一年四季,春夏秋冬,Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter 的形容詞,稍有不同,例如:a spring like day; a summery night in summertime; autumnal maple leaves; wintry weather has arrived。
秋去冬來,天涼好個秋,冬雪刺骨寒,指不同的天氣。BREEZY winds of autumn 秋天微風拂面,令人輕快,we like to take a walk in the cool of the evening;FREEZING cold of winter snow 冬天的雪,給人極冷的感覺,we hate to live a place where it’s always cold。
FREEZING 比 cold 程度更強,指結冰的温度。Extremely cold weather 也可以說 it’s bitterly cold。CHILLY 多用於指 cool 與 cold 之間的的氣温,LUKEWARM 和 TEPID 指不冷不熱;a cold snap 指持續一段時間的驟冷期。當你的身體感到寒冷:you shiver because of the cold; your teeth chatter; goose pimples or goose bumps appear on your skin。Stone cold 通常適用於食物的温度:I can’t eat this soup——it’s stone cold.
Cool 字用途變化多端
天氣涼快之外,COOL 字用途變化多端。
COOL 冷靜 = CALM:not nervous, not excited, e.g. you keep cool and you stay cool in a crisis。Cool, calm and collected 表示鎮靜又沉着,you are in total control of your feelings。You keep a cool head 保持冷靜,you stay calm。You are cool-headed 你有一副冷靜的頭腦;you have a cool-headed assessment of the situation 你對局勢有冷靜的估計。成語 as cool as a cucumber 表示冷靜、非常鎮定、不情緒化,calm and controlled at a time of upset, difficulty or danger。同樣地,勸告別人 stay cool:慢慢來,好好休息;keep your cool means you control your anger or patience and remain calm in a frightening or difficult situation 當有困難時,你懂得控制脾氣及保持冷靜;play it cool 遇事冷靜對待,鎮定應付:When you talk to your boss, don’t start apologizing straight away. Play it cool first and see how he reacts.
反之,沉不住氣,說法是 blow your cool,或者說:lose your cool 失去冷靜,大發脾氣,lose your temper。作動詞用, cool it 放鬆,不要緊張,慢慢來:Come on now——calm down, cool it,相等於說 cool down。至於 cool off 變涼之外,還有興趣減低、熱情降低的涵義:Mark is furious. Just give him a few minutes to cool off.
COOL 也有冷淡的、冷漠的、不友好的意思 not friendly, not enthusiastic。A cool response is not friendly 冷漠的回應;a cool reception 是冷淡的接待。
另一方面,酷 COOL 最流行的用法,因時髦、漂亮、與眾不同,而對令人欽羡的樣子表示欣賞、讚許,showing appreciation and approval:You look pretty cool with the new haircut 你新剪的髮型真酷!She is pretty cool 表示 she is very attractive,fashionable and interesting。It’s a cool movie! 這部電影真棒!I am cool with that idea 表示贊同或滿意:”That’s cool.”
Cold
COLD 的組合和用法,離不開冰冷、冷漠引伸出來的意思,例如:cold as ice 表示十分不友善、冷若冰霜;cold shoulder 冷待,to treat somebody in an unfriendly way;cold facts 冷冰冰的事實和數據,不涉感情,facts without anything added to make them more pleasant or interesting;cold call 推銷商品的硬銷電話;cold comfort 起不到作用的安慰或鼓勵,a small piece of good news that does not make you feel better about a bad situation;cold war 國家、集團之間,通過外交、經濟、心理等途徑進行的冷戰,non-violent but unfriendly or hostile relationship between nations,通常指第二次世界大戰後,美國與蘇聯之間的對峙局面。
COLD 的流行成語,包括:blow hot and cold 忽喜忽厭、出爾反爾;leave someone out in the cold 不理睬某人;left out in the cold 被冷落;pour coldwater onto something 潑冷水;get cold feet 開始感到懷疑、膽怯、害怕;make one’s blood run cold 使某人不寒而慄;come in from the cold 表示經過一段不受歡迎或不活躍的時間,再次變得受歡迎、被接受、重新活躍,The Spy Who Came in from the Cold 《來自北方的間諜》就是英國流行作家 John Le Carre,1963年出版的小說。
最後,發生在某地方或某個人身上的事,可以對其他地方的國家或人民,產生重大的效應或具有深遠的影響,新聞界有一句略誇張卻傳神的英式流行語:when one person sneezes,another catches cold 一人打噴嚏,其他人感冒。
本專欄逢周二、五刊登