Winter seldom comes as a relief. But after the spring hose pipe ban that led, perhaps inevitably, to a summer and autumn of deluge and flood, this winter is indeed most welcome.
冬天很少作为一种安慰到来。但在春天软管禁令导致或许不可避免地一场夏秋之季的泛滥和洪水之后，这个冬天确实是最受欢迎的。
More importantly, there are a great many fruit and berry-eating birds around this winter. This is not because they had a great breeding season here – they didn't – but because a multitude has come over here from Scandinavia, where an even lousier spring produced even less for them.
更重要的是，鸟儿在这个冬天有许多水果和浆果吃。这并不是因为它们在这里有一个重要的繁殖季——他们没有——而是因为许多是从斯堪的纳维亚半岛来到这里，那里差劲的春天给他们生产更少。
And what are the best features of December weather? First and foremost, are the sunsets. Cold clear days will end with a blood-drained sun retreating slowly into a silent night of gathering frost, while grey days end with just a tint of pink in a lead-grey sky. Best of all are the days of stillness and quiet, which we seldom experience in summer – the embalmed stillness of midwinter air is something deeply wonderful, the world of nature seems truly asleep and at peace with itself.
什么是12月天气的最好特征？首先也是最重要的，是日落。随着火红色退去的太阳慢慢地隐退到有雾的寂静之夜，清冷的日子将结束；而铅灰色的天空冒出一丝粉红色时灰色日子结束。最好的是那些岿然不动的寂静日子，这是我们很少在夏天体验到的——仲冬空气中蕴含的沉静是非常美妙的事情，大自然本身似乎真的睡着了并享受着和平。
Best of all, we have not had anything even remotely approximately to a summer since 2006. 2012 was a nightmare. We are seriously overdue. Surely, then, we can look forward to the new year with relish?
最重要的是，自从2006年以来我们没有任何有一点点接近夏天的东西。2012年是一个噩梦。我们严重逾期了。当然，然后我们可以津津有味地期待新年吗？