爬「桌山」Beauty and wonder are served on nature’s largest table by Chelsea Ewald
Africa has long been known for its breathtaking scenery and spectacular wildlife. From wild jungles and vast deserts to Mount Kilimanjaro and Victoria Falls, Africa boasts immense beauty. Table Mountain is no exception. Located in South Africa, the continent's southernmost country, this landmark mountain beckons locals and tourists alike.
What you should see
Table Mountain gets its name from its unique table-like form. From the top of this three-kilometer-long plateau, one can enjoy spectacular views of Cape Town and the surrounding Atlantic Ocean waters. While there, visitors can also admire the wide variety of plants and flowers that encircle the mountain. It is, after all, one of the richest areas for plants in the world.
While there, visitors can also admire the wide variety of plants and flowers that encircle the mountain. It is, after all, one of the richest areas for plants in the world. Approximately 1,470 plant species grow around the mountain and make their way up its slopes. That's more species than are found in the British Isles or New Zealand! But tourists should heed advice about visiting Table Mountain on a sunny day. Otherwise, its famous "tablecloth"- a dense fog that rolls over the mountain's sides-may obstruct the beautiful scenery.
How you can get there
Not many mountains in the world are found in such close proximity to an urban area. Because Table Mountain is so easily accessible from Cape Town, thousands of tourists make their way to the mountain each day.
Adventurous visitors can opt to climb up the mountain. The hike up takes a minimum of three hours to complete and should only be attempted by those who are physically fit. Due to the mountain's steep slopes, the climb presents many challenges, and every year fatal accidents occur when people become careless.
The most popular and safest way to ascend to the summit is via the Cableway. It first began operating in 1929 and has carried over 20 million tourists safely to the top. Each modern cable car holds up to 65 people and rotates 360 degrees as it climbs to the summit. This ensures visitors a panoramic view. Riding the Cableway is much quicker than climbing. Instead of a three-hour hike, the Cableway takes less than ten minutes!
Why you should go
Table Mountain is simply stunning. Its amazing views, unique shape and prime location have been recognized and admired by South Africans for years. Likewise, tourists travel thousands of miles across multiple continents to experience this masterpiece of nature firsthand. The mountain is so spectacular, in fact, that it is the only earthly feature to lend its name to a constellation.
French astronomer Abbe Nicholas Louis de Lacaille discovered a table-like formation while surveying the southern skies in South Africa in 1754. Since the stars resembled Table Mountain, de Lacaile appropriately named the constellation Mensa-meaning the Table Mountain. Today, the world has an opportunity to recognize Table Mountain as one of the planet's seven greatest natural wonders.
The landmark mountain is currently one of 28 finalists in the New7Wonders of Nature competition. Over 1 billion people are expected to participate in naming the winners of this prestigious title. Whether the mountain is selected as a winner or not, this nature-made table will continue to impress for years to come.
Grammar Tips:
Not many mountains in the world are found in such close proximity to an urban area.
Same meaning as "There aren't many mountains in the world that are close to urban areas."
"Not many things are found..."-is a very useful sentence patent for using on "uncommon" situation.
Not many vendors are found to be honest, so if you want to buy a souvenir here, you need to be careful.
Mr. Wang wants to hire new workers because not many of his employees are found to be dependable.
"found" ="known" , both changeable.
Not many cats are known to like water except for big cats like tigers and jaguars.
In this remote mountain village, not many people are known to have an education beyond primary school.
Vocabulary Tips:
plateau-高原，或是上升后的穩定階段或是水準。
*Tourists can enjoy the view of the whole island from the top of the plateau.
*Company sales remained at a plateau for a year, and then suddenly declined drastically.很快的滑下來
heed-留心，或聼從 pay attention, listen to.
*Brenda heeds her mother's advice to keep herself away from the bad students at school.
*Farmers heeded the warning about a severe snowstorm and kept their cattle inside.
obstruct-1，遮住或擋住。2。阻礙或妨礙 ob-“反對”之意 struct-建造
*The new building obstructs our view of the park.
*He was charged with a crime because he obstructed the police investigation.
encircle- go around something
proximity-臨近，靠近
*Proximity to medical facilities is crucial for elderly people.
*One of the strengths of the shopping mall is its proximity to the subway.
*All of Susan's family members live in close proximity to each other.
ascend-攀登，登高，升上去moving up, moving upward.
*The mountaineers slowly ascended toward the top of the mountain because of the bad weather. descend-下降，下來。move downward.
*The plane descended to 5000 feet to prepare for landing.
ensure-確保，保證。en-使如何。。如何sure-確定肯定。promise to having something.
*Safety procedures are designed to ensure the safety of passengers.程序
*The contract was signed to ensure both parties fulfill their obligations.完成。責任
rotate- 繞一圈，替換
fatal-anything cause "death" will be "fatal".
masterpiece-傑作，名作master-大師piece-作品
*"Starry Night" is one of Van Gogh's masterpieces. “星空”
*Critics called the novelist's latest work her masterpiece.書評們。。
formations (n) -結構，構成無 form -構成的。形成，或是形態
*The kids were looking at the spectacular cloud formations before the rainstorm.
*The rock formations in this area are quite unique. Many photographers come here to take pictures.
appropriately (adv)-合適地，恰當地appropriate (adj)（-恰當的，合適的。
*Gina always dresses appropriately for all occasions. 任何時候
*Children should be taught how to express their emotions appropriately.如何適當的表達情緒。
Chat Room:
water-(原為不可數名詞）
waters- 當指（1）領海，海域時 （2）或是某個湖，某條河，某海洋的水，（3）或是瓶裝的礦泉水，餐廳裏要兩杯水，都要加"s" 成“可數名詞”
Japanese waters-日本水域
the surrounding Atlantic Ocean waters-大西洋中的水（很詩意的説法）
two waters- 二瓶裝水，二杯清水。
Still waters run deep-平靜的水流的深，不管海底下如何翻騰，水面平穩。意即中國人所謂的“人不可貌相”“海水不可斗量”。 or means :"says a little, may effect a lot".
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Mountain climbing-登山，需有全套重裝備，一去就是三，五天，或是好幾個禮拜。通常只有mountaineers 去登山。
mountaineers-專業的登山員。
hiking-爬山。（一天或半天的爬山，走山坡小徑等）
hiking in the mountains or
climb a mountain-都是通常所謂的“爬山”。
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simply-簡單的，確實的,的確地,真正地 completely, absolutely.
Table Mountain is simply stunning.-確實地
It was simply delicious.-的確
simply put-簡單地說,簡而言之, conclusion
simple/simplistic-simple is 簡單,單純 / simplistic is 過分簡化,過分簡單,但有負面的意味較多.
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