With confidence in
private weather forecasters slipping
in the wake of some prediction
gaffes during the past couple of years, perhaps
woolly worms can take up the
slack.
在過去數年間，不少氣象預測鬧出笑話後，民眾對民間氣象預測專家的信心也隨之下降，現在或許可讓毛毛蟲來接手預報。- ph1. 尾隨(而至)
- []n.1. 【法】失禮,失態(尤指社交、外交上的出醜)
- []a.1. 羊毛(製)的2. 長滿羊毛的;羊毛狀的,毛茸茸的
- []a.1. 鬆弛的,不緊的;不嚴的2. 懈怠的;疏忽的;馬虎的3. 閒的,呆滯的,蕭條的
For instance, predictions for a se
vere winter didn’t
pan out the last time around, nor did
projections for a brutal 2006
hurricane season.
例如上次有關冬季氣候酷寒的預測並未實現，另外所謂2006年颶風季威力驚人的預測也一樣落空。- ph1. (結果)成功
- []n.1. 預測,推測;估計
So some
analysts are eyeing this year’s predictions with a bit more
scepticism than usual.
Natural gas broker Jay Levine said he takes any weather prediction
with a grain of salt, whether it comes from a meteo
rologist or a woolly worm. "People will believe what they want to believe," he said.
因此有些分析家難免要用比平常更加懷疑的眼光，來看待今年的天氣預報。天然氣交易員勒凡說，他對任何天氣預測都抱持保留態度，不論是來自氣象學家或毛毛蟲的預測。「人們總會相信任何他們想要相信的事，」他說。- []n.1. 【英】懷疑態度
- []n.[C]1. 經紀人,掮客,代理人,中間人2. 股票(或證券)經紀人(=stockbroker)3. (訂合同的)中人
- ph1. 有保留地
- []n.1. 氣象學者
Some energy traders look instead to woolly worms, small
fuzzy caterpillars that are the
larva of the Isabella
tiger moth, as predictors of winter weather.
有些能源交易商現在轉向毛毛蟲求助，將其視為冬季氣候的預測者，這種毛茸茸的昆蟲其實是伊莎貝拉虎蛾的幼蟲。- []a.1. 有絨毛的2. 模糊不清的
- []n.[C]1. 毛蟲,蠋(蝶、蛾的幼蟲)2. 履帶牽引車(諸如坦克之類)3. 履帶車
- []n.1. 【動】幼蟲;幼體[C]
- ph.1. 【昆】虎蛾;燈蛾
According to
Roy Krege, the
coordinator of the annual Woolly Worm Festival held in
North Carolina, a woolly worm can tell the winter with 87 percent
accuracy.
As a rule, the blacker the caterpillar, the harsher the winter," said Krege.
根據在北卡羅萊納州舉行的毛毛蟲節策畫人克瑞格表示，毛毛蟲對冬季氣候的預測正確率高達87% 。「一般而言，毛毛蟲的顏色愈深，冬季氣候就愈嚴寒，」克瑞格說。- []n.[C]1. 協調者2. 同等的人(或物)
- []n.1. 正確(性);準確(性)[U]
- ph.1. 通常
新聞辭典take／pick up the slack：片語，指接手他人做到一半的事、完成或補足未完成的部份，如
New sources of oil will take up the slack resulting from the embargo. （新油源將補足石油禁運所造成的油源空缺。）
- ph.1. 產生;起因於
- []n.1. 封港令;禁運2. 禁止(或限制)買賣3. 禁止,阻止
pan out：動詞片語，指事情的發展，尤指結果成功，如We’ll have to see how things pan out. （我們得靜候情勢發展是否成功。）
take sth with a grain／pinch of salt：片語，指對某人或某事持謹慎保留態度、不完全相信。如It’s interesting to read the reports in the newspapers, but I tend to take them with a grain of salt. （報上的報導讀來很有趣，但我傾向對其持保留態度。）
