英语博客：Lake Chelan.

 　　"A change is as good as a rest" is a common saying in England. And that's what I've been having. It's summer, the children are out of school, our routine is up in the air(1), and we've been getting out of town. Have you noticed? I haven't been talking into my little snowball microphone recently because I've been going here and there(2). The place I've been to most recently is Lake Chelan. It's only a forty-five minute drive(3) from Wenatchee, but it feels as if you are in another state. Obviously, there is a lake there, and it's a huge one. It's actually the 26th deepest lake in the world, at 1,486 ft. It's name, Chelan, is taken from the Native American word 'Tsillan' which means 'deep waters'. It's also very long: 55 miles total. It's a popular place for boating, water skiing,  and fishing. There are many species of salmon¹, trout², and bass³ in the lake. The salmon, called the Chinook, can get up to 30lbs in weight, with the average weighing between 9 and 16lbs. It's very exciting fishing when you can get such a big fish, and one that's so delicious. When we fished there unfortunately the salmon were not interested in our bait(4) or hooks. Maybe we were making too much noise because we were having too much fun. The fun continued later, back at the campsite, when we rode our dirt bikes(5) along a dirt road(6) that circled through the forest and back up to where we were camping. Night came, and we settled into our trailer, the trailer that we use for the dirt bikes. We slept on mats and in sleeping bags, all packed in like sardines⁴. It was funny, uncomfortable, and we didn't sleep much, but that's all part of the camping experience.

　　1. 'Up in the air' is a phrase that means 'random⁵', 'unorganized', 'unsure' and 'unplanned'.

　　a. My plans for summer are up in the air still; we haven't planned anything definite.

　　b. I don't know if their wedding is on or off; it's all up in the air.

　　2. 'Here and there' talks about unspecific locations.

　　a. Where have you been?    Oh, here and there.

　　b. He leaves his shoes here and there, all over the house!

　　3. 'A forty five minute drive' 'a thirty minute walk' 'a two hour hike'. Can you see a pattern here? Even though we're mentioning more than one minute or hour, the phrases are singular.

　　a. It's just a twenty minute train ride into town.

　　b. It's a three hour flight to the capital.

　　4. 'Bait' is the word for food that is put on a hook for fish, or that is put in a trap for hunting.

　　a. The bait for fishing is usually worms.

　　b. Fresh meat is good bait if you want to hunt cougars⁶.

　　5. 'Dirt bikes' are motor bikes that can ride on hills, and rough roads. They usually get very dirty.

　　a. I took the dirt bike on the mountain trail; it was so much fun!

　　b. If you get the right license⁷, you can use a dirt bike on a normal road.

　　6. 'A dirt road' is usually a primitive⁸ road that is not paved, or tarmacked. It can be a private road that is not maintained by the local council. 'Dirt' in the U.S means 'soil' or 'earth'. In England it means any substance that is 'dirty', not necessarily soil.

　　a. We walked up the dirt road until we came to a sign that read 'Private Property'.

　　b. The road up to the houses is a nice asphalt, smooth road. Beyond the houses it turns into just a dirt road.

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1 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？

2 trout   

n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属)

参考例句：

• Thousands of young salmon and trout have been killed by the pollution.成千上万的鲑鱼和鳟鱼的鱼苗因污染而死亡。
• We hooked a trout and had it for breakfast.我们钓了一条鳟鱼，早饭时吃了。

3 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

4 sardines   

n. 沙丁鱼

参考例句：

• The young of some kinds of herring are canned as sardines. 有些种类的鲱鱼幼鱼可制成罐头。
• Sardines can be eaten fresh but are often preserved in tins. 沙丁鱼可以吃新鲜的，但常常是装听的。

5 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

6 cougars   

n.美洲狮( cougar的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Cougars can kill animals eight times their size. 美洲狮可以杀死八倍于自身体积的动物。 来自互联网

7 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

8 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。