粤犬吠雪

In the past, I heard people say: "Formerly1, it was often cloudy and drizzly2 for days on end in the south of the juncture3 of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Hubei, with very few fine days in between. When the sun shone occasionally, the dogs would bark consistently without stop."

I never quite believe this kind of talk, and consider it exaggerated.

Six or seven years ago, I came to the south. In the winter of the following year, there was a heavy snow rarely seen before. It crossed the Naming Mountain and covered several prefectures in the southern part of Yue (Guangdong Province). Consequently, the dogs in these prefectures were all panic-stricken. They barked wildly and ran about in confusion for several days in succession. It wasn't until the weather had cleared and the snow melted that they became quiet.

Only by then did I believe that it was likely that the dogs in Shu (Sichuan Province) barked at the sun.

Of course there is nothing wrong with sunrise or snowing. In fact, the dogs just consider these phenomena4 strange out of ignorance!

我过去听人讲过：“从前，四川、陕西、湖北交界处的南部，常常阴雨连绵，少有晴日，偶然日出，狗就吠个不停。”

这种传闻，我一直不太相信，认为它言过其实。

六七年前，我来到南方。第二年冬天，恰巧下了一场罕见的大雪。大雪越过南岭，覆盖了粤地南部好几个县。于是，几个县的狗都惊恐万状，一连几天狂吠乱奔，直到天空放晴，积雪融化，才安静下来。

这时候，我才相信蜀犬吠日会有其事。

这当然并不是日出或下雪有什么不对，实在是那些犬类少见多怪。

1 formerly

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。

This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

2 drizzly

a.毛毛雨的(a drizzly day)

参考例句：

This section of the country is drizzly in the winter. 该国的这一地区在冬天经常细雨蒙蒙。

That region is drizzly in winter. 那个地区冬天常下小雨。

3 juncture

n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头

参考例句：

The project is situated at the juncture of the new and old urban districts.该项目位于新老城区交界处。

It is very difficult at this juncture to predict the company's future.此时很难预料公司的前景。

4 phenomena

n.现象

参考例句：

Ade couldn't relate the phenomena with any theory he knew.艾德无法用他所知道的任何理论来解释这种现象。

The object of these experiments was to find the connection,if any,between the two phenomena.这些实验的目的就是探索这两种现象之间的联系，如果存在着任何联系的话。