The Stories of “Spring” “春天”的故事

by Anna Matteo 景一

When the weather outdoors gets warmer， flowers appear and birds become more active. Spring has sprung！

Sometimes these changes in nature seem to happen overnight. You go to bed， and the next morning you awake to a new world—one that is greener and more colorful.

The same can be said for expressions that use the word “spring”. English speakers use them to describe things that happen quickly and without much warning.

Now， one of the fastest growing things in nature is the mushroom. One day mushrooms are nowhere to be found and the next day there is a whole crop of them！

So， when something happens suddenly and often over a large area， we can say it springs up like mushrooms1.

Here is one way to use this expression. After videos about making cupcakes became popular online， stores specializing in cupcakes “sprang up like mushrooms” all over town.

Now， some people like mushrooms. And some people dont. Not to worry！ You can drop the “mushroom” and simply say， “spring up2”. For example， when the large company set up shop in the small town， new houses sprang up seemingly overnight.

We often use the term “to spring3” to describe anything that happens without warning. So， if I spring something on you4， I tell you with no warning.

Many people do not like to have important news sprung on them. They want time to prepare themselves. For example， “You cant just spring something like that on me！ We need to talk about it first！”

If someone springs big news on you without warning， the news comes to you from out of the blue5. When people break news to you this way， it can leave you speechless at first.

If you have an important announcement or big news， you need to prepare the person. You might say something like， “I have to tell you something” or， “Do you have a minute？” or simply， “I have news！” and then share the information. This is a way of breaking big news with a warning.

Recently， a good friend of mine told me she was getting married. But she did not even tell me that she was in a relationship！ She must have realized how surprised I was. So， she apologized for springing her happy news on me out of the blue like that.

Now， her happy news is private. So， she can share it with others or not share it， however she likes. But what if the news involves other people？ That is when springing it on someone is a bit more complex.

Lets say two people， Tara and Sam， own a business together. The company is called Tara & Sams Roof Repair. They had been building their company for a few years and were finally starting to make money. Then one day， Tara sprang big news on Sam. She was moving to Alaska ... in a week！ She wanted to be out of the business.

Sam was not prepared for any of this. A few weeks earlier， they had made plans for growing their client base. He asked， “A week？ How can you spring this news on me？ We are supposed to be partners！ Ive spent time away from my family to build this business！”

Sam was shocked and angry. But then he saw an opportunity. He asked his son to join the company. They renamed it Sam & Sons Roof Repair and soon their business was doing even better than before. And they were able to spend more time together.

The next time you have big news to share， remember not to spring it on someone—well， unless you want them to be shocked.

當室外的天氣變暖時，花兒就會綻放，鳥類也會變得更加活躍。春天來了！

有時這些自然變化似乎是一夜之間發生的。你上床睡覺，第二天早上醒來，就發現了一個新的世界——一個更綠、更多彩的世界。

使用“春天”這個詞的表達方式也是一樣的意思。說英語的人用這些表達方式來描述那些發生得很快、沒有太多預兆的事情。

既然自然界生長得最快的東西之一是蘑菇，那么第一天，哪兒都沒有蘑菇，第二天就長滿了蘑菇！

所以，當某件事情突然發生，并且通常發生在一個較大的范圍，我們可以說它像蘑菇一樣冒出來。

下面是使用這個表達的方法之一。在制作紙杯蛋糕的視頻風靡網絡之后，專門做紙杯蛋糕的商店“如雨后春筍般”遍布全城。

既然有些人喜歡蘑菇，那么有些人就會不喜歡。別擔心！你可以把“蘑菇”放下，簡單地說，“涌現”。例如，當大公司在小鎮上開店時，新房子似乎在一夜之間涌現出來。

我們經常用“冷不防地”這個說法來形容任何毫無征兆的事情。所以，如果我冷不防地告訴你什么，指的是我會出其不意地告訴你。

許多人不喜歡突然有重要的消息傳來。他們想有時間做好準備。例如，“你不能就這樣突然跟我說！我們得先談談這事兒！”

如果有人毫無預兆地向你透露重大消息，那么這個消息就是突然傳來的。當人們用這種方式向你透露消息時，一開始會讓你啞口無言。

如果你有一個重要的公告或重大新聞，你得讓人做好準備。你可能會說“我得告訴你一些事兒”，或者“你有空嗎？”，或者干脆說 “我有個消息！”，然后分享信息。這是一種帶預告的透露大新聞的方式。

最近，我的一個好朋友告訴我她要結婚了。但她甚至沒有告訴我她在談戀愛！她肯定意識到我有多驚訝了。所以，她為自己突然把這個意外的好消息告訴我而道歉。

既然她的喜訊是私人的，她就可以和別人分享或者不與別人分享，隨她喜歡。但如果新聞與其他人有關怎么辦？那個時候突然告訴其他人情況就有會更復雜了。

比如說有兩個人，塔拉和薩姆，共同擁有一家企業。這家公司叫做塔拉和薩姆屋頂修理公司。幾年了，他們一直在建設公司，并且終于要開始賺錢了。然后有一天，塔拉突然對薩姆說了個大消息。她要搬到阿拉斯加去……在一周內！她想退出。

薩姆沒有做好面對這些的任何準備。幾周前，他們已經制定了擴大客戶群的計劃。他質問說：“一個星期？你怎么能突然告訴我這樣的消息？我們應該是搭檔！我已經花了很多時間，不顧我的家人，去建立了這家公司！”

薩姆既震驚又憤怒。但后來他看到了一個機會。他請兒子加入公司。他們把公司改名為山姆父子的屋頂修理公司，很快，他們的生意就比以前更好了。并且他們可以有更長的時間待在一起。

下次你有重大消息要分享時，記住不要很突然地告訴別人——好吧，除非你是想讓他們感到震驚。

（英語原文選自：VOA Special English）

【Notes】

1. spring up like mushrooms 雨后春筍般地涌現

2. spring up 出現;涌現

3. to spring 突然提出

4. spring something on sb. 突然向某人說出某事

5. out of the blue 突然地;意外地