壶口瀑布游览路程有些远但是绝对不会让大家失望

The Hukou Waterfall

今天我们去壶口瀑布游览，路程有些远，但是绝对不会让大家失望的。

壶口瀑布位于黄河中游秦晋峡谷之中，河西属陕西省延安市宜川县壶口乡，河东与山西省临汾市吉县相接，是我国仅次于贵州省黄果树瀑布的第二大瀑布，非常雄伟。

壶口还有美丽的传说，壶口附近的衣锦村传说为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。据说大禹治水，是从疏通壶口开始的，他领着大家劈孟门、凿龙门，在13年的治水工作中，曾留下“三过家门而不入”的美谈。据后人记载，他领导人民疏通江河，兴修沟渠，发展农业。后因治水有功，被舜选为继承人，舜死后，担任部落联盟领袖。传说他曾铸九鼎。其子启建立夏朝，为中国历史上第一个奴隶制国家。

壶口瀑布有许多奇特景观。烟从水底生，船在旱地行，未雾彩虹舞，晴空雨濛濛。瀑布湍流急下，激起的水雾腾空而起，恰似水底冒出滚滚浓烟，十数里外便可望见。

升腾而起的水雾，经阳光折射因不同角度而形成各种彩虹，有时呈弧形，从天际插入水中，似长龙戏水；有时像彩带横贯水中，犹虹桥卧波；有时在笼烟腾雾中出现锦团彩簇，瞬息万变，飘忽不定，奇异迷离。水底悬流激荡，发出巨大声响如轰天惊雷，声传数十里。

壶口瀑布随着季节变化而呈现出不同景色。春季，冰地解冻，冰凌抛落，如山崩地裂，似炮轰雷鸣。夏、秋季节，雨水颇多，洪水汹涌，浊浪排空，瀑布宽达百米，方圆数十里水气遮天，气势磅礴。冬季，冰封雪冻，瀑布挂满冰凌，银装素裹，分外妖娆。

壶口两岸，苍山挟持，万里黄河至此，河床由300多米宽突然收缩到50多米，浩渺的黄河水骤然收成一束，从30多米落差的黄河壶口飞流直下，奔泻于十里龙槽。因其形状似一把壶的壶嘴，故而得名。壶口瀑布气势壮观，周围自然景观奇特，为国家级风景名胜区。还有大家每天都会看到的面值50元人民币的画面上那翻江倒海、奔腾跌泻、气势磅礴的壮观景象，就是黄河壶口瀑布。

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.

快乐旅途

惊　喜

A Pleasant Surprise

我朋友有很长一段时间一直想在厨房添置一些新橱柜，但她丈夫坚持说这是铺张浪费。她去娘家过了两周，回到家里时，发现厨房里新添置了漂亮的橱柜，这令她喜出望外。

几天后，邻居来拜访我朋友。欣赏了新橱柜后，邻居说：“你不在家的时候，你丈夫弄得厨房失了火。我们都深感庆幸只是厨房遭了殃。”

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.”