【導讀】liveinthemountainsoftheeasternUSAspeakwithanolderkindofEnglishdialect.WhenAmericansmovedfromoneplacetoanother,theytooktheirdialectswiththem.SopeoplefromthemountainsinthesoutheasternUSAspeakwithalmostthesamedialectsaspeopleinthenorthwesternUSA.TheUSAisalargecountryinwhichmanydifferentdialectsarespoken.AlthoughmanyAmericansmovealot,theystillrecognizeandunderstandeachother’sdialects.THEOXFORDENGLISHD

　　

【正文】 in twel ve books. And you thought your di cti onary was bi g! Unit 3 JO URNEY DO WN THE M EKO NG PART 1 THE DREAM AND THE PLAN My nam e i s Wang Kun. Ever si nce m i ddl e school , m y si ster Wang Wei and I have dream ed about taki ng a great bi ke tri p. Two years ago she bought an expensi ve m ountain bi ke and then she persuaded m e to buy one. Last year, she vi si ted our cousi ns, Dao Wei and Yu Hang at thei r col l ege i n Kunmi ng. They are Dai and grew up i n western Yunnan Provi nce near the Lancang Ri ver, the Chi nese part of the ri ver that i s cal ed the Mekong Ri ver i n other countri es. Wang Wei soon got them i nterested i n cycli ng too. After graduati ng from col ege. we fi nal y got the chance to take a bi ke tri p. I asked m y si ster, Where are we goi ng? It was my si ster who fi rst had the i dea to cycl e along the enti re Mekong Ri ver from where i t begi ns to where i t ends. N ow she is pl anni ng our schedul e for the tri p. I am fond of m y sister but she has one seri ous short ing. She can be real l y stubborn. Although she di dn39。t know the best way of getti ng to pl aces, she i nsi sted that she ani ze the tri p properl y. N ow, I know that the proper way is al ways her way. I kept aski ng her, When are we l eavi ng and when are we i ng back? I asked her whether she had l oked at a m ap yet. Of course, she hadn39。t。 my si ster doesn39。t care about detai ls. 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 m ind. 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 excited about i t. When I tol d her the ai r woul d be hard to breathe and it 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 l. O nce she has m ade up her mi nd, nothi ng can change i t. Fi nal ly, I had to give 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 maps that showed detail s of worl d geography. From the atlas we coul d se that the Mekong Ri ver begi ns i n a gl aci er on a Ti betan mountai n. At fi rst the ri ver i s sm al l and the water i s cl ear and col d. Then i t begins to m ove qui ckl y. It bees rapi ds as it pases through deep val l eys, travel li ng across western Yunnan Provi nce. Som eti mes 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 be es wi de， brown and warm. As i t enters Southeast Asi a, its pace sl ows. It m akes wi de bends or m eanders through l ow val eys to the pl ains where ri ce grows. At l ast, the river del ta enters the South Chi na Sea. PART2 A NIGH T IN TH E MOUNTAINS Although i t was autum n,the snow was al ready begi ni ng to fal l i n Ti ur l egs were so heavy and col d that they fel t li ke bl ocks of i 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 us. In the l ate afternoon we found i t was so col d that our water bottl es froze. .H owever, the lakes shonel i ke glass i n the setting sun and looked wonderful. Wangwei rode in front of me as usual. She is very reliable and I knew I didn’t need to encourage her. To cli m b the mountai ns 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 see for mi l es. At one poi nt we were so hi gh that we found oursel ves cycl i ng through cl ouds. Then we began goi ng down the hil s. It was great fun especi al y as i t gradual y became m uch warmer. In the val eys col ourful butterfli es fl ew around us and we saw many yaks and sheep eati ng gren grass. At this poi nt we had to change our caps, coats, gl oves and trousers for Tshirts and shorts. In the earl y evening 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 pil l ow and went to sl eep but I stayed awake. At mi dni ght 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 ed. We wi l reach Dal i n Yunnan Province soon, where our cousi ns Dao Wei and Yu H ang wi l join us. We can hardl y 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 it has twi ce the popul ation. At another inn, we talked with a teacher who told us that half of the people in her country couldn’t read or write. Her village couldn’t even afford to build a schol, so she had to teach outside under a large tent. When we said godbye, we al fel t very l ucky to have studi ed in col l ege. Back on the road, we passed between m any hil 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 it l ooked li ke Vi enti ane 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. Unli 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 palace and a beauti ful whi te el ephant. It can only 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 floors m ade of sl i ver. The next m orni ng our group slept l ate. We were very ti red from the l ong bi ke ri de the day before. Cycli ng i n the hil ls had been di ffcuil 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 ci ty. Two days later we crossed the border into Vietnam. We began to see many more people,bu