Noah：Do you like being single, Francis?
諾亞：法蘭西斯，你喜歡獨身嗎？
Francis：Oh, yes. I’m not ready to settle down yet. Life’s too much fun.
法蘭西斯：喜歡。我還未準備成家立室安頓下來，人生是那麼多采多姿。
Noah：Well in that case I'd keep well away from young ladies today.
諾亞：那麼，你今天最好遠離年輕的姑娘。
Francis：What do you mean? Why should I do that?
法蘭西斯：你把話說清楚好嗎？我為甚麼要遠離她們？
Noah：Well it's Leap Year today so young ladies have the right to propose marriage. And some of them may not take no for an answer.
諾亞：今天是閏年，少女有權求婚。有些姑娘可能不達目的不罷休哩。
Francis：Once in four years. That’s just as well. I’ll keep well away today.
法蘭西斯：幸好是每四年一次，今天我就避開她們好了。
西曆每四年有一個閏年，叫leap year。閏年二月比平常的二十八天多一天，例如：He was born on 29 February, so he has only one birthday every four years（他二月二十九日出生，所以每四年才有一個生日）。
Leap year直譯是「跳年」。為甚麼稱為「跳」，沒有人能夠肯定，或說二月二十九日後全部節日都延遲一天，也就是「跳」了一天。但有一點可以肯定：根據習俗，少女在閏年有權向男人求婚，特別是二月二十九日那天。這一天叫leap-year day或leap day（閏日），例如：He dreaded a leap day marriage proposal/ a leap year marriage proposal（他害怕閏日╱閏年有女人向他求婚）。
Propose一般指「建議」，但也可指「求婚」，例如：Have you proposed (marriage) to her?（你有沒有向她求婚？）
法蘭西斯說喜歡獨身：I'm not ready to settle down yet。Settle down是「安頓下來」，常有「成家立室」含義，例如：(1) He settled down to read the newspaper（他安頓下來看報紙）。(2) It is time you got married and settled down（你應該結婚過平靜的生活了）。
最後要說兩個成語：will not take no for an answer是「堅持要對方答應」，that is just as well則有「幸好」的意思，例如：(1) The workers demanded a pay rise and would not take no for an answer（工人要加薪，不成功不罷休）。(2) If the concert was so lousy, it was just as well that I did not go（假如音樂會那麼糟糕，我幸好沒有去）。
明天課文
I went home to Scotland for Hogmanay
我回故鄉蘇格蘭過霍馬內
古德明撰文
