2020年夏至节气来了（6月21日），古人说：“日长之至，日影短至，至者，极也，故曰夏至”。谚语道：“冬至饺子夏至面”。我们的每个节日、节气都离不开吃。（容我先笑一会）
大家熟知的唐代诗人刘禹锡的《竹枝词》就是描写夏至时节的一首诗。
这是刘禹锡《竹枝词》两首中的第一首，描写了青年男女的爱情。在杨柳青青一望无际的江边上，美丽的少女等待着情郎，情郎唱着欢快的歌曲而来，人未至，声先到，少女的内心充满激动和期盼。最后两句作者“晴”和“情”一语双关，看似写天气的变化，更是生动的表达了少男少女恋爱时候那种忐忑、迷惑和眷恋之情，这样的写法新颖，读起来朗朗上口，深得读者的喜爱并广为流传，堪称千古经典！
夏至英文是 the Summer Solstice，Solstice就是至的意思，词根sol ,太阳；词根st, 站；ice 名词后缀；字面意思即太阳停止的地方，用于指夏至（北回归线）或冬至（南回归线），学会了夏至（the Summer Solstice）这个单词，我们来了解一下夏至的相关知识。
This is the 10th solar term. On this day, the sun beats down on the most northern point it could reach on earth. It shines almost directly on the Tropic of Cancer, and in the northern hemisphere the days are at their longest. After the Summer Solstice, hours of daylight in the northern hemisphere get shorter with each passing day. In many parts of China, people eat noodles on this day.这是一年中的第十个节气。在这一天，太阳直射地面的位置到达一年的最北端。它几乎直接照射到北回归线，在北半球白天最长。夏至之后，北半球的日照时间越来越短。在中国许多地方，人们在这一天吃面条。Around the Summer Solstice, in most parts of China temperatures are pretty high and there is abundant sunshine. Crops grow fast and they are in urgent need of water. At this time, rainfall plays an important role in agricultural yields. People normally say rain at this time is “as valuable as gold.” Usually the rainfall in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the area between the Yellow River and the Huaihe River can meet the demand of crops. After the Summer Solstice, thunderstorms often occur in the afternoons due to crosswinds. This kind of rain comes and goes quickly.夏至前后，中国大部分地区气温相当高，日照充足。庄稼长得快，急需水。此时，降雨对农业产量起着重要作用。人们通常说这个时候的雨“贵如黄金”，通常长江下游和黄淮之间地区的降雨量能够满足农作物的需求。夏至以后，由于侧风，下午常有雷雨。这种雨来得快去得快。
After the Summer Solstice, China enters a period of hot summer days (“dog days”) that lasts for over a month. In the north, the temperatures are high, there is plenty of sunshine, and rainfall keeps increasing. As crops grow vigorously, weeds and pests multiply, giving farmers the urgent task of eradicating weeds and using moderate pesticides to deal with pests.夏至之后，中国进入了一个持续一个多月的炎热的夏季（“狗日”）。北方气温高，阳光充足，降雨量不断增加。随着农作物的蓬勃生长，杂草和害虫成倍增加，给农民除草和使用适量农药对付害虫的紧迫任务。Around the Summer Solstice, rainstorms frequent the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the Yangtze-Huaihe river basins. There are frequent floods, posing a serious threat to people’s lives, property and safety. Therefore, great attention should be paid to flood prevention.夏至前后，长江下游、江淮流域暴雨频繁。洪灾频发，严重威胁人民生命财产安全。因此，要高度重视防洪工作。
Apricots and pomegranates are in season at this time. Apricots are yellow and alluring, they can also be dried or made into preserves. Pomegranate flowers are red, the luckiest color in China.
