【又中又英】At My Wit's End

作者：Alice的学习笔记

原文

Weather plays an important part in a person’s mood. A sunny and pleasant day can lift spirits. Many people, including me, can’t bear very hot and humid days. Many people also cannot bear very cold weather combined with very low humidity. I have been **at my wit’s end **for almost two weeks now. The extremely dry and cold weather has made me miserable. I don’t mind the cold weather because I have lived for many years in WashingtonDC where snow is common in the winter. When I lived there, I **bundled up **before going out. It is the dryness that I hate. The humidity in Hong Kong has been under 40 or even 30 percent for many days.

This has made my skin very itchy. That’s why I am at my wit’s end. The expression “lift spirits” means to make someone happier or less unhappy. The end of the coronavirus pandemic will lift everyone’s spirits. The word “bear” has many meanings. It can mean a large, wild, and strong animal that lives in colder parts of the world. But if you can’t bear something, it means you cannot tolerate it. If you are at your wit’s end, it means you are worried, confused, and annoyed because you don’t know what to do next. To “bundle up” means to wear enough clothes to keep warm. I am at my wit’s end because I don’t know how to stop my itchy skin.

I have tried different types of cream but they have only eased my itchy skin a little bit. My internet research showed I should avoid long and hot showers. But I love hot and long showers, especially on cold days. I shower twice a day, in the morning and evening. After my shower, I put skin cream all over my body but the itch doesn’t go away. I have now decided to take a short shower with warm and not hot water just once a day. I hope that helps. And I hope the dry weather will end soon.

单词、短语

• lift（sb's）spirits
  提高（某人的）兴致，英文解释为：make someone happier。
           Nothing - not even the prospect of dinner - could lift his spirits.
           甚么都提不起他的兴致，甚至连吃饭也不例外。

• humidity
  名词，表示适度，潮湿。

• at sb's wit's end
  黔驴技穷，束手无策，无计可施。
           We row a lot and we never have time on our own. I'm at my wit's end.
           我们经常争吵，从无在一起的时间，我真是没有办法了。
  wit作名词表示机智，智慧，也可以表示说话的风趣，风趣的人等。
           Thankfully, Reid had the wit to see what was wrong with the plan.
           幸好里德聪明地看出了这个计划的问题所在。

• miserable
  痛苦的，难受的，令人苦恼的。
           It was very cold, damp and miserable.
           天气非常寒冷潮湿，令人难受。

• bundle up
  可以表示把……打包，捆扎，在本文中表示使穿得暖和，穿上暖和的衣服，英文解释为：If you bundle up, you dress in a lot of warm clothes, usually because the weather is very cold. If you bundle someone up, you dress them in a lot of warm clothes。
           spectators bundled up against the cold
           为御寒而裹得严严实实的观众

• itchy
  发痒的，令人感到瘙痒的。

 拓展：
 itchy还可以表示渴望的，英文解释为：wanting to go somewhere new or do something different。
         He's had that job now for about eight years, and he's starting to get itchy.
         他做那份工作快八年了，现在开始不安心了。
         I've only been back home for a few months and I've already got itchy feet (=the desire to go somewhere new).
         我回家才几个月，就又想出门了。

• shower
  作名词可以表示淋浴，也可以作动词淋浴。
           There wasn't time to shower or change clothes.
           没时间淋浴换衣服了。
  拓展：
  shower还可以表示乌合之众，英文解释为：If you refer to a group of people as a particular kind of shower, you disapprove of them.
           //...a shower of wasters
           一群饭桶

翻译

天气对于影响一个人的心情扮演着重要的角色。晴朗及怡人的一天可以令人精神为之一振（lift spirts）。许多人包括我自己，都不大能忍受（bear）过于炎热和潮湿的天气。许多人也不能忍受（bear）寒冷加上非常干燥的天气。至今差不多两个星期了，我实在束手无策（at my wit’s end），这极度干燥和寒冷的天气令我相当痛苦。我不介意寒冷的天气，因为我以前在华盛顿特区居住多年，冬天很常下雪。我住那儿时，出外前都会把自己裹得实实的（bundled up）。我讨厌的是干燥。香港的湿度多日以来都低于百分之四十甚至三十。

这令我的皮肤异常痕痒。因此我已束手无策（at mywit’s end）。习语“liftspirits”是指振奋人心，令某人振作又或不那么灰沉。新冠肺炎疫情若能完结，将可令所有人精神振奋（lift everyone’s spirits）。Bear一字有许多意思，它可以指在较寒冷地区生活、强壮的野生大熊；但若说你不能 bear something，意即你实在不能忍受它。若你是 at your wit’s end，意指你很担心、困惑和苦恼，因你实在无计可施，不知道下一步该怎办。To “bundle up”意即穿足够的衣物令自己暖和。我已无计可施（at my wit’s end），因我不知道可以怎样令我的皮肤不再痕痒。

我已经试了好几款不同的润肤霜，但它们也只能稍稍纾缓我痕痒的肌肤。我上网搜寻解答，发现我应该避免长时间的热水浴。可是我喜爱长时间的热水浴啊，尤其在寒冷的日子。我每日会沐浴两次，一早一晚。洗澡后，我会将润肤霜搽匀全身，可还是止不住皮肤发痒。我现在决定沐浴的时间要短一些，只用暖水而非热水，而且只一天一次。我希望那有帮助吧。我亦希望这个干燥的天气早日过去。

原文作者：Michael Chugani 褚簡寧
中文翻译：七刻

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