Merry Christmas!

『Merry Christmas』这个说法最早出现在 16 世纪，而它的广泛使用则归功于狄更斯 1834 年的小说《圣诞颂歌》（A Christmas Carol）。

同样在 1834 年，世界上出现了第一张以商品形式出售的圣诞卡，上面也是这么印刷的：『A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You』。  

那么问题来了，“圣诞快乐”可不可以说『Happy Christmas』呢？

当然可以！

英国女王伊丽莎白二世就只说『Happy Christmas』,从不说『Merry christmas』。她在圣诞广播中一直用的是『Happy Christmas』。英联邦地区基本也都用『Happy Christmas』。一起来回顾下去年女王的圣诞致辞~

https://v.qq.com/txp/iframe/player.html?vid=d0359n70k5a&width=500&height=375&auto=0

『Happy Christmas』来源于伊丽莎白二世本人的喜恶，因为『merry』有另外一重含义：『微醺，微醉』。说起来，『merry』的『微醺』含义似乎只在英国口语中存在，美国英语中『merry』并没有这个意思。 两处用法的差异跟这个可能也有关系吧。

White Christmas on its way for Northeast, Midwest

芝加哥或迎来白色圣诞节

CHICAGO (AP) — If you live in the Northeast or Midwest, you're not dreaming: It's probably going to be a white Christmas.

But the trade-off[1] is hazardous driving conditions across New England and the Great Plains. Out west, the Rocky Mountains have been pounded[2] this weekend.

[1]trade-off

1)a situation in which you balance two opposing situations or qualities 平衡；协调 

There is a trade-off between doing the job accurately and doing it quickly. 工作做得准确无误和迅速快捷之间有个平衡。

2)a situation in which you accept something bad in order to have something good 妥协，让步 

For some car buyers, lack of space is an acceptable trade-off for a sporty design. 

对一些购车者而言，设计成跑车风格的车型即使空间狭小也是可以接受的。

[2]pound: to hit or beat repeatedly with a lot of force, or to crush something by hitting it repeatedly 连续重击；捣碎；猛烈袭击

Nearly 50 people are still missing after the storm pounded the coast. 

风暴袭击海岸之后，目前仍有约50人失踪。 

The city was pounded to rubble during the war. 

战争中这座城市被炸成一片废墟。

The storm system attacking the Mississippi River and to the east started in Nebraska, swept across Iowa and will dump several inches of snow[3] on Chicago. Aside from a lake-effect[4] dump of as much as 4 inches (10 centimeters), accumulation in the nation's third-largest city will be slightly less than predicted, said Ricky Castro, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service[美国国家气象局]. It's headed for the East Coast Sunday night to dump more through midday on Christmas.

[3]dump做可及物动词时，原本的意思是“倾倒；丢弃；抛弃（某人/念头/政策或惯例）；倾销等意思”。这里用来描述下大雪可以说是非常形象了，值得学习~

[4]lake-effect: 大湖效应指的是冷空气遇到大面积未结冰的水面（通常是湖泊）从中得到水蒸汽和热能，然后在向风的湖岸形成降水的现象，通常是以雪的形式出现。这情形以在美国东北部的五大湖岸的降雪最为著名。如下：

It's a welcome site for snow-lovers in a season short on[缺乏，不足] the white stuff — just over 2 inches (5 centimeters) previously in Chicago, Castro said.

"It's a more wintry feel[冬天的/寒冷的] for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, with a cold week ahead," Castro said.

Despite the whiteout conditions[5] at Soldier Field along Lake Michigan, the Chicago Bears slid to their fifth victory of the season over the winless Cleveland Browns.

[5]the whiteout conditions： weather conditions in which there is so much cloud or snow that you cannot see anything 乳白天空〔一种天气现象，因云重或雪大而无法看清物体〕

No injuries or deaths had been reported because of the weather, but travel was hazardous. Most of Indiana was under winter weather advisory[6] with officials urging motorists to stay put unless they absolutely had to travel. 

[6]A Winter Weather Advisory is issued by the National Weather Service of the United States when a low pressure system produces a combination of winter weather (snow, freezing rain, or sleet) that presents a hazard, but does not meet warning criteria. 

Northern Indiana was expecting up to 5 inches (13 centimeters) with slightly less in the southern part of the state.

O'Hare and Midway international airports[奥黑尔国际机场和中途国际机场] in Chicago were reporting minor delays averaging 15 minutes. Arriving flights at O'Hare were delayed by an average of 80 minutes by late in the afternoon Sunday. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport[底特律都会韦恩县机场] was experiencing gate delays of about 15 minutes.

New England could get up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) of snow. Forecasters say the storm will sweep across the region late Sunday until midday on Christmas. Strong winds are predicted for Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island with gusts[狂风] up to 65 mph (105 kph).

"Along the coast, New York could end up with wet snow, but areas inland could see substantial snowfall," Castro said.

Mountain areas in parts of Colorado, Montana and Wyoming received more than 1 foot (30 centimeters) of snow, which started Saturday. It was good news for holiday skiers and resorts which have struggled with a slow start this season.

But it meant a heightened warning of avalanches[雪崩] in higher elevations[高海拔地区] outside of ski areas.

In Washington state, forecasters said 1 to 3 inches of snow could be on the ground by Christmas morning in parts of the state.

【某地方下雪的几种表达】

New England could get up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) of snow.

Montana and Wyoming received more than 1 foot (30 centimeters) of snow. Forecasters said 1 to 3 inches of snow could be on the ground.