I wake up醒来 to the sound of rain雨 /reɪn/. It is drumming敲打 /ˈdrʌm.ɪŋ/ hard on the roof屋顶 /ruːf/ and streaming流淌 /ˈstriːm.ɪŋ/ down the window窗玻璃 /ˈwɪn.doʊ/. Yesterday the sky天空 /skaɪ/ was clear晴朗的 /klɪr/ and bright明亮的 /braɪt/. Now dark深暗的 /dɑːrk/ clouds云 /klaʊdz/ cover遮住 /ˈkʌv.ɚ/ everything. I check my phone: temperature气温 /ˈtem.prɪ.tʃɚ/ twelve degrees度 /dɪˈɡriːz/, heavy大（雨）/ˈhev.i/ rain all morning. The forecast天气预报 /ˈfɔːr.kæst/ was right准确的 /raɪt/ for once这一次 /wʌns/.
Downstairs, Dad is standing站 /ˈstænd.ɪŋ/ at the door with his coat外套 /koʊt/ on, looking outside外面 /ˌaʊtˈsaɪd/. "Terrible weather天气 /ˈweð.ɚ/," he says. "I didn't expect预料 /ɪkˈspekt/ this." Mum hands him递给他 an umbrella雨伞 /ʌmˈbrel.ə/. "I did," she says calmly平静地 /ˈkɑːm.li/. "I checked the forecast last night." Dad takes接过 /teɪks/ the umbrella and steps走出 /steps/ into the rain. A gust一阵风 /ɡʌst/ of wind风 /wɪnd/ turns the umbrella inside out把雨伞翻了个面 instantly瞬间 /ˈɪn.stənt.li/. We all laugh笑 /lɑːf/.
By mid-morning the storm暴雨 /stɔːrm/ gets worse更严重 /wɜːrs/. Thunder雷声 /ˈθʌn.dɚ/ rumbles隆隆响 /ˈrʌm.bəlz/ in the distance远处 /ˈdɪs.təns/ and a flash闪光 /flæʃ/ of lightning闪电 /ˈlaɪt.nɪŋ/ splits划过 /splɪts/ the sky. Lily counts数 /kaʊnts/ under her breath气息 /breθ/: "One, two, three —" boom轰隆 /buːm/. "Three kilometres公里 /kɪˈlɑːm.ɪ.t̬ɚz/ away远 /əˈweɪ/," she says proudly自豪地 /ˈpraʊd.li/. The rain pours倾盆而下 /pɔːrz/ so heavily猛烈地 /ˈhev.ɪ.li/ that the garden花园 /ˈɡɑːr.dən/ path小路 /pɑːθ/ floods积水 /flʌdz/ within minutes. Mum watches看着 /ˈwɑːtʃ.ɪz/ from the window and says, "Good thing I planted种了 /ˈplænt.ɪd/ those seeds种子 /siːdz/ yesterday."
By afternoon the storm has passed过去了 /pɑːst/. The clouds break散开 /breɪk/ and sunlight阳光 /ˈsʌn.laɪt/ pours through. Everything outside looks washed洗过的 /wɑːʃt/ and fresh清新 /freʃ/. Puddles水坑 /ˈpʌd.əlz/ gleam闪光 /ɡliːm/ on the pavement人行道 /ˈpeɪv.mənt/. I open打开 /ˈoʊ.pən/ the back door and breathe in深吸 the cool凉爽的 /kuːl/ air空气 /er/. It smells of wet湿润的 /wet/ earth泥土 /ɜːrθ/ and grass草 /ɡrɑːs/. "This is my favourite最爱的 /ˈfeɪ.vɚ.ɪt/ smell," I say. Lily nods点头 /nɑːdz/. "Mine too."
At dinner, the conversation turns to转向 seasons季节 /ˈsiː.zənz/. "What's your favourite season季节 /ˈsiː.zən/?" Mum asks. Dad says spring春天 /sprɪŋ/ without hesitating犹豫 /ˈhez.ɪ.teɪ.tɪŋ/. "Everything grows生长 /ɡroʊz/. The days get longer变长. You can feel感受到 /fiːl/ the warmth温暖 /wɔːrmθ/ coming back." Mum prefers更喜欢 /prɪˈfɜːrz/ autumn秋天 /ˈɔː.təm/. "The leaves树叶 /liːvz/ turn变成 /tɜːrn/ red红色 /red/ and gold金色 /ɡoʊld/, and the air is crisp清冽 /krɪsp/." Lily votes投票 /voʊts/ for winter冬天 /ˈwɪn.t̬ɚ/. " Snow雪 /snoʊ/!" she says, as if that explains everything.
"And you, Jack?" Dad asks. I think想想 /θɪŋk/ for a moment. " Summer夏天 /ˈsʌm.ɚ/," I say. " Long漫长的 /lɔːŋ/ evenings傍晚 /ˈiːv.nɪŋz/, warm温暖的 /wɔːrm/ nights夜晚 /naɪts/, and no school上学 /skuːl/." Everyone laughs笑 /lɑːfs/. "So it's not really about the weather," Mum says. I shrug耸肩 /ʃrʌɡ/. "The weather helps." Outside, a pale淡淡的 /peɪl/ rainbow彩虹 /ˈreɪn.boʊ/ stretches延伸 /ˈstretʃ.ɪz/ across the evening sky. Lily spots发现 /spɑːts/ it first and points指 /pɔɪnts/. Nobody says anything. We just watch看 /wɑːtʃ/.