【正文】 ct words for their dictionaries. For them, it wasn’t only a job。 m y si ster doesn39。t know the best way of getti ng to pl aces, she i nsi sted that she ani ze the tri p properl y. Now, 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 i ng back? I asked her whether she had l ooked at a map yet. O f course, she hadn39。 it al so had wi de streets with 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 sited the pal ace and a beauti ful whi te 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 oors m ade of sli ver. The next morning 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 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 l ater we crossed the border i nto Vi etnam . We began to see many more peopl e,but I wasn’t surprised . I read i n an atl as before our tri p that Vi etnam has al m ost seven tim es the popul ation 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 tim es every year so he can feed m ore peopl e. H e al so tol d us that the northern part of hi s country has m any m ountains and i t i s m uch cool er than here i n the south, where i t is fl at. Al though the fl at delta m ade i t easi er for us to cycl e. we got warm very qui ckl y. So we drank l ots of water and ate l ots of bananas. Soon the delta separated i nto ni ne sm al 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 cycle al ong the Mekong River had fi nal l 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 l age wel ls rose and fel l, rose and fel l. Farmers noti ced that the wel wal ls had deep cracks in them. A smel y gas came out of the cracks. In the farmeryards, the chickens and even the pi gs were too nervous to eat. mi ce ran out of the fi elds l ooki ng for pl aces to sh jum ped out of their bowls 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 ni ght. 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 me of the late Qi ng Dynasty. There m en di d most of the i mportant earl y work on di cti onari es: Sam uel Johnson, N oah Webster, and Jam es Murray. These men spent nearl y al of thei r li ves tryi ng to col ect words for thei r di cti onari es. For them, i t wasn’t only a job。 m y si ster doesn39。t know the best way of getti ng to pl aces, she i nsi sted that she ani ze the tri p properl y. Now, 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 i ng back? I asked her whether she had l ooked at a map yet. O f course, she hadn39。until the ti me of the late Qi ng Dynasty. There m en di d most of the i mportant earl y work on di cti onari es: Sam uel Johnson, N oah Webster, and Jam es Murray. These men spent nearl y al of their lives trying to col ect words for their dictionaries. For them, it wasn’t only a job。 it was a wonderful journey of di scovery. The largest di ctionary i n the worl d i s the O xford Engl ish Di ctionary, or O ED for short. The i dea for thi s di cti onary cam e from an im portant m eeti ng i n Bri tai n i n 1857. Twentytwo years l ater, O xford Uni versity asked Jam es Murray to be the edi tor of i ts new di cti onary. Murray had never been to col ege. At the age of fourten, he l eft hi s vil l age school i n Scotl and and taught hi msel f whil e worki ng i n a bank. Later he becam e 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 hi s work. Part of i t was one m eter underground. In wi nter i t felt l i ke a barn, he had to wear a heavy coat and put his feet i n a box to keep warm. Every m orni ng, Muray got out of bed at five o’cl ock and worked several hours before breakfast. Often he woul d work by the candl e light into the evening. Murray hoped to fi ni sh the new di cti onary i n ten years. But after fi ve years, he was sti l addi ng words for the l etter A! then others went to work wi th Murray, i ncl udi ng hi s two daughters. H e worked on the di cti onary until he was very ol d. Fortyfour years l ater, i n1928, other edi tors fi ni shed i t. It i ncl uded m ore than 15, 000 pages i n twelve 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 PLAN My nam e i s Wang Kun. Ever si nce mi ddle school, m y sister Wang Wei and I have dream ed about taki ng a great bi ke trip. Two years ago she bought an expensi ve m ountai n bi ke and then she persuaded m e to buy one. Last year, she vi sited our cousins, Dao Wei and Yu H ang at their col 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 River i n other countri es. Wang Wei son got them i nterested in cycli ng too. After graduating from col l 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 m y si ster who first had the i dea to cycl