You’ve never seen Hualien this way before!
搭熱氣球遊花蓮 -
I'd always wanted to visit Hualien. The city is one of Taiwan's most pleasant, known for spectacular Taroko Gorge. But on this trip my friends and I had another mission. We traveled there to participate in the county's first hot air balloon event.
In a flat, open field, two colorful balloons lay in a bundle under white cloth. All visitors watched a platform where a red flag was standing. A barrier between us and the sky, red meant the weather would not allow flight. Still, the balloons were laid out next to their baskets. Fans were first used to fill the balloons until they looked like huge sofas.
After that, burners on the baskets breathed fire to fill up the balloons with hot air. As they took shape, the balloons rose gradually to a standing position. Feeling no wind, we hoped that the red flag would soon be changed to a green one. Instead, a yellow flag was raised - proceed with care.
The first group boarded one balloon, which remained tied to the ground. Lifting off slowly, the white shape in motion was exciting to watch. Once it rose to a certain point, the wind suddenly started to carry it off. Many held their breath as it began to fall just as quickly. We soon relaxed as the balloon stabilized. After several minutes in the air, the balloon touched ground while a blue one rose.
Then we were told to make our way to the white balloon. We were about to experience a balloon flight for ourselves! We traded places with its passengers one by one to maintain the balloon's weight. Our pilot Tawin fired the burners, which caused us to tip rather than rise! The ground crew pulled the other side of the basket down. The balloon corrected itself, and we were off. Our spirits rose with the balloon as we gazed below.
Our view from the balloon can be summed up in one word - beautiful. Hualien's fields and mountain peaks shone bright green against the blue sky. And watching the people far below us was a relaxing moment in a busy day. The wind blew gently, causing us to sway a little from side to side.
While in the air, Tawin told us of some of his experiences. He even told us of a close call he had experienced in Malaysia. He had ballooned the world over, flying as high as eight or nine thousand feet. His shirt read "Hua Hin Ballooning," and he was indeed from Thailand.
The burners heat air inside the balloon to take it up. A rope can be pulled to release air from the balloon. But there are no controls for direction - you go where the wind blows. Though difficult to pilot, hot air balloons are easy to enjoy. In what seemed like a moment, we found ourselves back on the ground.
Vocabulary Tips:
mission - important task.重要的任务，使命。
*The ambassador has to accomplish a difficult mission in secret.
*Howard's team was sent on a rescue mission last night.
mission -使命，天职。
*Rick considers teaching to be his mission in life. 一生的使命。
participate - join the event. 参与，参加。
to participate in something - （不及物动词，加介系词 'in' .）
*Half of the factory's workers participated in the strike. 参与罢工活动。
participation (n) -参与
*We would like to see more participation from the fathers in these kinds of activities.
breathe (v) - taking and brew out the air from nose or mouth continually.呼吸
*We drove to the country to breathe some fresh air.呼吸新鲜空气。
breath (n) -呼吸
*She took a deep breath before diving into the pool.
proceed - go forward. in process.前往，进行，前往。 'pro' -‘向前’之意。
*All of the campaign's activities proceeded smoothly.
*The passengers of flight 018 should proceed to gate 12 for boarding.前往。。登机
burner(s) - gas burner. more than one burner.
took shape - come to the full shape of something.
gradually - not at once, take time to do it, over a period of time ...
remain (v) -保持，依然。
*Jason remains energetic and active even though he's over 70
*The building remained in tack after the severe earthquake.
remains (n) -残骸，遗迹。remain当名词要加s
*The remains of the crashed plane were quickly removed.
stabilize - 使稳定。
*The patient's heart rate stabilized after the injection.
*The government tried to stabilize the stock market but failed.
stable (adj) - 稳定。
*Harry doesn't have a stable income.
fire (n) -火
fire (v) -点燃，引爆，开火。
*The policeman fired his gun at the robber who was attacking him.
*The engine finally fired up, and we moved on.
fire (v) -解雇。
*Dave was fired for his frequent tardiness.
gaze (v) - looking,take things in by eyes.凝视，注视。
*A little girl stood in front of the window, gazing at a beautiful doll.
gaze (n) -凝视，注视 （不及物动词+ 介系词 at +受词）
*That man's gaze made me feel very uncomfortable.
carry off - move, unexpected to leave...
hold one's breath - held breath, not breath.
rise /rose -上升
one by one - 一个接着一个。
traded places with its passengers one by one - one passenger gets out, and one gets in.
one on one - 一对一。
sum up - summarize, make a long story short. 总结。将某情况或讨论作总结
sum - summed/ summing.
*The best way of summing up our new management system is to say it is 'an absolute disaster'.
sway -move back and forth, front and back, side to side.前后或左右摇晃。摇曳。
*the heavy rainstorm made the ship sway from side to side.
*We joined hands and swayed back and forth.
sway -动摇，影响。
*Eric was swayed by his friends and decided to quit school.
release -释放，释出。
*The device can help release heat when the engine is overheating.
*The toxic waste was released into the sewers without being processed.
release - 释出，出院，允许离开。
*The suspect was released after interrogation.侦讯。
pilot (n) -a person who operate or control a aircraft.. 飞行员，引航员。
*The airline pilot was trained in Britain.
pilot (v) -direct or operate.驾驶，领航。
*He piloted his private jet all the way to San Francisco.
fire breath into the balloon - balloon filled up by the air of fire.
the world over - around the world.
bird-eye view - look down and view at a high place like the bird fly on the high sky looking down.
contrast of two different things. - two different things are against each other.
find yourself somewhere - noticed you are in a place where you know or you dreamed or planed before.
Grammar Gym:
Though he clearly enjoyed his job, he told us of a close call in Malaysia.
'close call' - a dangerous situation that somebody almost did not escape from. 有着‘几乎就没命了’之意。
That was a close call! (when you escape from a severe accident)
Language Tips:
lay/lie /laid - 放，躺，被放在。。
lie -平躺着，平放着，强调处于休止，休闲，休息的状态。（不及物v）
lie around - 闲置着，放置着，休止状态，不被使用的意思。东西停放在某处。
lying around -人休假，悠闲的躺在沙发椅上看电视。不用上班。
lay -放东西在某个面上。（及物v + 受词）
laid - lay 的过去式。
lay a book on the table. (not put it away) -顺手把书放在桌上。
a book is lying on the table.书躺放在桌上。
laid out next to their baskets.被放（摆）在。。。旁。
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英文中不可小看 ：preposition -介系词 / article -冠词
有关"air" 的片语：
in the air - 在空中。
on the air -（指广播），在空中。
on air - walking on air. 飘飘然，很开心，心情愉快的。通常与"walk" 一起用。
Ever since she met Derek, she's been walking on air.
up in the air -悬而不决的，还未作决定的。
My plans are still up in the air.还未作决定的。
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hot air balloons - 热气球。
hot air -热气。也指 '爱说大话，夸张，空洞的话‘。
His promises turned out to be a lot of hot air. 他的保证到头来是一大堆夸张，空洞，不实的大话。
full of hot air - 形容一个人爱说大话，夸张，空洞的话。
a blowhard -你也可以称这爱说大话，夸张，空洞不实话的人或总向你吹嘘他多有钱的人为 a blowhard.
Taking notes of StudyClassroom.
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