双语有声阅读 | 为什么2020年被称为闰年（leap year）?

Why Is 2020 Called a Leap Year?

为什么2020年被称为闰年?

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Now, it's time for Words and Their Stories -- our weekly program about common, everyday expressions in American English.

你正在收听的是词汇掌故节目，这是我们每周关于美式英语中常见的日常表达的节目。

Today we are talking about the somewhat unusual day of February 29. It comes up on the calendar only every four years. A year with a February 29 might be good news if you are paid by the day or the week. But it might be bad news if you were born on a February 29. You have to wait three years in between birthdays!

今天我们要谈论的是2月29日这个有点不寻常的日子。这个日子每四年才出现在日历上。如果你的工资是按天或周计算的，那么2月29日也许是个好消息。但如果你出生在2月29日，这可能是个坏消息。生日与生日之间你得等三年!

In any case, American English has a term for the unusual situation. February 29 is called a leap day. And the entire 12 month period with a February 29 in it is called a leap year. This year, 2020, is such a year.

无论如何，美式英语有一个词语来描述这种不寻常的情况。2月29日被称为“闰日”(leap day)。12个月的时间里拥有2月29日的那一年被称为“闰年”(leap year)。今年，2020年，就是这样的一年。

As a verb, the word "leap" means to jump, or to move quickly. "Leap" can also be a noun, meaning a jump, or a sudden move.

“leap”这个词作为动词的意思是跳，或者快速移动。“Leap”也可以是名词，意思是一个跳跃或突然的移动。

In a leap year, the dates jump over one day of the week. Let me explain. In 2017, the last day of the year, December 31, fell on a Sunday. In 2018, it fell on a Monday. In 2019, it fell on a Tuesday. But in 2020, December 31 will fall on a Thursday. It just leaped right over Wednesday.

在闰年，日期会跳过一周中的一天。让我解释一下。在2017年，一年中的最后一天12月31日正好是周日。在2018年，最后一天是周一。在2019年，最后一天变成了周二。但在2020年，12月31日将是一个周四。它刚好跳过了周三。

The reason for a leap day or a leap year is because our calendar does not follow the Earth's orbit around the sun exactly. Each year, we have a little time left over. So every four years, we put all that time together into an extra day – or, what is officially called an intercalary day. But I have never, ever heard an English speaker use that term. "Leap day" is fine.

闰日或闰年之所以出现，是因为我们的日历并不完全按照地球绕太阳的轨道运行来算的。每年，我们都有一点剩余的时间。因此，每四年，我们把所有的剩余时间放在一起，成为一个额外的一天，或者正式地称其为“intercalary day”。但是我从来没有听一个说英语的人用过这个词语。“Leap day” 这种表达方式就很好。

Leap is also an important word for two other common – but opposing – American expressions. One is a kind of warning. If you want someone to investigate a situation completely before taking action, you might say, "Look before you leap."

“Leap”也是另外两个常见但意思却截然不同的美式表达的重要组成词汇。一种是表示警告。如果你想让某人在采取行动前彻底调查一下情况，你可以说，“Look before you leap(三思而后行)”。

The other expression is a phrase of hope. Urging someone to "take a leap of faith" invites the person to take action, even if not everything about a situation is known.

另一个表达是表示希望。敦促某人“take a leap of faith(放手一搏)”会促使他采取行动，即使他对某一情况并不完全了解。

Interestingly, both phrases are completely reasonable to say to someone who is about to get married.

有趣的是，这两个短语对即将结婚的人来说都是完全合理的。

On that note, some people choose to marry on February 29 because it is an unusual date. One wedding chapel in the U.S. city of Las Vegas is even offering a free ceremony for those who decide to "take the leap" into marriage on the last day of this month. The ceremony is followed by a chance to skydive together – that is, jump out of an airplane with a parachute.

因此，有些人选择在2月29日结婚，因为这是一个不寻常的日子。美国拉斯维加斯的一家婚礼小教堂甚至为那些决定在本月(2020年2月)的最后一天结婚的人提供免费的婚礼仪式。仪式之后有一个一起跳伞的机会，也就是带着降落伞跳出飞机。

But some ancient peoples would likely tell couples not to do it. Leap years were believed to be difficult, and leap days unlucky and a bad time to begin anything new.

但是一些古老的民族可能会告诉夫妇们不要这样做。闰年被认为是很艰难的一年， 而闰日是不吉利的，不是开始新事物的好时机。

Whatever you think about them, the change in the calendar will be gone soon enough. Then we can return to normal, and leap over February 29 as usual.

不管你怎么想，日历上的变化很快就会消失。然后我们就可以恢复正常，像往常一样跳过2月29日。

I'm Kelly Jean Kelly.

凯利·吉恩·凯利为您播报。