【正文】 t know the best way of getti ng to pl aces, she i nsisted that she ani ze the tri p properl y. N ow, I know that the proper way i s al ways her way. I kept aski ng her, When are we l eavi ng and when are we ing back? I asked her whether she had l ooked at a m ap yet. O f course, she hadn39。 m y si ster doesn39。t care about detail s. So I tol d her that the source of the Mekong i s i n Qi nghai Provi nce. She gave m e a determ ined l ook—the ki nd that sai d 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 seemed to be excited about i t. When I tol d her the ai r woul d be hard to breathe and i t woul d be very col d, she sai d i t woul d be an i nteresti ng experi ence. I know m y si ster wel . O nce she has m ade 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 li brary. We found a l arge atl as wi th good m aps that showed detail s of worl d geography. From the atl as we coul d see that the Mekong Ri ver begi ns i n a gl aci er on a Tibetan m ountai n. At fi rst the ri ver is sm al l and the water i s cl ear and col d. Then it begi ns to m ove qui ckl y. It be es rapi ds as i t passes through deep val eys, travel li ng acros western Yunnan Provi nce. Som eti m es the ri ver be es a waterfal l and enters wi de val l eys. We were both surpri sed to l earn that hal f of the ri ver is i n Chi na. After i t l eaves Chi na and the hi gh al ti tude, the Mekong bees wi de， brown and warm . As i t enters Southeast Asi a, 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 l ast, the ri ver del ta enters the South Chi na Sea. PART2 A NIGH T IN TH E MOUNTAINS Al though i t was autumn, the snow was al ready begi nni ng to fal i n Ti bet. Our l egs were so heavy and col d that they fel t l i ke bl ocks of ave you ever seen snowmen ride bicycles?That’s what we looked like! Al ong the way chi l dren dressed i n l ong wool coats stopped to l ook at us. In the l ate afternoon we found i t was so col d that our water botl es froze. However, the l akes shoneli ke gl as i n the setting sun and looked wonderful .Wangwei rode in front of m e as usual. She is very reliable and I knew I didn’t need to encourage her. To climb the mountains was hard work but as we loked around us, we were surpri sed by the vi ew. We seem ed to be able to see for m il es. At one poi nt we were so hi gh that we found oursel ves cycli ng through cl ouds. Then we began goi ng down the hi l s. It was great fun especi al ly as i t gradual l y becam e m uch warm er. In the val l eys col ourful buterfli es fl ew around us and we saw m any yaks and sheep eati ng green grass. At thi s poi nt we had to change our caps, coats,gl oves and trousers for Tshi rts and shorts. In the earl y eveni ng we al ways stop to m ake cam p. We put up our tent and then we eat. After supper Wang Wei put her head down on her pi l ow and went to sl eep but I stayed awake. At mi dnight the sky becam e cl earer and the stars grew bri ghter. It was so qui et. There was alm ost no wi nd—onl y the fl am es of our fi re for pany. As I l ay beneath the stars I thought about how far we had al ready travel l ed. We wil l reach Dali i n Yunnan Provi nce soon, where our cousins Dao Wei and Yu Hang wi l joi n us. We can hardl y wait to see them! PART 6 TH E END OF OUR JOUNEY Cam bodi a was in m any ways simi l ar to Laos, al though i t has twi ce the popul ati on. At another i nn, we tal ked with a teacher who tol d us that hal f of the people in her country couldn’t read or write. H er village couldn’t even afford to build a school, so she had to teach outsi de under a large tent. When we sai d godbye, we al fel t very l ucky to have studi ed in col ege. Back on the road, we pased between m any hil s and forests. Then we came to the plai ns and entered Phnom Penh, the capi tal of Cam bodia. In many ways i t l ooked li ke Vi enti ane and H o Chi Mi nh Ci ty。t。 i t al so had wi de streets wi th trees in rows and ol d French houses. Unli ke Vi enti ane, shi ps coul d travel the Mekong River the center of the ci ty we vi si ted the palace and a beauti ful whi te el ephant. It can onl y be sen outsi de the pal ace on speci al days. We ate an earl y supper and went to see a great tem ple with 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 l ong bi ke ri de the day before. Cycli ng i n the hil l s had been di fcuil t. N ow our coui ns had the chance to m ake jokes about Wangwei and m e. Perhaps, they sai d,they were the strong ones!We had l unch at a ni ce outdoor cafe, then rode out of the city. Two days later we crossed the border into Vietnam. We began to see many more people,but I wasn’t surprised . I read in an atlas before our tri p that Vi etnam has al m ost seven tim es the popul ati on of Cam bodi a. We m et a farm er who gave us di recti ons and tol d us that he grows a new ri ce crop four ti m es every year so he can feed more peopl e al so tol d us that the northern part of hi s country has m any m ountai ns and i t is m uch cool er than here i n the south, where i t i s fl at. Al though the fl at del ta m ade i t easi er for us to cycl e. we got warm very qui ckly. So we drank l ots of water and ate l ots of bananas. Soon the delta separated i nto ni ne sm al l er ri vers. Two days l ater, after we had passed thousands of ri ce fi el ds, we cam e to the sea. We were tired but al so i n hi gh spi ri ts: our dream to cycl e along the Mekong Ri ver had fi nal y e true. Unit 4 A NIGHT THE EARTH DID’T SLEEP Strange thi ngs were happeni ng i n the countri si de of northest H eBei. For there days the water i n the vi l age wel s rose and fel l, rose and fel . Farm ers noticed that the wel l wal s had de