本文作者是美国人南希・J・里格，选自于Los Angeles Times，属于典型的文学作品，特别是对于景物和心理的描写居多，所以在翻译时需要体现词汇的用法，很多地方用到意译的翻译方法。

It's raining, again.

又下雨了。

As I lie awake in bed, listening to the sound of those razor-sharp drops pounding on the pavement, my mind goes reeling down dark corridors teeming with agonizing flashbacks, and a chill from within fills me with dread.

我躺在床上，睡不着，听着雨点儿落在路面上啪啪作响。我思绪万千，恍恍惚惚进入了一条条幽暗的通道，回想起许多痛苦的往事，心里一阵冰凉，不禁感到毛骨悚然。

It does this every year in Southern California; at least that's what they told me last year when I marveled at the relentless determination of the rain.

加利福尼亚南部，年年如此;去年，雨无情地下个不停，我表示惊异，人们就是这样对我说的。

There seem to be two seasons here.

这里似乎只有两个季节。

During the rainy season, sometimes the storms drench the area nonstop for days.

在雨季，狂风暴雨有时一连几天不停。

Sometimes the storm come and go.

有时一会儿就雨过天晴。

Often property damage and disrupted lives result.

结果往往是财产遭损失，生活受影响。

It's hard to predict the intensity of the patterns from year to year.

严重程度如何，年年不同，难以预料。

Then there is the fire season.

再就是火季。

That takes care of the property that managed to survive the deluge, again disrupting lives.

大雨过后勉强剩下的财物就落到它的手里，人们的生活再次受到影响。

The days connecting these seasons are monotonous, with some sun, some smog and some more sun.

这两个季节之间的日子是非常单调的，有时见一点儿阳光，有时烟雾弥漫，过后再见一点儿阳光。

This is nothing like back home in Colorado.

这跟家乡科罗拉多的情况迥然不同。

We have rains there, too.

科罗拉多也下雨。

Thunderstorms in spring and summer often come with intensity great enough to cause flash-flooding.

春夏两季雷雨交加，猛烈异常，往往顷刻之间暴雨成灾。

Every child raised in the West knows about these dangers.

在西部长大的孩子都知道洪水的厉害。

At least that's what I used to think. I’m not so sure anymore.

至少我过去是这样想的，现在就不敢说了。

In second grade they showed us a terrifying film about flash-flooding.

我上二年级的时候，给我们演过一场暴雨成灾的电影，非常可怕。