First a trickle, then a flood.

先是涓涓细流，接下来是滔滔洪水。

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When Jia Son first noticed the rising temperatures—an unfamiliar trickle of sweat down his back about a decade ago—he figured it was a gift from the gods.

十年前一次不常见的汗流浃背，让贾森注意到了气温的上升，当时他以为这是上天的恩赐。

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As a first earnest of a new American resolve perhaps 20,000 extra American soldiers are to arrive in Afghanistan next year: not quite an Iraq-style surge, but much more than a trickle.

明年，美国可能将向阿富汗增兵20000余人，以此作为美国新决心的第一笔“定金”，虽不及伊拉克式的大手笔，但也不算小动作了。

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This digital wave started with a trickle called TiVo, one of the first computer-hard-drive-based digital video recorders (DVRs).

FORBES: ZAP!

Their delicate texture alone is enough to make a hunter strap on his boots at the first trickle of melting snow.

NPR: Morel Satisfaction: Stalking the Wild Mushroom

Though psychological trauma, which can eventually lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, became a widely recognized problem after the Vietnam War, the promotion of mental-health counseling for Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans has accelerated a trickle-down effect to civilians and first responders.

WSJ: First Responders Seek Out Counseling as Attitudes Shift