
春天不是讀書天?此說法不無道理哦, 因為......「書」除了用來「讀」, 亦可應用日常生活上。 來!活用有關春天的詞彙說法於你、我、他 / 她 / 它上。
春風和煦,暖暖春風吹拂你面......It's such a balmy spring breeze! 原來不止春風令人心曠神怡,事情來得容易亦可借春風一用︰It's a breeze! Isn't it such a breeze to learn English that you can use it in daily life? (學習可應用於日常生活的英語不就是輕而易舉嗎?)
沒有比「吹水」更容易吧?We've been sitting on the couch for hours, just shooting the breeze! 這說法直譯是「射擊春風」,像極了廣東話的「吹水」哦?Shoot the breeze的起源就是形容人和風對話般(talking to the wind),內容無關痛癢、不着邊際。
萬物回春,當然少不了繁花似錦。Trees and flowers are blossoming with new life in the springtime(春天來了,樹木和花朵也綻放着新生命)。桃李爭輝時,橙樹亦要分一杯羹。橘花(香橙花)象徵純潔,因此西方新娘多佩香橙花於髮上,配合純白婚紗,就如天使般潔白無瑕。因此go gathering orange blossoms不單純是去採摘香橙花,而是男士去討妻子︰He went to town to go gathering orange blossoms, so we'd better get ready for a wedding(他近來努力去相親,看來我們要準備做人情了)。
除了花團錦簇,我們人類亦可爭妍鬥麗一番,以blossom作動詞,形容高高興興,或是成功達標。Parents wish that their children would blossom out in their new school(家長們都希望子女在新學校年茁壯成長),Their dream now blossomed into a successful business idea(他們的夢想現已發展至一盤成功的生意)。
除了blossom,亦可用bloom,即是動詞,又是名詞,用來形容春天百花盛開,姹紫嫣紅︰Cherry trees bloom in early spring(櫻樹於早春開花) 。不單是花,我們誰不希望永遠保持花紅柳綠的春天?Who doesn't wish to be in the bloom of youth?The bloom of youth 解正值豆蔻年華。相反地,紅瘦綠肥春暮,暮春時綠葉雖仍茂盛,但紅花已見凋謝,這就是the bloom is off the peach / rose(亦可簡說為the bloom is off)︰After twenty years of marriage, both feel like the bloom is off the peach in this relationship(結婚二十年了,兩人都覺得這段感情激情不再)。
草長鶯飛,鳥語花香。Birds twitter and so do we! 鳥兒嘁嘁喳喳地叫,我們亦可唧唧喳喳地閒聊。Twitter可指我們提高聲線、吱吱喳喳地談及瑣碎事。In a twitter / all of a twitter 更特別指以高音頻、「一輪嘴」似的緊張或興趣之狀︰She was in such a twitter telling us all her engagement(她滔滔不絕跟我們分享訂婚的細節)。相信以藍色小鳥為標誌的著名社交網絡平台亦取鳥鳴短促之意,命名為Twitter,其每則不超過280個字符的微信息就是tweet(可解啁啾)。
在此祝願︰Everything is going to all moonlight and roses for you。祝大家春風得意,事事順心。
●鍾可盈博士 香港恒生大學英文系高級講師
隔星期五見報