此时正是杏和石榴的季节。杏黄色诱人，也可以晒干或做成蜜饯。石榴花是红色的，是中国最幸运的颜色。According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, this is the time when the yang energy in the human body reaches its utmost, therefore, people need to protect this energy and prevent their bodies from getting sunstroke. With the approach of hot summer days, great attention should be paid to our diet. We need to change to a menu designed for hot summer, or we might suffer from imbalance of nutrition.中医认为，这是人体阳气达到最大值的时候，因此，人们需要保护这一能量，防止身体中暑。随着炎热夏季的来临，我们应该注意饮食。我们需要换一份为炎热夏天设计的菜单，否则我们可能会遭受营养失调的困扰。Chinese people traditionally eat dumplings on the day of the Winter Solstice while eating noodles on the day of the Summer Solstice. Cold noodles with sesame sauce and sliced cucumber adds coolness on a hot day, and drinking some sweet mung bean soup is very refreshing!中国人传统上在冬至吃饺子，而在夏至吃面条。凉面加芝麻酱和黄瓜片，热天凉快多了，喝点绿豆汤很提神！The hot summer weather might make people a bit distracted during the day. Well, our ancestors have given us some good advice: “As long as you maintain inner peace, you won’t feel the heat too much.”炎热的夏季天气可能会使人们在白天有点分心。好吧，我们的祖先给了我们一些好建议：“心静自然凉。”
帮你记单词：
①solstice [ˈsɑːlstɪs] n.索斯迪斯;至日;至点;冬至;极端行为
sol 太阳 + st 站 + ice 名词后缀 → 太阳停止的地方 → 至
The Winter Solstice has the shortest daytime of the year, while the Summer Solstice has the longest. The day begin to draw after the Summer Solstice, the hottest day of summer begin after the Summer Solstice.
冬至是一年当中白昼最短的日子，夏至是一年当中白昼最长的日子。夏至之后白天开始变短，夏天最热的日子在夏至之后开始。
②hemisphere [ˈhemɪsfɪr] n.(地球的)半球;(尤指)北半球，南半球;(大脑的)半球;(球体的)半球
hemi（=semi）半 + spher 球 + e 名词后缀 → 半球
the northern/southern hemisphere
北 / 南半球
③urgent [ˈɜːrdʒənt] adj.紧急的;紧迫的;迫切的;催促的;急切的
urge 催促 + ent 形容词后缀 → 紧急的
a problem that requires urgent attention
需要紧急处理的问题
④vigorously[ˈvɪgərəsli] adv.精神旺盛地，活泼地
vig 活力 + or 名词后缀 + ous 形容词后缀 + ly 副词后缀 → 精神旺盛地
vigor n. 活力；vigorous，adj. 精力充沛的
Very vigorous exercise can increase the risk of heart attacks...
运动太过剧烈会增大心脏病发作的风险。
⑤multiply [ˈmʌltɪplaɪ] v.乘;乘以;成倍增加;迅速增加;(使)繁殖，增殖
multi 多 + ply 折叠，倍 → 多倍的 → 乘
Cigarette smoking multiplies the risk of cancer.
抽烟会大大增加得癌症的风险。
⑥imbalance [ɪmˈbæləns] n. 失衡;不平衡;不公平
im 不，非 + balance 平衡 → 不平衡
a global imbalance of/in power
全球权力的不平衡
banlance（天平）：由两个秤盘都成的天平
词源：世界上最早的天平是古埃及人发明的。在7000多年前，古埃及人就发明了一种悬挂式的天平来给麦子称重。这种天平有两个秤盘，分别悬挂在秤梁的两边，使用的是石头做成的砝码。迄今发现的最古老的天平出自上埃及第三王朝，约公元前2500年。古希腊人也会使用天平，并最早创造了衡器理论。古希腊科学家亚里士多德、欧几里德和阿基米德都曾经研究过等臂杠杆的平衡、稳定性以及天平灵敏度与臂长的关系。古希腊人所使用的天平与古埃及天平类似，也是由两个秤盘构成。到了古罗马时期，出现了杆秤，即只使用一个秤盘和一个秤砣，通过秤砣在秤梁上的位置来确定秤盘上的货物的重量。与需要两个秤盘和多个不同刻度的砝码的天平相比，杆秤无疑更加先进。英语单词balance最初的本意是“天平”。它源自古拉丁语bilanx，由bi（two，两个）+lanx（pans，盘）构成，指的就是“由两个秤盘构成的天平”。后来，该词又逐渐衍生出“平衡”的比喻之意，再在财会领域中，由“财务平衡表的差值”而衍生出“余额”之意。balance：['bæl(ə)ns] n.天平，平衡，余额 vt. 使平衡，使相称，结算 vi.保持平衡，抵消。