又中又英｜Straight out of the frying pan into the fire

又中又英｜Straight out of the frying pan into the fire

There were so many hot days during my recent visit to Hong Kong that my plans for country park walks were ruined.  Spring was not that hot during my childhood in Hong Kong. I was looking forward to cooler US weather when I left Hong Kong last month, but I went straight out of the frying pan into the fire. 
If you jump out of the frying pan into the fire, it means you go from a bad situation to a worse one. After mixed weather in San Diego I flew to Austin, Texas to visit my younger brother.

The blistering (extremely hot) Texas weather made it impossible to go outdoors. During my stay there, the daily temperature reached over 40 degrees. 
Texas has been baking under a heat wave, making it one of the hottest places on earth. The word "bake" usually refers to cooking, such as "bake a cake", 
but it can also mean extreme heat. If a place is baking under the sun, it means it\'s extremely hot there. I am now in Atlanta and it\'s also baking under the sun although not as hot as Austin. I like walking in the woods near my niece\'s house but can only do it in the morning when it\'s not so hot.

The expression "the woods" means an area with thick trees. The smoke from Canada\'s wildfires has also reached cities where I will visit next. The heatwaves in the US and Beijing, wildfires, and California\'s recent rainstorms are caused by climate change.  The world needs to take it seriously.

我最近回港的时候，有许多天都是非常酷热，导致我闲游郊野公园的计划泡汤。我童年在香港时，春天并不是那么炎热。上个月离港时，我很期待美国较凉快的天气，可我却是刚跳出了油锅又入火坑（straight out of the frying pan into the fire）。若你 jump out of the frying pan into the fire，意即你由差的环境进到一个更糟的境况、情况愈来愈差。在圣地牙哥经历过阴晴不定的天气后，我飞往德州的柯士甸去看望我的弟弟。

德州超级酷热（blistering）的天气教人无法出外活动。我待在那里期间，每日气温超过四十度。德州一直在热浪中「乾烤」（baking under a heat wave），令它成为地球上最热的地方之一。Bake一字通常是用在烹饪中，例如 “bake a cake”就是焗蛋糕，但它也可以解作极度酷热。若一个地方 is baking under the sun，意即那里暴晒于烈日下、炙热无比。我现在位于亚特兰大，那儿也是烈日当空，非常炎热（baking under the sun），但就没有柯士甸那般热。我喜欢在侄女住屋附近的森林（the woods）漫步，但只能在早上还不那么热的时候出游。

习语 “the woods”是指由大树组成的树林。加拿大野火的烟也徐徐飘到了我将要到访的那些城市。美国和北京的热浪、野火，以及加利福尼亚州最近的暴风雨，都是源于气候变化。全世界必须认真看待。

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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