周二是农历“入伏”第一天，很多国人都选择在这一天贴上“三伏贴”，请看本报昨日的报道：

Chinese embraced the first day of sanfu, the hottest and dampest period of the year, Tuesday, in unique ways across the country.

Sanfu, also called China’s “dog days of summer,” refers to three 10-day periods that are predicted to be the hottest days of the year. As a millennium-old tradition, Chinese people are spending sanfu like their ancestors.

报道中的dog days of summer也可以直接说dog days, 指夏天最酷热的一段时间，普遍认为古希腊和古罗马人在天狼星（Sirius）的影响下创造了这个短语。天狼星是七月下旬太阳下山后升起的星星。古希腊和古罗马人认为猎户座的天狼星升起的日子不但标志着进入了炎热的三伏天，也预示着将有灾难发生。