【導(dǎo)讀】untilthetimeofthelateQingDynasty.Theremendidmostoftheimportantearlyworkondictionaries:SamuelJohnson,NoahWebster,andJamesMurray.Thesemenspentnearlyaloftheirlivestryingtocollectwordsfortheirdictionaries.Forthem,itwasn’tonlyajob;itwasawonderfuljourneyofdiscovery.ThelargestdictionaryintheworldistheOxfordEnglishDictionary,orOEDforshort.TheideaforthisdictionarycamefromanimportantmeetinginBritainin1857.T

　　

【正文】 but as we l ooked around us, we were surprised by the view. We sem ed to be abl e to see for mi l es. At one poi nt we were so hi gh that we found oursel ves cycl ing through cl ouds. Then we began goi ng down the hi l s. It was great fun especi al l y as i t gradual y becam e m uch warm er. In the val l eys col ourful butterfli es fl ew around us and we saw m any yaks and sheep eating 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 put up our tent and then we eat. After super Wang Wei put her head down on her pi l ow and went to sl ep but I stayed awake. At m i dni ght the sky becam e cl earer and the stars grew bri ghter. It was so qui et. There was al m ost no wind—onl y the fl am es of our fire for pany. As I lay 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 cousi ns Dao Wei and Yu H ang wil l joi n us. We can hardl y wai t to see them! PART 6 TH E END OF OUR JOUNEY Cam bodi a was i n m any ways simi l ar to Laos, al though i t has twi ce the popul ati on. At another inn, we tal ked wi th a teacher who tol d us that hal f of the peopl e in her country coul dn’t read or write. H er vil age coul dn’t even aford to buil d a school , so she had to teach outside under a l arge tent. When we sai d goodbye, we al l fel t very l ucky to have studi ed i n col ege. Back on the road, we passed between m any hi l s and forests. Then we cam e to the pl ai ns and entered Phnom Penh, the capi tal of Cam bodi a. In m any ways i t l oked l i ke Vi entiane and H o Chi Mi nh Ci ty。 i t al so had wi de streets wi th trees i n rows and ol d French houses. Unl i ke Vi enti ane, shi ps coul d travel the Mekong Ri ver here. In the center of the ci ty we vi si ted the pal ace and a beauti ful white el ephant. It can onl y be seen outsi de the pal ace on speci al days. We ate an earl y supper and went to see a great tem pl e wi th fl ors 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 ffcuil ow our couins 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 nice outdoor cafe, then rode out of the ci ty. Two days l ater we crosed the border into Vietnam. We began to see many more peopl e,but I wasn’t surprised . I read in an atlas before our tri p that Vietnam has alm 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 m ore peopl e. He al so tol d us that the northern part of hi s country has m any m ountai ns and it i s m uch cool er than here i n the south, where it i s fl at. Although the fl at del ta m ade i t easi er for us to cycl e. we got warm very quickl y. So we drank l ots of water and ate l ots of bananas. Soon the del ta 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 ti red but also i n hi gh spiri ts: our dream to cycl e al ong the Mekong Ri ver had fi nal y e true. Uni t 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 , rose and fel. Farm ers noti ced that the wel wal l s had deep cracks in them. A smel y gas cam e out of the cracks. In the farm eryards, the chi ckens and even the pi gs were too nervous to ce ran out of the fi el ds l ooki ng for pl aces to hi de. fi sh jum ped out of thei r bowl s and ponds. At about 3: 00am on Jul y 28, 1976, some people saw bright l ights i n the sound of the planes could be heard outside the ci ty,who thought l ittle of these events,were asl ep as usual that night. At3:42 am everythi ng began to seemed as if the worl d was at an end!El even kil om etres di rectl y below the city the greast earthquake of 20th century had begun. It was fel t i n Beiji ng, which is m ore thantwo hundred ki lometres until the ti m e of the l ate Qi ng Dynasty. There m en di d m ost of the im portant earl y work on di cti onari es: Sam uel Johnson, N oah Webster, and Jam es Murray. These m en spent nearl y al of their lives trying to col ect words for their dictionaries. For them, it wasn’t onl y a job。 it was a wonderful journey of discovery. The l argest di cti onary in the worl d i s the O xford Engl i sh Di cti onary, or O ED for short. The i dea for thi s dicti onary came from an im portant m eeti ng i n Bri tai n i n 1857. Twentytwo years l ater, O xford Uni versi ty asked Jam es Murray to be the edi tor of i ts new di cti onary. Murray had never been to col l ege. At the age of fourteen, he l eft his vi l age school i n Scotland and taught him self whi l e working i n a bank. Later he became a great teacher. After O xford gave him the job, Murray had a pl ace buil t i n the garden behi nd hi s house to do his work. Part of i t was one m eter underground. In winter i t fel t l ike a barn, he had to wear a heavy coat and put his feet in a box to kep warm. Every morning, Murray got out of bed at five o’cl ock and worked several hours before breakfast. O ften he woul d work by the candl e li ght i nto the eveni ng. Murray hoped to fi nish the new di cti onary i n ten years. But after fi ve years, he was stil l adding words for the l etter A! then others went to work wi th Murray, i ncl uding hi s two daughters. H e worked on the di cti onary until he was very ol d. Fortyfour years later, i n1928, other edi tors fi ni shed 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 DO WN THE M EKO NG PART 1 THE DREAM AND THE PL