pull a groundhog named Phil out of a box and ask him when winter will end.

從箱子裡抓出一隻名叫菲爾的北美土撥鼠， 問牠冬天結束了沒。

Not surprisingly, meteorologically-inclined marmots are not reliable predictors of spring.

不意外的，土撥鼠氣象學專家預測的春天不太可靠。

But why divide the year into seasons in the first place?

但首先我們為何要把一年分出季節？

The word “season” was born on the farm, since for a long time surviving another trip

「季節」一詞產生於農場，長年看太陽吃飯

around the sun meant knowing when to sow your seeds.

意味著必須知道何時播種。

In most our minds, winter is when it’s coldest, summer is when it’s hottest, and spring

我們通常認為，冬天最冷而夏天最熱，春天和秋天

and autumn happen in between. You probably figured that much out before kindergarten.

介於中間。你也許在幼稚園以前就知道了。

But those aren’t the seasons on your calendar.

但那不是你日曆上的時間。

In most of the northern hemisphere, especially in the U.S., the coldest quarter of the year

在北半球大多數地方，尤其美國，一年最冷的四分之一

begins several weeks before the “official” start of winter, and summer leaves out a good

開始於「官方」冬天開始的數周前，而夏天之前

chunk of warm weather. How did our seasons get so detached from…

也有一段不短的溫暖期。為啥我們的季節會和.......

our seasons?

「我們的季節」差這麼多？

Because Earth’s axis points alternately toward and away from the sun, we know there’s

因為地軸交替地接近和遠離太陽，我們知道

less daylight in winter. and more daylight in summer.

冬天的陽光比較少，夏天的陽光比較多。

So shouldn’t winter be the darkest time of year, and summer the time with most daylight?

所以冬天不就應該是一年中最暗，而夏天則充滿陽光？

If we did that, then the solstices *should* fall at the midway point.

如過這樣，夏至和冬至理論上就該落在其中心點。

Several cultures define their seasons exactly this way, and it might sound familiar from

確實有許多文化是用此法定義季節，而這聽來就像

a certain William Shakespeare play where the summer solstice falls at “midsummer”.

某莎士比亞戲劇，夏至在「仲夏」出現。

But like a big brisket, Earth cools and heats very slowly, and it takes time for changing

但就像一大塊牛胸肉，地球要加溫和冷卻都很慢， 它需要時間去把

solar energy to move the thermometer. Water absorbs even more heat than land, so places

太陽能轉用來影響溫度計。水又比陸地更難加熱，因此

near oceans and lakes experience greater lags between more solar energy and warmer weather.

臨海或臨湖地區，天氣變暖會和陽光變多相隔更遠。

The opposite happens in winter, all that water stores heat and keeps things from getting

冬天的狀況相反，水儲存巨大的熱能讓環境溫度

cold as soon as the sun starts to fade.

不會像陽光那麼快下降。

The start of cold or hot periods gets shifted towards the solstices, but in most places

最冷與最熱的時段朝至點移動，但在多數地區

they *still* don’t line up with the coldest and warmest quarters.

它們仍不會對齊最暖與最冷的四分之一。

It probably won’t surprise you to learn that a lot of our modern four-season system

你應該不會驚訝現代這套四季系統

traces its origins to the Romans. Because so much of their territory was insulated by

可追溯至羅馬時代。這個帝國的疆域被

large bodies of water, the temperatures they experienced lined up neatly with the solstices,

大量的水隔離，他們經歷的溫度也就幾乎對其至點，

which were pretty big deal to ancient astronomers and festival-lovers. This system was applied

這對古代天文學家與節慶愛好者相當重要。這道系統

to a whole hemisphere, even though it didn’t make sense in a lot of places. If anyone can

被整個半球接受，即使在許多地方不適用。如果有人

mess up a calendar, it’s the Romans! Numa!

能夠惡搞月曆，那就是羅馬人。Numa！

Depending on whether you care more about astronomy or temperature, there’s a lot of different

取決於你對天文或溫度數據的關心程度，有許多

ways to define seasons, and none of them are perfect.

不同方法定義季節，而沒有一種是完美的。

Of course, most other living creatures don’t worry about any of this stuff, they just follow

當然，其他生物大多不會在乎這些，牠們只是跟隨

Earth’s natural climate cycles where they live. Several indigenous Australian cultures

當地自然的氣候循環。有些澳洲原住民文化

define their seasons just this way, starting new seasons based on what plants and animals

如此定義季節：季節的開始取決於某種動植物

are around at any time. They’d probably think Groundhog Day makes

盛產的時間。他們也許會認為土撥鼠日

a lot of sense.

相當可靠。

Stay curious.

保持好奇心吧。