英语博客：Hold on while you sled!

　　Have you ever been sledding? In places where it is snowy, I think it is a great thing to do. In a way it is as good as, or even better than skiing; I'll tell you why. First of all, you don't need any skill at all to sled. Secondly¹, if it is speed that you love, you can easily find a way to meet your need for speed. Thirdly, there is no expense involved, and hardly any equipment at all. The best kind of sledding I have ever done was on an inner tube. An inner tube is a circular tube that is made of rubber, and made to go inside a wheel. It is very bouncy and comfortable to sit on, and protects you from landing hard on the ground. A few years ago, I went sledding with my brother who had come over from New Zealand for a visit. We took an inner tube up to Mission Ridge², which is the ski resort of this town. We found an empty slope that went through a bit of the forest and up an embankment. It was safe, secluded³, and provided an easy way to slow down at the end. Perfect. On the way up there, I stopped at Goodwill⁴ to pick up a second hand pair of ski pants, as I didn't have any. Once we were both ready, we set off, and within about twenty minutes we were out of the car, and scoping out the area for the best place to sled. Now, my brother is a very big guy, tall, broad, and much heavier than me. He made the first few runs. His big body on the big inner tube smoothed the snow down perfectly⁵, making a track for us to use. It was so much fun. We laughed our heads off. The best runs were when we went together. Because of our combined weight, we picked up tremendous speed, and literally⁶ flew over the bumps on the track. Oh, I forgot to add a fourth reason to sled; you do actually do a lot of exercise. Once you have reached the bottom, you have to pull your inner tube back up to the top of the hill again, and again, and again. By the end of the day, we were exhausted⁷, not only from the exercise, but also from all the laughter.
Grammar notes.
Some common turns of phrase: to laugh one's head off, to work one's rear end off, to talk someone's leg off.
1. The comedian⁸ was very clever; we laughed our heads off for a whole hour.
2. You must have worked your rear end off to get the whole house clean in one hour!
3. My neighbor is a lovely friend, but she'll talk your leg off if you're not careful.

1 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

2 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

• We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
• The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。

3 secluded   

adj.与世隔绝的；隐退的；偏僻的v.使隔开，使隐退( seclude的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• Some people like to strip themselves naked while they have a swim in a secluded place. 一些人当他们在隐蔽的地方游泳时，喜欢把衣服脱光。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This charming cottage dates back to the 15th century and is as pretty as a picture, with its thatched roof and secluded garden. 这所美丽的村舍是15世纪时的建筑，有茅草房顶和宁静的花园，漂亮极了，简直和画上一样。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

5 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

6 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

7 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

8 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。