英语博客(A cup of English):090 Travelling Sculptures.

　　Beginners.
For a few years, the city of Wenatchee has been introducing sculptures to the towns people. Every now and then, as I am walking along, I will see a new one. Some of them have been bought by the local council, but others are on loan; they will be in our town for a few months, and then go to another town for a while. It is a great idea. It is also something that is quite unexpected. As you are driving along, or walking through a park, you can randomly¹ see very unusual and often beautiful sculptures. The most recent one that I noticed in a local park is a humming bird. It is appropriate for this area as we have lots of those birds in the summer months. If you have enough of the right kinds of flowers and bushes, you will certainly have a tiny, winged visitor come into your garden. I have a butterfly bush which gets big every year. They love it. If you are very still and quiet, you can sit and watch this little, beautiful creature dart² from one flower to another. Its wings beat so fast that you can't even see them. It is like a visit from a fairy; it's quite magical.
Grammar notes.
Verbs in present and past continuous:
Exs:
They have been introducing art into the community.
She is wanting to find a second hand car; new ones are too expensive.
I (had been) was hoping to find a job immediately, but it took longer.
Advanced.
The other day, I went for a walk in the local park called Walla Walla. An interesting name, isn't it? It is actually the name of a town that is somewhere in this state, but quite far from here. It sounds as if it might be a native american indian name. Wenatchee is one of those names. Before settlers came this far west, there was a tribe of native american indians called the Wenatchi tribe. They lived nearby this desert valley, surviving on fish and mountain animals, such as deer, and smaller mamals. The Columbia river provided their water needs. Infact, the name Wenatchi means 'River that comes from canyons³.' When the settlers came here, the indians were unfortunately dispersed⁵, and, I believe, their tribe no longer exists. However, all over this state, you can find special land reserves for the tribes that still exist. There are also many museums, statues, and relics⁶ dedicated⁷ to the many different indian tribes of this state. In the nearby town of Cashmere, there is a museum with bone tools that are eleven thousand years old, showing that natives or nomadic⁸ tribes spent time here during the last ice age. There is another city, about an hour and a half away, that has a very native sounding name: Yakima. I think the original name had an accent, or an emphasis on the 'i', so the original word sounds like Yakima. It's fascinating what a name can reveal, isn't it?
Grammar notes.
Useful vocabulary: settlers, tribe, native, to disperse⁴, reserve, nearby.
Exs:
Many of the European settlers didn't know how to survive. They had to rely on help from the indians.
Their family is so big, it looks like a tribe.
She is a native of Norway.
The seeds of the plant disperse and become new plants quickly.
Just down the road from us is a nature reserve.
We don't have Italian restaurants in this town; there are two, though, in a nearby town.

1 randomly   

adv.随便地，未加计划地

参考例句：

• Within the hot gas chamber, molecules are moving randomly in all directions. 在灼热的气体燃烧室内，分子在各个方向上作无规运动。 来自辞典例句
• Transformed cells are loosely attached, rounded and randomly oriented. 转化细胞则不大贴壁、圆缩并呈杂乱分布。 来自辞典例句

2 dart   

v.猛冲，投掷；n.飞镖，猛冲

参考例句：

• The child made a sudden dart across the road.那小孩突然冲过马路。
• Markov died after being struck by a poison dart.马尔科夫身中毒镖而亡。

3 canyons   

n.峡谷( canyon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This mountain range has many high peaks and deep canyons. 这条山脉有许多高峰和深谷。 来自辞典例句
• Do you use canyons or do we preserve them all? 是使用峡谷呢还是全封闭保存？ 来自互联网

4 disperse   

vi.使分散；使消失；vt.分散；驱散

参考例句：

• The cattle were swinging their tails to disperse the flies.那些牛甩动着尾巴驱赶苍蝇。
• The children disperse for the holidays.孩子们放假了。

5 dispersed   

adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的

参考例句：

• The clouds dispersed themselves. 云散了。
• After school the children dispersed to their homes. 放学后，孩子们四散回家了。

6 relics   

[pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸

参考例句：

• The area is a treasure house of archaeological relics. 这个地区是古文物遗迹的宝库。
• Xi'an is an ancient city full of treasures and saintly relics. 西安是一个有很多宝藏和神圣的遗物的古老城市。

7 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

8 nomadic   

adj.流浪的；游牧的

参考例句：

• This tribe still live a nomadic life.这个民族仍然过着游牧生活。
• The plowing culture and the nomadic culture are two traditional principal cultures in China.农耕文化与游牧文化是我国传统的两大主体文化。