- Groundhog Day 土拨鼠日（2 月 2 日，据说是冬末土拨鼠出洞的日子，如果土拨鼠在晴天出洞看到自己的影子，就表示冬天还将持续六个星期）
Tomorrow weather-watchers will descend on a small town in Pennsylvania to await the verdict of a rodent.
- rodent 啮齿动物
If Punxsutawney Phil, a groundhog, emerges from his burrow on February 2nd and sees his shadow there will be six more weeks of winter.
No shadow suggests an early spring. Groundhog Day was first held in 1887 as a quirky spin-off of an ancient pagan festival; a film in 1993 starring Bill Murray won it global attention.
Despite his improbable 130-odd years of experience, Phil’s skills don’t seem to have improved much.
According to the National Centres for Environmental Information, his accuracy rate is a dismal 40%.
Some reckon the media spectacle has become a bit overwhelming for the shy beast.
This week People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an animal-rights group, lobbied to replace him with an animatronic AI Phil, noting that “groundhogs are not barometers”.
The thousands of annual attendees seem to disagree.
Feb 1st 2020
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