1、JOURNEY DOWN THE MEKONG PART 1THE DREAM AND THE PLANMy name is Wang Kun.Ever since middle school，my sister Wang Wei and I have dreamed about taking a great bike trip.Two years ago,she bought an expensive mountain bike and then she persuaded me to buy one.Last year，she visited our cousins，Dao Wei and
2、 Yu Hang at their college in Kunming.They are Dai and grew up in western Yunnan Province near the Lancang River，,the Chinese part of the river that is called the Mekong River in other countries.Wang Wei soon got them interested in cycling too.After graduating from college，we finally got the chance t
3、o take a bike trip.I asked my sister，“Where are we going？”It was my sister who first had the idea to cycle along the entire Mekong River from where it begins to where it ends.Now she is planning our schedule for the trip.,I am fond of my sister but she has one serious shortcoming.She can be really s
4、tubborn.Although she didnt know the best way of getting to places，she insisted that she organize the trip properly.Now I know that the proper way is always her way.I kept asking her，“When are we leaving and when are we coming back？”,I asked her whether she had looked at a map yet.Of course she hadnt
5、；my sister doesnt care about details.So I told her that the source of the Mekong is in Qinghai Province.She gave me a determined lookthe kind that said she would not change her mind.,When I told her that our journey would begin at an altitude of more than 5,000 metres，she seemed to be excited about
6、it.When I told her the air would be hard to breathe and it would be very cold，she said it would be an interesting experience.I know my sister well.Once she has made up her mind，nothing can change it.Finally，I had to give in.,Several months before our trip，Wang Wei and I went to the library.We found
7、a large atlas with good maps that showed details of world geography.From the atlas we could see that the Mekong River begins in a glacier on a Tibetan mountain.At first the river is small and the water is clear and cold.Then it begins to move quickly.It becomes rapids as it passes through deep valle
8、ys，,travelling across western Yunnan Province.Sometimes the river becomes a waterfall and enters wide valleys.We were both surprised to learn that half of the river is in China.After it leaves China and high altitude，the Mekong becomes wide，brown and warm.As it enters Southeast Asia，its pace slows.I
9、t makes wide bends or meanders through low valleys to the plains where rice grows.At last，the river delta enters the South China Sea.,沿湄公河而下的旅程第一部梦想与计划我叫王坤。从高中起(ever since从那以后)，我姐姐王薇和我就一直梦想做一次伟大的自行车旅行。两年前，她买了一辆昂贵的山地自行车，然后还说服(persuade)我买了一辆(山地车)。去年她去看望了我们的表兄弟在昆明读大学的刀卫和宇航。他们是傣族人，在云南省西部靠近澜沧江的地方长大，湄公河在中
10、国境内的这一段叫澜沧江，在其他国家(境内)叫湄公河。,很快，王薇使表兄弟也对骑车(cycle)旅游产生了兴趣。大学毕业(graduate)以后，我们终于(finally)有了机会骑自行车旅行。我问我姐姐：“我们要去哪儿？”首先想到要沿湄公河从源头到终点骑车旅游的是我的姐姐。现在她正在为我们的旅行制订计划(schedule时间表)。,我很喜欢(be fond of)我姐姐，但是她有一个很严重的缺点(shortcoming)。她有时确实很固执(stubborn)。尽管她对去某些地方的最佳路线并不清楚，她却坚持要自己把这次旅游安排(organize组织)得尽善尽美。于是，我就知道这个尽善尽美的方式总
