秋天用英文怎么写作文（为什么美国人把秋天叫作fall）

每年的9月23日标志着新季节的开始，但你该如何称呼这个季节取决于你在世界上的哪个地方。在英国，它通常被称为autumn。美国人却更倾向于使用fall。为什么呢？我们来一探究竟。

Today is the Autumn Equinox—a day when there are exactly 12 hours of dark and 12 hours of light, officially marking the first day of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere.

今天是秋分——正好昼夜等长，均为12小时。这一天正式标志着北半球秋天的第一天。

知识积累：

autumn equinox 秋分

northern hemisphere北半球

In the United States, however, it is known as the "fall" season—a word that also originated in Britain, but which has fallen out of favor in this country. The older of the two words is "autumn" , which first came into English in the 1300s from the Latin word "autumnus". It quickly replaced the term "harvest", which had previously been used to describe the season, because it was the time when crops were usually harvested. Later, many writers used the phrase "the fall of the leaves" to describe the season. This was shortened to "fall"in the 1600s.

然而在美国，它被称为"fall"季节，这个词也起源于英国，但在这个国家已经失宠了。"autumn"是两个词中较早的一个，它最早出现在英语中是在13世纪，由拉丁词"autumnus"演变而来。它迅速取代了以前用来描述季节的"harvest"一词，因为这是通常收获作物的时间。后来，许多作家用"the fall of the leaves"来形容这个季节。在17世纪被缩短为"fall"。

知识积累：

be known as... 被称为……

originate in 起源于

fall/be out of favor 失宠

come into 进入

It is the time when... 是……的时候。

be shortened to 被简称为……

小拓展：

In the English language, calling the season "autumn" first began in the 12th century. But the word was not commonly used until about the 16th century. This is about the same time that people began using the word "fall" to mean autumn.

在英语中，称这个季节为"秋天"始于12世纪。但这个词直到16世纪才被广泛使用。差不多就在这个时候，人们开始用"秋天"这个词来表示秋天。

However, even earlier, the season was called "harvest."

然而，甚至更早的时候，这个季节被称为"收获"。

In the early days of the United States, autumn was a time for preparing for the winter months by collecting and preserving food. People gathered corn, nuts and berries. They also dried and salted meats to feed them through the long, cold winter.

在美国早期，秋天是一个通过收集和保存食物来为冬季做准备的季节。人们采集玉米、坚果和浆果。他们还把肉晒干，腌制，供他们在漫长而寒冷的冬天食用。

来源：VOA Learning English

It was around this time that England's empire (帝国) was fast expanding, and the English language started to be used in the "New World"—including North America. As time went on, the difference of the English language spoken in the two countries widened further following the US Declaration of Independence in 1776. The type of English spoken in the US at the time became part of the country's early national identity (国家认同)—and "fall" became the adopted word to describe the autumn season.

大约就在这个时候，英格兰帝国迅速扩张，英语开始在"新世界"中使用，包括北美洲。随着时间的推移，在1776年美国美国独立宣言之后，两国人民使用英语的差异进一步扩大。当时美国人使用的英语类型成为了这个国家早期民族认同的一部分，"fall"也成为了描述秋季的通用词汇。

知识积累：

It is...that...此处是强调句，去掉it is和that后，句子剩余部分的结构和语义仍然完整。下一段中的...it's...that...也是强调句。

As time went on...in 1776. 本句为主从复合句，as引导时间状语从 句。句中的following the US Declaration of Independence in 1776为现在分词作状语。

The equinox occurs because of the tilt (倾斜) of the Earth in relation to the sun. This is what causes the seasons. During the summer time, the Northern hemisphere is tilted towards the sun. So we get longer days as more light falls on this part of the surface. In the winter time it's the Southern hemisphere that gets the majority of the light.

春/秋分的发生是因为地球相对于太阳的倾斜。这就是造成季节变化的原因。在夏季，北半球向太阳倾斜。所以我们的白天越来越长，因为更多的光线照射在这部分表面。在冬季，南半球获得了大部分的阳光。

知识积累：

in relation to与……相

This is what causes the seasons. 本句为主从复合句，what引导表语从句，且在从句中作主语。

the majority of大多数

Equinoxes occur when the axis of rotation of the Earth is exactly parallel (平行的) to the direction of motion of the Earth around the sun. This means that day and night length is exactly 12 hours at all points on the Earth's surface.

当地球的自转轴与地球绕太阳的运动方向完全平行时，就会出现二分时刻。这意味着地球上各个地方白天和黑夜的长度均为12个小时。

知识积累：

be parallel to与……平行

This means that...本句为主从复合句，that引导宾语从句。

本文英文来自mirror，经改编已选入《快捷英语 活页英语时文阅读理解 高一年级20》，转载需注明出处。

"快捷英语 活页英语时文阅读理解 20（七年级、八年级、中考、高一年级、高二年级、高考）"，2021年1月即将上市，欢迎关注！