Unit 3 Travel Journal旅行日记Journey down the Mekong旅行湄公河part1：THE DREAM AND THE PLAN梦想和计划My name is Wang Kun.① 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 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.（同位语）Wang Wei soon got them interested in cycling too. ② 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 isplanning our schedule for the trip.①自从中学时,我的姐姐王薇和我一直梦想要以一个伟大的自行车旅行。

②这是我的姐姐谁先想到要循环沿湄公河从源头到终点。

现在,她在做旅行计划时间表。

I am fond of my sister but she has one serious shortcoming. She can be really stubborn. ③Although she didn't 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 hadn't; my sister doesn't care about details. So I told her that the source of the Mekong is in Qinghai Province. She gave me a determined look—the 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 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（了解某人）. Once she has made up her mind, nothing can change it. Finally, I had to give in.③尽管她不知道最好的方法去的地方,她坚持组织这次旅行。

Several months before our trip,Wang Wei and I went to the library. We found a large atlas with good maps that showed details of world geography（地理）. From the atlas we could see that the Mekong River begins in a glacier on a Tibetan mountain. At firs t 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 valleys, travailing across western Yunnan Province. Sometimes the river becomes a waterfall and enters wide valleys（山谷）. We were both surprised to learn that half of the river is in China. After it leaves China and the high altitude, the Mekong becomes wide，brown and warm. As it enters Southeast Asia, its pace slows. It makes wide bends or meanders through low valleys to the plains（平原）where rice grows. At last, the river delta enters the South China Sea.PART 2 A NIGHT IN THE MOUNTAINS （山中一宿）Although it was autumn, the snow was already beginning to fall in Tibet. ①Our legs were so heavy and cold that t hey felt like blocks of ice . Have you ever seen snowmen ride bicycles? That’s what we looked like!②Along the way children dressed in long wool coats stopped to look at us. In the late afternoon we found it w as so cold that our water bottles froze. However, the lak es shone like glass in the setting sun and looked wonde rful. Wang Wei rode in front of me as usual. She is very reliable and I knew I didn’t need to encourage her. To cl imb the mountains was hard work but as we looked ar ound us, we were surprised by the view. We seemed to be able to see for miles. At one point we were so high th at we found ourselves cycling through clouds. Then we b egan going down the hills. It was great fun especially as i t gradually became much warmer. In the valleys colorful butterflies flew around us and we saw many yaks and s heep eating green grass. At this point we had to change o ur caps, coats, gloves and trousers for T-shirts and shorts.In the early evening we always stop to make camp. We put up our tent（搭帐篷）and then we eat. After supper Wang Wei put her head do wn on her pillow and went to sleep but I stayed awake. At midnight the sky became clearer and the stars grew br ighter. It was so quiet. There was almost no wind – only the flames of our fire for company. As I lay beneath the stars I thought about how far we had already traveled. We will reach Dali in Yunnan Province soon, where ou r cousins Dao Wei and Yu Hang will join us. We can h ardly wait to see them!①我们的腿又沉又冷，感觉就像大冰块。

②一路上，一些身着羊毛大衣的孩子们停下来看着我们。