlemas, a holiday that was celebrated when winter was half over. Later, the groundhog got its own holiday, on which Punxsutawney Phil is now the biggest star.

Groundhog Day is every February 2. On this day, people watch as Phil steps out of his hole after a long winter of sleeping. If he sees his own shadow, he runs back inside, and winter weather will not end soon. On the contrary, it means that six more weeks of cold weather are still ahead. If it is cloudy, Phil won't see his shadow. Therefore, he predicts that spring weather will arrive soon.

Americans aren't the only people who eagerly wait for a groundhog's prediction. In Canada, Wiarton Willie predicts the end of winter weather. While this kind of festival is fun, it's doubtful whether any human or animal can actually understand Mother Nature.

十八世紀時有許多德國人移民到美國。根據(jù)德國的民間傳說，某些動物在特定日子里擁有特殊的能力。土撥鼠便是那些動物之一　…的特殊之日原先時值 Candlemas，這個節(jié)日是在冬天過了一半時慶祝的。爾后，土撥鼠得到了自己專屬的節(jié)日，現(xiàn)在普蘇塔尼?菲爾就是這天最閃亮的巨星(編按：普蘇塔尼? 菲爾是一只土撥鼠的名字，他得名于自己所處的小鎮(zhèn)，也就是位于美國賓州的普蘇塔尼)。

每年的二月二日為土撥鼠節(jié)。在這一天，人們會看著菲爾在長長的冬眠后爬出他的洞穴。如果他看到自己的影子，他就會跑回洞里，而冬日氣候還不會那么快結束。相反地，這意謂著前頭仍然還有六周的嚴寒氣候。如果天氣多云，菲爾就不會看到他的影子。因此他便預測大地即將春暖花開。

美國人并不是唯一殷切期盼土撥鼠做出天氣預報的民族。在加拿大，威亞頓?威利負責預測冬日氣候何時結束。雖然這樣的活動很有趣，不過對于任何人或動物真能了解大自然一事，還有待商榷。

1.What is the purpose of Groundhog Day?

(A)To wake the groundhog from its sleep.

(B)To have a little fun before spring comes.

(C)To guess if spring weather will arrive soon.

(D)To worship the groundhog as a star.

1.土撥鼠節(jié)的目的為何?

(A)把土撥鼠從睡眠中叫醒。

(B)在春天氣候來臨前好好享樂一番。

(C)猜測春天是否即將到來。

(D)把土撥鼠當成巨星一樣崇拜。

2.How does the writer feel about this kind of predicting method?

(A)It is accurate.

(B)It is not reliable.

(C)The writer is eagerly waiting for it.

(D)The writer doesn't understand it.

2.筆者對這種預測方法做何感想?

(A)這種方法很準確。

(B)這種方法很不可靠。

(C)筆者引頸期盼這種方法。

(D)筆者搞不懂這種方法。

Building Your Vocabulary

1.previously　adv. 以前，先前

The car was previously owned by my uncle.

這臺車先前是我叔叔所有。

2.predict　vt. 預測

Carl predicts the red team will win the game.

卡爾預測紅隊會贏得比賽。

3.doubtful　a. 感到懷疑的，有疑問的

It is doubtful whether she will get this job.

她能不能得到這份工作還不一定。

4.accurate　a. 準確的，精確的

Neal got lost in the mountains because his map wasn't accurate.

因為尼爾的地圖不精確，所以他在深山中迷了路。

5.reliable　a. 可靠的，可信賴的

I got this information from a reliable source.

我是從一個可靠來源得到這個消息的。

Phrases for Learning

on the contrary　　相反地

Everyone thinks Terry is lazy, but on the contrary, he is a diligent worker.

所有人都認為泰瑞很懶惰，不過他其實是名勤奮的員工。

參考字詞

1.immigrant　n.(外來的)移民

2.folklore　n. 民間傳說

3.groundhog　n. 土撥鼠

4.shadow　n. 影子;陰影

5.prediction　n. 預言，預告

6.Mother Nature　n. 大自然

7.worship　vt. 膜拜;敬奉

Tips In Use

...it's doubtful whether any human or animal can actually understand...

(……不過對于任何人或動物真能了解……還有待商榷。)

doubtful 雖表『感到懷疑的，有疑問的』，但其后接 whether/if 子句或 that 子句時，意思略有不同，使用時必須注意。

1.doubtful + whether/if 子句　　……是未定的

It is doubtful if the patient will recover from her illness.

(患者能否痊愈還不確定。)

2.doubtful + that 子句　　……是不大可能的

It is doubtful that the rescue team will find the missing man in this weather.

(在這樣的天候狀況下，搜救隊伍不大可能找到那名失蹤男子。)