【正文】 s. 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 taking a great bi ke tri p. 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 cousi ns, Dao Wei and Yu H ang at thei r col ege i n Kunm i ng. They are Dai and grew up i n western Yunnan Provi nce near the Lancang Ri ver, the Chi nese part of the river that i s cal l ed the Mekong Ri ver i n other countries. Wang Wei soon got them interested i n cycli ng too. After graduati ng from col lege. we final 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 fi rst had the i dea to cycle al ong the entire Mekong River from where it begi ns to where i t ends. N ow she i s pl anni ng our schedul e for the tri p. I am fond of m y sister but she has one seri ous short i ng. She can be real l y stubborn. Al though she di dn39。t know the best way of geti 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 i s al ways her way. I kept asking her, When are we l eavi ng and when are we i ng back? I asked her whether she had l ooked at a m ap yet. O f course, she hadn39。t。 m y si ster doesn39。t care about detai l 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 i ned look—the ki nd that sai d she woul d not change her m i 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 seem ed to be exci ted about i t. When I tol d her the air woul d be hard to breathe and i t woul d be very col d, she sai d it woul d be an i nteresti ng experi ence. I know m y si ster wel . O nce she has m ade up her m ind, nothi ng can change i t. Fi nal l y, I had to gi ve in. 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 River begi ns in a glaci er on a Ti betan m ountai n. At fi rst the ri ver is sm al l and the water i s cl ear and col d. Then i t begi ns to m ove qui ckly. It be es rapi ds as i t pases through deep val l eys, travel i ng across western Yunnan Provi nce. Som etim es the river be es a waterfal and enters wi de val l eys. We were both surpri sed to l earn that half of the ri ver i s in Chi na. After i t l eaves Chi na and the hi gh alti tude, the Mekong be es wi de， brown and warm. As it enters Southeast Asi a, i ts pace sl ows. It m akes wi de bends or m eanders through low val l eys to the pl ains 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 autum n,the snow was al ready begi nning to fal i n Ti bet. O ur l egs were so heavy and col d that they fel t like bl ocks of ave you ever sen snowmen ride bicycl es?That’s what we l ooked l ike! Al ong the way chil dren dressed in 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 owever, the l akes shonel i ke gl ass i n the setti ng sun and l ooked wonderful. Wangwei rode i n front of m e as usual. She i s very reli able and I knew I didn’t need to encourage her. To cl imb the mountains was hard work but as we looked around us, we were surprised by the vi ew. We seem ed to be abl e to see for mi les. At one poi nt we were so high 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 y as i t gradual y becam e m uch warm er. In the val eys col ourful butterfl i es fl ew around us and we saw m any yaks and sheep eati ng green gras. 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 super Wang Wei put her head down on her pil low 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 in Yunnan Provi nce 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 m any ways sim il ar to Laos, al though i t has twice the popul ati on. At another i nn, we talked wi th a teacher who tol d us that hal f of the peopl e i n her country coul dn’t read or write. H er vil age coul dn’t even afford to buil d a school, so she had to teach outside under a large tent. When we sai d goodbye, we al l fel t very l ucky to have studi ed i n col l 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 City。 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 city we visi ted the pal ace and a beauti ful whi te el ephant. It can onl y be seen outsi de the palace on speci al days. We ate an early supper and went to see a great tem pl e with fl oors m ade of sl iver. 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. Cycl ing i n the hi l s had been di ffcui l 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 into Vietnam. We began to see many mor