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0Britain's April showers
"Take your brolly, it's chucking it down!" The UK is famous for its rainy weather, and Brits LOVE to complain about it – particularly when the arrival of spring teases us with warmth and light, but with them come the 'April showers', lovingly shared by Britain, Ireland and some of coastal northern Europe.
“带上你的雨伞，要下雨了！”英国的阴雨天气是出了名的，英国人最喜欢抱怨阴雨天气--尤其是当春天来临时，温暖和阳光向我们招手，但随之而来的是 "四月阵雨"，英国、爱尔兰和一些北欧沿海国家都喜欢下 "四月阵雨"。
What exactly are they, and why do they insist on coming every year? Meteorologists differentiate between rain and showers. The UK's national weather service, the Met Office, says that rain is precipitation brought by a weather front, is usually long-lasting, and stretches over large areas, whereas showers fall from individual clouds and are characterised by intermittent patterns.
它们究竟是什么，为什么每年都会出现？气象学家对雨和阵雨进行了区分。英国国家气象局表示，降雨是由天气锋面带来的降水，通常持续时间长，覆盖面积大，而阵雨则来自单个云层，具有间歇性的特点。
So, it can be sunny one minute, and the next you're getting caught in a large downpour, but then ten minutes later, you can put away your waterproof jacket and get your sunnies out!
所以，可能前一分钟还是阳光明媚，下一分钟你就被大雨困住了，但十分钟后，你就可以收起防水外套，拿出你的太阳镜了!
So, what's responsible? Rob Thompson, meteorologist at the University of Reading, says that as the hot air rises, it forms the cumulus clouds that produce showers. These are then driven by the jet stream – strong winds that move northwards during spring – creating rather unsettled and unpredictable weather. Besides the drizzle, we're just as likely to experience snow as we are to feel sun as strong as that in late August!
那么，是什么造成的呢？雷丁大学的气象学家罗布·汤普森表示，随着热空气上升，它会形成积云，从而产生阵雨。然后，它们被急流（春季向北移动的强风）驱动，造成相当不稳定和不可预测的天气。除了下毛毛雨，我们还很有可能遇着下雪，就像我们在八月底感受到的阳光一样强烈！
With all this in mind, would it surprise you to hear that April is actually one of the driest months of the whole year? In 2021, data company Statista recorded 137.6mm of rainfall in January, compared to just 20.1mm in April, with similar results for the last four years. That's because while there are lots of rainy days in April, the showers are scattered, and there aren't as many of the long downpours we see in the winter months.
考虑到这一切，当你听说四月实际上是一年中最干燥的月份之一时，你会感到惊讶吗？2021年，数据公司Statista记录了1月份137.6毫米的降雨量，而4月份只有20.1毫米，过去四年的结果类似。这是因为虽然四月有很多雨天，但阵雨是分散的，没有我们在冬季看到的那么多长时间的倾盆大雨。
But, this is likely to change as the world warms up. Weather that causes flash floods is predicted to be four times as frequent in Britain by the 2070s, according to a study by Elizabeth Kendon and colleagues, published in Nature Communications.
但是，随着全球变暖，这种情况可能会改变。根据伊丽莎白·肯登及其同事发表在《自然通讯》上的一项研究，预计到21世纪70年代，英国突发性洪水的的天气频率将是现在的四倍。
There is a British proverb that goes "March winds and April showers bring forth May flowers". It is a reminder that, despite our complaints, April showers can be a symbol for renewal and new beginnings. So Brits, instead of complaining about the drizzly days, why not romanticise that pitter-patter sound that brings us the colourful spring bloom?
有一句英国谚语说:“三月的风和四月的雨带来五月的花。它提醒我们，尽管我们抱怨连连，但四月的阵雨可以象征着新生和新的开始。因此，英国人，与其抱怨阴雨连绵的日子，何不浪漫一下，那将为我们带来五彩缤纷的春暖花开的淅沥雨声？
词汇表
brolly 雨伞
chuck it down 下瓢泼大雨
shower 阵雨
meteorologist 气象学家
precipitation 降水
weather front 气象 “锋”
intermittent 断断续续的
downpour 暴雨，骤雨
waterproof 防水的
sunnies 太阳镜，墨镜
cumulus 积云
jet stream 急流，喷射气流
unsettled 变幻莫测的
drizzle 毛毛雨
rainfall 降雨（量）
scattered 分散的，疏疏落落的
flash flood 突发性洪水
drizzly 下毛毛雨的
pitter-patter （下雨的）啪嗒啪嗒声
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