【正文】 to fal l i n ur l egs were so heavy and col d that they fel t li ke bl ocks of ave you ever seen snowmen ride bicycles?That’s what we looked like! Along the way children dresed in long wool coats stopped to look at the l ate afternoon we found it was so cold that our water bottl es owever, the l akes shoneli ke gl as i n the seting sun and looked wonderful. Wangwei rode in front of me as usual. She is very reliable and I knew I didn’t ned to encourage her. To climb the m ountains was hard work but as we l ooked around us, we were surpri sed by the vi ew. We seem ed to be abl e to se for mi l 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 hil ls. It was great fun especial y as i t gradual y becam e m uch warm er. In the val eys colourful butterfli es fl ew around us and we saw many yaks and sheep eati ng green gras. At this point 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 pil low and went to sl eep but I stayed awake. At m i dnight the sky becam e cl earer and the stars grew bri ghter. It was so qui et. There was alm ost no wind—onl y the flam es of our fire for pany. As I l ay beneath the stars I thought about how far we had already travel l ed. We wil l reach Dali i n Yunnan Provi nce son, where our cousins Dao Wei and Yu Hang wi l joi n us. We can hardl y wait to se them! PART 6 TH E END OF OUR JOUNEY Cambodi a was i n many ways sim il ar to Laos, al though i t has twice the popul ati on. At another inn, we talked with a teacher who told us that half of the people in her country couldn’t read or write. H er village couldn’t even afford to buil d a school , so she had to teach outside under a l arge tent. When we sai d godbye, we al felt 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 cam e to the plains and entered Phnom Penh, the capi tal of Cam bodi a. In m any ways i t looked l ike Vienti ane and H o Chi Mi nh Ci ty。t know the best way of getti ng to pl aces, she i nsi sted that she anize the tri p properly. N ow, I know that the proper way i s always her way. I kept aski ng her, When are we l eaving and when are we i ng back? I asked her whether she had l oked at a m ap yet. Of course, she hadn39。 m y si ster doesn39。 it also had wi de streets with trees in rows and old French houses. Unli ke Vienti ane, ships coul d travel the Mekong Ri ver the center of the ci ty we visited the palace and a beautiful white elephant. It can only be seen outsi de the pal ace on speci al days. We ate an early super and went to see a great temple wi th fl ors m ade of sl iver. The next morni ng our group sl ept l ate. We were very tired from the long bi ke ri de the day before. Cycli ng i n the hi l s had been di fcui lt. Now our coui ns had the chance to make jokes about Wangwei and m e. Perhaps, they sai d, they were the strong ones!We had l unch at a nice outdoor cafe,then rode out of the ci ty. 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 Vietnam has al most seven times the popul ation of Cambodia. We met a farmer who gave us directi ons and told us that he grows a new rice crop four times every year so he can fed more also tol d us that the northern part of his country has many mountains and it is much coler than here in the south,where it is fl though the fl at delta made it easi er for us to cycl e. we got warm very qui we drank l ots of water and ate lots of bananas. Son the del ta separated into ni ne smal er ri vers. Two days later,after we had passed thousands of ri ce fiel ds,we came to the sea. We were tired but also in high spirits: our dream to cycle al ong the Mekong River had finaly e true. Unit 4 A NIGHT THE EARTH DID’T SLEEP Strange thi ngs were happening i n the countri si de of northest there days the water i n 。 it also had wi de streets with trees in rows and old French houses. Unli ke Vienti ane, ships coul d travel the Mekong Ri ver the center of the ci ty we visited the palace and a beautiful white elephant. It can only be seen outsi de the pal ace on speci al days. We ate an early super and went to see a great temple wi th fl ors m ade of sl iver. The next morni ng our group sl ept l ate. We were very tired from the long bi ke ri de the day before. Cycli ng i n the hi l s had been di fcui lt. Now our coui ns had the chance to make jokes about Wangwei and m e. Perhaps, they sai d, they were the strong ones!We had l unch at a nice outdoor cafe,then rode out of the ci ty. 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 trip that Vietnam has al most seven times the popul ation of Cambodia. We met a farmer who gave us directi ons and told us that he grows a new rice crop four times every year so he can fed more also tol d us that the northern part of his country has many mountains and it is much coler than here in the south,where it is fl though the fl at delta made it easi er for us to cycl e. we got warm very qui we drank l ots of water and ate lots of bananas. Son the del ta separated into ni ne smal er ri vers. Two days later,after we had passed thousands of ri ce fiel ds,we came to the sea. We were tired but also in high spirits: our dream to cycle al ong the Mekong River had finaly e true. Unit 4 A NIGHT THE EARTH DID’T SLEEP Strange thi ngs were happening i n the countri si de of northest there days the water i n the vil lage wel ls rose and fel l, rose and fel .Farmers noti ced that the wel wal ls had dep cracks in them. A smel y gas cam e out of the cracks. In the farmeryards, the chickens and even t