11、是她的方式。,我不停地问她，“我们什么时候出发？什么时候回来？”我还问她是否看过地图。当然她并没有看过我的姐姐是不会考虑(care about)细节(detail)的。于是，我告诉她，湄公河的源头(source来源)在青海省。她给了我一个坚定的(determined)眼神这种眼神表明她是不会改变主意(change ones mind)的。,我说，我们的旅行(journey)将从5 000多米的高地(altitude高处)出发，这时她似乎显得很兴奋。当我告诉她那里空气稀薄，呼吸困难，而且天气很冷时，她却说这将是一次有趣的经历。我非常了解我的姐姐，她一旦下了决心(make up ones mind
12、)，什么也不能使她改变。最后，我只好让步(give in)了。,在我们旅行前的几个月，王薇和我去了图书馆。我们找到一本大型地图册(atlas)，里面有一些世界地理的明细图。我们从图上可以看到，湄公河发源于西藏(Tibetan)一座山上冰川(glacier)。起初，江面很小，河水清澈而冷冽。然后它开始快速流动。它穿过深谷(valley)时就变成了急流(rapids)，流经云南西部。,有时，这条江形成瀑布(waterfall)，进入宽阔的峡谷。我们俩惊奇地发现这条河有一半是在中国境内。当流出中国，流出高地之后，湄公河就变宽了，变暖了，河水也变成了黄褐色。而当它进入东南亚以后，流速(pace)减缓，
13、河水蜿蜒(bend拐弯)缓慢(meander(河流等)蜿蜒缓慢流动)地穿过低谷，流向生长稻谷的平原。最后，湄公河三角洲(delta)的各支流流入中国南海。,JOURNEY DOWN THE MEKONGPART 2A NIGHT IN THE MOUNTAINSAlthough it was autumn，the snow was already beginning to fall in Tibet.Our legs were so heavy and cold that they felt like blocks of ice.Have you ever seen snowmen ride
14、bicycles？Thats what we looked like！Along the way children dressed in long wool coats stopped to look at us.In the late afternoon we found it was so cold that our water bottles froze.,However，the lakes shone like glass in the setting sun and looked wonderful.Wang Wei rode in front of me as usual.She
15、is very reliable and I knew I didnt need to encourage her.To climb the mountains was hard work but as we looked around us，we were surprised by the view.We seemed to be able to see for miles.,At one point we were so high that we found ourselves cycling through clouds.Then we began going down the hill
16、s.It was great fun especially as it gradually became much warmer.In the valleys colourful butterflies flew around us and we saw many yaks and sheep eating green grass.At this point we had to change our caps，coats，gloves and trousers for Tshirts and shorts.,In the early evening we always stop to make
17、 camp.We put up our tent and then we eat.After supper Wang Wei put her head down on her pillow and went to sleep but I stayed awake.At midnight the sky became clearer and the stars grew brighter.It was so quiet.There was almost no windonly the flames of our fire for company.As I lay beneath the star
18、s I thought about how far we had already travelled.,We will reach Dali in Yunnan Province soon，where our cousins Dao Wei and Yu Hang will join us.We can hardly wait to see them！,沿湄公河而下的旅程第二部分山中一宿虽然是秋天，但是西藏已经开始下雪了。我们的腿又沉又冷，感觉就像大冰块。你看到过雪人骑自行车吗？我们看上去就像那样。一路上，一些身着羊毛(wool)大衣的孩子们停下来看着我们。下午晚些时候，我们发现由于天冷我们的
19、水壶都冻上了。,然而，湖水在落日的余晖下闪亮如镜，景色迷人。像往常一样(as usual)，王薇在我的前面，她很可靠(reliable)，我知道我用不着给她鼓劲儿。上山很艰难，但是当我们环顾四周，(眼前的)景色(view)让我们感到惊奇。我们似乎能看到几百里以外的地方。,在某个时刻，我们发现自己置身高处，仿佛骑车穿越云层。然后我们开始下山。这非常有趣，特别是天气逐渐变得暖和多了。在山谷里，五彩斑斓的蝴蝶翩翩飞舞在我们身旁，我们还看到牦牛(yak)和羊群在吃草。这时，我们不得不把帽子、外衣、手套和长裤脱掉，换成T恤衫和短裤。,一到傍晚，我们通常就停下来宿营。我们先把帐篷支起来，然后吃饭。晚饭后，王薇把头放在枕头(pillow)上就睡觉了，而我却醒着。半夜里(at midnight)，天空变得晴朗了，星星更亮了。(夜晚)非常安静，几乎没有风，只有篝火的火焰(flame)与我们做伴。当我躺在星空下(beneath在下面)，我想着我们已经走了多远。,我们很快就要到达云南的大理。在那里，我们的表兄弟刀卫和宇航将加入我们的行列。我们迫不及待地想要见到他们！,
