The Hukou Waterfall

今天我們?nèi)乜谄俨加斡[，路程有些遠(yuǎn)，但是絕對不會讓大家失望的。

壺口瀑布位于黃河中游秦晉峽谷之中，河西屬陜西省延安市宜川縣壺口鄉(xiāng)，河?xùn)|與山西省臨汾市吉縣相接，是我國僅次于貴州省黃果樹瀑布的第二大瀑布，非常雄偉。

壺口還有美麗的傳說，壺口附近的衣錦村傳說為大禹娶妻成家的地方。大禹是大家都熟悉的，他奉舜命治理洪水。據(jù)說大禹治水，是從疏通壺口開始的，他領(lǐng)著大家劈孟門、鑿龍門，在13年的治水工作中，曾留下“三過家門而不入”的美談。據(jù)后人記載，他領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人民疏通江河，興修溝渠，發(fā)展農(nóng)業(yè)。后因治水有功，被舜選為繼承人，舜死后，擔(dān)任部落聯(lián)盟領(lǐng)袖。傳說他曾鑄九鼎。其子啟建立夏朝，為中國歷史上第一個奴隸制國家。

壺口瀑布有許多奇特景觀。煙從水底生，船在旱地行，未霧彩虹舞，晴空雨濛濛。瀑布湍流急下，激起的水霧騰空而起，恰似水底冒出滾滾濃煙，十?dāng)?shù)里外便可望見。

升騰而起的水霧，經(jīng)陽光折射因不同角度而形成各種彩虹，有時呈弧形，從天際插入水中，似長龍戲水；有時像彩帶橫貫水中，猶虹橋臥波；有時在籠煙騰霧中出現(xiàn)錦團(tuán)彩簇，瞬息萬變，飄忽不定，奇異迷離。水底懸流激蕩，發(fā)出巨大聲響如轟天驚雷，聲傳數(shù)十里。

壺口瀑布隨著季節(jié)變化而呈現(xiàn)出不同景色。春季，冰地解凍，冰凌拋落，如山崩地裂，似炮轟雷鳴。夏、秋季節(jié)，雨水頗多，洪水洶涌，濁浪排空，瀑布寬達(dá)百米，方圓數(shù)十里水氣遮天，氣勢磅礴。冬季，冰封雪凍，瀑布掛滿冰凌，銀裝素裹，分外妖嬈。

壺口兩岸，蒼山挾持，萬里黃河至此，河床由300多米寬突然收縮到50多米，浩渺的黃河水驟然收成一束，從30多米落差的黃河壺口飛流直下，奔瀉于十里龍槽。因其形狀似一把壺的壺嘴，故而得名。壺口瀑布?xì)鈩輭延^，周圍自然景觀奇特，為國家級風(fēng)景名勝區(qū)。還有大家每天都會看到的面值50元人民幣的畫面上那翻江倒海、奔騰跌瀉、氣勢磅礴的壯觀景象，就是黃河壺口瀑布。

Today we will go to visit the Hukou Waterfall. It's a long trip，but I assure you won't be disappointed.

Lying along the Qin and Jin Gorge in the middle of the Yellow River，the western bank of the Hukou Waterfall belongs to Hukou Township of Yichuan County，Shaanxi Province while the eastern side joins Jixian County，Shanxi Province.It is the 2nd largest waterfall in China，next only to the Huangguoshu Waterfall in Guizhou Province.It is very grand.

There is a beautiful legend.It is said that Yijing Village，located somewhere by the Hu－kou Water fall，is the place where Yu the Great married a girl and made his home.Yu the Great was assigned by Shun to tame floods.It is said that Yu the Great started to tame the floods by dredging waterways in the area of Hukou.Under his leadership the people opened up the Meng Gorge by digging through the Dragon Gate.During some 13 years of hard work in subduing floods he left on the lips of the people the praise that“for three times he passed the gate of his house without entering it”.According to records jotted down by later authors he lead the people and worked hard to dredge ri－vers and dig waterways to drain away floods and channeled water into fields for irrigation，helping to develop agriculture.Later he was selected by Shun to be his successor.He won the honor by taming the big floods.After Shun pas sed away he succeeded him as the Chieftain of the League of Tribes.It is said he ever forged the Nine Tripods in China.His son Qi later established the Xia Dynasty，the first slave society in Chinese histo ry.

The Hukou Waterfall features many fascinating waterscapes.For instance，a smoke－like mist rising from the bottom of the water.While the boat is moving near dry land，you'll see rain－drops on a fine day and rainbows without haze or mist.When the torrential waterfall rushes down，it strikes up a mist to rise into the sky.This looks very much like thick smoke rising up from underwater.You can see the mist even at a distance of some five kilometers.

When the mist rises into the sky，it refracts the sunshine in different ways，forming various shapes of a rainbow in the air.Sometimes it is shaped like an arc plunging from the sky directly down into the water.It seems to be a long dragon playing above the water；and sometimes it looks like a colored ribbon lying over waves.At other times there appear from among the thick mists piles of silk brocades.The sudden change of the waterscape presents no fixed form，making you feel strange and puzzled.The suspended waterfall cascading and splash－ing produces loud roars like peals of thunder in the sky.They can be heard at a distance of several kilometers away.

The Hukou Waterfall presents different scenes along with the changing of seasons.In spring when the ice begins to thaw，there are icicles falling down cracking as though they were breaking up the mountain and the earth or the rumbling of guns and peals of thunder.In the rainy season of summer，the torrents of water rush on with yellow waves rising into the air，the waterfall extending as wide as 100 meters with a mist to be seen over an area of a dozen kilometers.The winter brings ice and snow to the area and the waterfall is decorated with myriads of icicles.Clad in silvery white the area becomes even more charming and fascinating.

Both banks of the Hukou are flanked by green mountains.The Yellow River，arriving here suddenly shrinks from some 300 meters to around 50 meters，guiding the pools of the Yellow River water into a narrow gorge and rush－ing abruptly down from30 meters into the gorge below.The torrential water runs along a water－channel of five kilometer long to the lower reaches.The water－channel looks very much like the mouth of a pot，hence the derivation of the name“Hukou”.Bearing a magnificent momentum the Hukou Waterfall enjoys a marvelous natural landscape all around.It is listed as a famous scenic area. You can find a picture of a waterfall on the face of a 50－yuan note.It is the Hukou Waterfall of the Yellow River.

快樂旅途

驚　喜

A Pleasant Surprise

我朋友有很長一段時間一直想在廚房添置一些新櫥柜，但她丈夫堅持說這是鋪張浪費。她去娘家過了兩周，回到家里時，發(fā)現(xiàn)廚房里新添置了漂亮的櫥柜，這令她喜出望外。

幾天后，鄰居來拜訪我朋友。欣賞了新櫥柜后，鄰居說：“你不在家的時候，你丈夫弄得廚房失了火。我們都深感慶幸只是廚房遭了殃?！?/p>

A friend of mine had been wanting new kitchen cabinets for a long time，but her husband insisted they were an extravagance.She went to visit her mother for two weeks，and when she returned，she was overjoyed to find that beautiful new cabinets had been installed.

A few days later a neighbor came over to visit my friend.After admiring the new cabinets，the neighbor added，“All of us were so glad that the fire your husband started while you were gone was confined to the kitchen.”