【正文】 was very old. Fortyfour years l ater, i n1928, other editors finished i t. It i ncluded m ore than 15, 000 pages i n twel ve books. And you thought your di cti onary was bi g! Uni t 3 JO URNEY DOWN THE M EKONG PART 1 THE DREAM AND THE PLAN My name i s Wang Kun. Ever si nce mi ddl e school, m y si ster Wang Wei and I have dream ed about taking a great bi ke tri p. Two years ago she bought an expensi ve m ountai n bi ke and then she persuaded me to buy one. Last year, she vi si ted our cousins, Dao Wei and Yu H ang at their col ege i n Kunm ing. They are Dai and grew up i n western Yunnan Provi nce near the Lancang Ri ver, the Chi nese part of the river that is cal l ed the Mekong River i n other countri es. Wang Wei soon got them i nterested i n cycli ng too. After graduating from col ege. we final l y got the chance to take a bike tri p. I asked my sister, Where are we going? It was m y si ster who fi rst had the i dea to cycle al ong the enti re Mekong Ri ver from where it begi ns to where i t ends. N ow she i s pl anning our schedul e for the tri p. I am fond of m y si ster but she has one serious shorti ng. She can be real y stubborn. Al though she didn39。t care about detail s. So I tol d her that the source of the Mekong is i n Qinghai Provi nce. She gave m e a determi ned l ook—the ki nd that said she woul d not change her mi nd. When I tol d her that our journey woul d begi n at an al ti tude of m ore than 5, 000 m etres, she seem ed to be exci ted about it. When I tol d her the ai r woul d be hard to breathe and i t woul d be very col d, she said i t woul d be an i nteresti ng experience. I know m y si ster wel . O nce she has made up her mi nd, nothi ng can change it. Fi nal y, I had to gi ve i n. Several m onths before our tri p,Wang Wei and I went to the l ibrary. We found a large atl as wi th god maps that showed detai ls of worl d geography. From the atl as we coul d se that the Mekong River begins in a gl acier on a Tibetan mountai n. At first the river i s smal and the water i s cl ear and col d. Then i t begi ns to move qui ckly. It be es rapi ds as i t passes through deep val eys, traveli ng acros western Yunnan Province. Som etim es the ri ver bees a waterfal and enters wi de val eys. We were both surprised to l earn that hal f of the river i s i n Chi na. After i t l eaves China and the high altitude,the Mekong be es wi de， brown and warm . As i t enters Southeast Asia, i ts pace sl ows. It m akes wi de bends or m eanders through l ow val eys to the pl ai ns where ri ce grows. At last, the river del ta enters the South Chi na Sea. PART2 A NIGH T IN TH E MOUNTAINS Although it was autum n, the snow was al ready begi nni ng to fal l in Ti ur legs were so heavy and cold that they felt like blocks of you ever seen snowmen ride bicycles?That’s what we looked like! Along the way chil dren dressed i n long wool coats stoped to l ook at us. In the l ate afternoon we found i t was so cold that our water botles owever, the l akes shonel ike gl as i n the seting sun and l oked wonderful. Wangwei rode i n front of me as usual . She i s very reliable and I knew I didn’t ned to encourage her. To climb the mountains was hard work but as we looked around us, we were surpri sed by the vi ew. We seem ed to be able to se for m il es. At one poi nt we were so hi gh that we found oursel ves cycli ng through clouds. Then we began goi ng down the hi l s. It was great fun especi al y as i t gradual y becam e much warm er. In the val l eys col ourful butterfl ies flew around us and we saw m any yaks and sheep eating gren grass. At thi s poi nt we had to change our caps, coats, gl oves and trousers for Tshi rts and shorts. In the early eveni ng we al ways stop to m ake cam put up our tent and then we eat. After supper Wang Wei put her head down on her pi l ow and went to sleep but I stayed awake. At mi dni ght the sky became clearer and the stars grew bri ghter. It was so qui et. There was alm ost no wi nd—onl y the fl ames of our fire for pany. As I l ay beneath the stars I thought about how far we had already travel ed. We wil reach Dali in Yunnan Provi nce soon, where our cousi ns Dao Wei and Yu H ang wil joi n us. We can hardly wait to see them! PART 6 TH E END OF OUR JOUNEY Cam bodi a was i n many ways sim il ar to Laos, al though i t has twice the popul ation. At another i nn, we tal ked wi th a teacher who told us that hal f of the peopl e in her country couldn’t read or write. H er village couldn’t even afford to build a school, so she had to teach outside under a large tent. When we sai d godbye, we al felt very l ucky to have studi ed in col lege. Back on the road, we passed between many hi l s and forests. Then we cam e to the pl ai ns and entered Phnom Penh, the capi tal of Cambodi a. In m any ways i t l ooked li ke Vi entiane and Ho Chi Minh City。 m y si ster doesn39。t know the best way of getti ng to pl aces, she i nsi sted that she anize the trip properl y. Now, I know that the proper way is al ways her way. I kept aski ng her, When are we leavi ng and when are we i ng back? I asked her whether she had l ooked at a m ap yet. Of course, she hadn39。 i t al so had wi de streets wi th tres i n rows and ol d French houses. Unl ike Vienti ane, shi ps coul d travel the Mekong Ri ver the center of the city we visited the pal ace and a beauti ful white el ephant. It can onl y be sen outsi de the palace on speci al days. We ate an earl y supper and went to se a great tem pl e wi th fl oors m ade of sli ver. The next m orni ng our group sl ept l ate. We were very ti red from the long bi ke ri de the day before. Cycli ng i n the hil ls had been diffcuil ow our coui ns had the chance to m ake jokes about Wangwei and m e. Perhaps,they said,they were the strong ones!We had lunch at a ni ce outdoor cafe, then rode out of the ci ty. Two days later we crossed the border into Vi etnam. We began to see m any m ore p