photo is copied from BBC Weather

Raining cats and dogs!

We all use the expression raining cats and dogs but where does it come from? There are various possible explanations, the first from mythology.

It seems that cats were at one time thought to have influence over storms, especially by sailors; and that dogs were symbols of storms, often accompanying images and descriptions of the Norse storm god Odin.

So when a particularly violent tempest appeared, people suggested it was caused by cats (bringing the rain) and dogs (the wind).

Others have seriously suggested that in medieval times the streets of British towns were so poorly constructed that many cats and dogs would drown whenever there was a storm; people seeing the corpses floating by would think they had fallen from the sky, like the proverbial rains of frogs.

If you believe that, I would suggest you haven't noticed the speed at which both cats and dogs can move to get out of the way of water!

Other similar sayings include that it's raining like pitchforks (first recorded in 1815), hammer handles, and even chicken coops.

It is likely that cats and dogs fall into a similar category, in other words they are used to express intensity without the need to invoke mythology or drainage.

(The paragraph is copied from http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/weather/craig_catsndogs.shtml )
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踩著愉悅得步伐，邊讚嘆著牛津灰白的天空和大學公園的枯樹是多麼絕配的相稱，我邁向系所交作業去。

隨而目的地轉向 Bodleian Library，心中盤算著今天的進度該是到哪、、、毫無預警，真是毫無預警，一場頃盆大雨從天而降，伴隨而來著是直逼七級的狂風！

我當下愣住了，這是什麼鬼天氣？事先連一滴雨都沒有啊！我的褲子全溼，雨傘開花；心想，就算真的到圖書館，全身溼答答的也不好受，便打道回府回宿舍去。才進學院大門，驟雨便停，綿密的烏雲居然散開了，透出陽光來！

怎麼，今天不是讀書天嗎？！