"Country Roads, Take Me Home"

“Almost Heaven, West Virginia, Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River”
《鄉間小路帶我回家》  - 「宛如天堂，西維吉尼亞，藍嶺山脈，仙納度河」

Fall is probably the most beautiful season of the year. The cooler temperatures make it perfect for people to enjoy nature. For Asians, Moon Festival makes autumn a unique season. But here, not much attention is given to Moon Festival. Instead, Americans appreciate this season in a different way.

As the tree leaves change color, it is time for a fall leaf tour. One of North America's most popular spots is Shenandoah National park. John Denver described it in his song "Take Me Home Country Roads" Skyline Drive, which runs through the park attracts over 2 million visitors every year. They go to admire the fall leaves. Like most leaf peepers, we left early on a Saturday. A long line of cars was already waiting to enter the park. We drove at a leisurely pace and enjoyed the gold, orange and red leaves.

Overlooks provided places to take pictures. Around bends, valleys of different shapes of colors caught our eye. After leaving Skyline Drive, we visited a well-known cave, Luray Caverns, Found in 1878, this cave is one of the most spectacular caves in the world. We were amazed by the limestone shapes inside. The most famous one is the world's largest musical instrument, the Great "Stalacpipe" Organ. Fortunately, we were able to hear a piece of music.

Other famous formations include Dream Lake, Totem Poles and Saracen's Tent. Dream Lake is a mirror-like surface which reflects the stalactites above the lake. To Totem Poles are columns of various shapes and colors. Saracen's Tent is considered the best well-formed drapery in the world. Walking around this underground natural wonder is an unforgettable experience.

On the way back home, we rolled down the widows and enjoyed the autumn breeze. Suddenly, the winding road looked like the road we had often taken on Yang-Ming mountain in Taipei. As the song says, these country roads are taking me home - to the place I belong!

Grammar gym:
to run - how something long and skinny goes through an area.
A river runs through the middle of the jungle.
The power lines run along the east side of the building.

Vocabulary Tips:
unique - different from others, very special. 独一无二的，唯一的，独特的。
*The region has its own unique dialect and customs.
*The jazz singer's unique voice is very charming.
uniqueness (n) -独特的
*Each student's uniqueness should be recognized and respected.
instead -取代。代替。
*After winning the lottery, Jonah didn't quit his job, instead, he has kept working at the same company.
instead of -replace this for something else.
*Margret got laid off, but instead of feeling down, she went on a vacation.
admire - really enjoy or respectful.
*We stood in front of the waterfall admiring the view.
*The general's character and courage is greatly admired by his colleague.
shade - type of color, light or dark or some other different color.同一色彩的不同层度上的明暗，深浅。
*The designer used different shades of pink on the gown.
*There're over 100 shades of eye color on display.
shade -树阴。
*We stood in the shade of the tree.
amaze - 使惊叹，使惊奇，
*The little girl's singing talent amazed not only the audience but also the judges.
amazing (adj) -令人惊讶的，惊奇的。
*The movie's amazing special effects were created by an award-winning team.
formation -结构形态。
form -形成。
*Timmy loves to study the formations of the clouds. 云层的结构形态。
formation -事物的形成。
*The formation of a child's personality is strongly affected by his family and friends.
column - round post. 圆形柱子。
*The marble columns of the building were delicately carved.
column -（印刷）栏，行。
*Each page of the brochure has two columns.
column - 报纸，杂志的专栏。
*This fashion column is quite popular among female readers.
breeze -微风。
*You can feel a cool summer breeze blowing in the valley.
breeze -轻松的随意缓慢的。。。
*Alex breezed into our meeting as if he were the one who called the shots.轻松的随意的慢慢的走入。。。一副他是当家作主的（洋子）
peep - secretly take a look at something - 偷窥。
as..... - 古人云；有人说。


Language Tips:
leaf peeper -观赏叶子。
peep -偷窥
gaze - 凝视，
stare -眼盯着看。
leaf / peep -因为leaf 和 peep，leaf peep， leaf peeper 唸起来较顺口，所以用peep，而不用leaf gaze,stare or look. - bird watching.
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命其名（取名）：
Skyline Drive -city of buildings are tall, reach to the sky, we call it skyline, here it refers to the road on high land, drive on it feel like very close to the sky, so call it Skyline Drive.
Dream Lake - 当然，Dream Lake想必是因为湖有着像梦幻般的美景。
Totem Poles -圆柱上有图腾，而命名为‘图腾柱’。



Notes taking of StudioClassroom