5月25日
Vacation in the Seaweed
I headed to Maine for a week of vacation-and left with a few aches and pains. But I also received something few other visitors get: a unique taste of the local life
How do you describe the state of Maine in one word? Vacationland. Each year thousands of people retreat to Maine’s lakes, mountain and beautiful coast to relax. The word “vacationland” is even on Maine’s license plates! So when Doug, a good friend from college, invited me to visit his island getaway, how could I refuse?
There was just one catch: Since Doug couldn’t break away from his summer job, he asked if I would like to help him out during the day, harvesting seaweed. “Harvest seaweed?” I replied naively, “No problem!”
My “vacation” begins!
“Time to get up!” Doug barked like a drill sergeant. It was my first morning in “vacationland.” I rolled over and checked my watch: 5:30 a.m. I groaned.
“Let’s move it!” shouted Doug. “Time and tide wait for no man!”
Fighting my lethargy, I reluctantly slid into my waders, slathered on sunscreen and stumbled into Doug’s sturdy 12-foot skiff. Doug tugged the flywheel rope and, as the motor roared to life, it broke what was left of my morning tranquility. We were finally on our way, in search of seaweed.
As our boat picked up speed, the brisk, salty air brought me to my senses. We trolled through nearby inlets and around islets, looking for and area that would yield a large harvest. Doug explained the importance of planning our day against the ever-changing tides. Had we come any earlier, the water would have been come any earlier, the water would have been too high to wade in; had we come later, the falling water level would have limited our range and increased our chances of grounding the boat, something we wanted to avoid at all costs.
Specialized Terms
Waders (n pl) 防水长筒裤靴 rubber boots that cover the whole leg to keep a person dry in water
Skiff (n) 小船；小艇 a small, light boat for rowing or sailing, usually used by only one person
Troll (v) 穿巡 to patrol an area in search of something
Vocabulary Focus
License plate (n) 汽车牌照
Getaway (n) a short holiday away from home, or a place where people go for a short holiday
Naively (adv) unrealistically expecting the best due to lack of experience
Bark (v) to shout at someone in a forceful manner
Drill sergeant (n) a non-commissioned officer who trains soldiers in military parade exercises
Lethargy (n) a lack of energy; a felling of unwillingness and inability to do anything
Slather (v) to cover something with a thick layer of a soft substance
Flywheel (n) 惯性轮，飞轮
Tranquility (n) calmness, peacefulness
Brisk (adj) weather that is brisk is cold and clear
Inlet (n) 水湾
Islet (n) small island.
Yield (v) bear, produce or provide (a natural product, a result or profit)
Wade (v) to walk through water that is not deep
Discussion Question
What one place in your region, city or country could be described as "vacationland"? Why?
Extra Exercise
1. Translate the following sentence into Chinese, ‘there was just one catch: Since Doug couldn’t break away from his summer job, he asked if I would like to help him out during the day, harvesting seaweed.’
2. According the audio, what was Doug’s major in college?
说明：
1.文本摘自《Advanced 彭蒙惠英语》，由chandler30亲自录入。
2.回帖内容为大家讨论类话题，如非个人隐私，请不要选中“只有楼主可见”，以便大家交流。
3.参考答案在二楼，回复可见。
4.参与讨论问题奖励50沪元，回答问题奖励50沪元，本栏目谢绝灌水!