英语博客：Watermelon eating competition.

 Are you enjoying your Summer? It is in full swing now. The clothes shops are full of swimming suits, bikinis, and barbecue equipment. Flowers are out, and most families find a swimming pool to enjoy. There were end of year celebrations for schools, held in parks around the area. We went to the end of year barbecue for the alternative school that two of my sons have been going to for about six months. It took place in a well manicured park that is next to our nearest dam, Rocky Reach Dam. There are covered seating areas with sinks, tables, and chairs, for picnickers. There is also a large playing area for younger children, to keep them occupied. Each family was asked to bring a plate or two of food to share, and if possible, watermelon. It was hot when we got there, and there were already lots of young people running around in swimming suits, having water fights. The atmosphere was generally laid back, with most people eventually sitting on the grass in groups, eating, and chatting. When most of the food had been eaten, a whistle was blown, and there was a call for all participants of the watermelon eating competition to sit down and get ready. Several ladies had been busily slicing up the melons for quite a while. They piled all of the slices and pieces into plates, and servers gave each of the children a slice. The rule was, nobody could use hands; they had to be behind your back. Three, two, one, and off they went, *chomping away on the juicy stuff². As soon as a person finished one slice, he would call for another, and keep score of how many he had eaten. It was the only time in the get-together³ that it was actually quiet! And then, when all the watermelon was gone, there was a quick *tally⁴ of those who had eated the most. And the prize? A watermelon! No, I'm only kidding. I don't actually know what the prize was, but it must have been something good, because the winner and both *runners up were very excited about it. As you can imagine, there was a huge, sticky⁶ mess to clean up afterwards. Luckily, with concrete floors, you can just hose⁵ the place with water. When we finally left, the kids were *worn out. It had been an exciting day, and a hot one too. I could hear people saying goodbye as we pulled out of the parking lot. Some of the kids won't see eachother for a while because they will be travelling. They'll be excited to see eachother in September, and have stories of the Summer to share.

 

Grammar notes.

 

Related⁷ sayings: to chomp¹, a tally, a runner up, to be worn out.

 

1. The pig chomped⁸ on the vegetables, making a lot of noise.

 

2. When we finished playing monopoly⁹, we tallied¹⁰ each person's gains to find out who owned the most property.

 

3. He wasn't first place in the race, but he was a runner-up, so he received a medal.

 

4. The hikers had been lost for two days, and had walked the whole time. They were completely worn out, by the time they reached safety.

1 chomp   

v. （人、动物进食时）大声地咬，嚼得很响

参考例句：

• I lost a tooth while chomping on a French baguette!我啃法棍面包时，崩掉了一颗牙！
• They just chomp on tundra, nap a few hours and feast again.它们只是在苔原上大嚼特嚼，睡上几小时，接着再吃。

2 stuff   

n.原料，材料，东西；vt.填满；吃饱

参考例句：

• We could supply you with the stuff in the raw tomorrow.明天我们可以供应你原材料。
• He is not the stuff.他不是这个材料。

3 get-together   

n.(使)聚集；(使)集合

参考例句：

• Well,Miss Huang,we are planning to have a casual get-together.嗯，黄小姐，我们打算大家小聚一番。
• Will you help me prepare for the get- together of the old classmates?你能否帮我为这次老同学聚会做好准备工作？

4 tally   

n.计数器，记分，一致，测量；vt.计算，记录，使一致；vi.计算，记分，一致

参考例句：

• Don't forget to keep a careful tally of what you spend.别忘了仔细记下你的开支账目。
• The facts mentioned in the report tally to every detail.报告中所提到的事实都丝毫不差。

5 hose   

n.输水软管，长统袜；vt.浇园子，用管冲洗

参考例句：

• Connect the hose to the tap and turn on the tap.把水管接在龙头上，打开水龙头。
• After raining,I always hose the yard out.雨后，我总是用软管把院子冲干净。

6 sticky   

adj.粘的，闷热的，困难的，令人不满意的

参考例句：

• This paste is not sticky enough.这糨糊不黏。
• Here is a sticky business!这事真难办！

7 related   

adj.有关系的，有关联的，叙述的，讲述的

参考例句：

• I am not related to him in any way.我和他无任何关系。
• We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。

8 chomped   

v.切齿，格格地咬牙，咬响牙齿( chomp的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He chomped his way through two hot dogs. 他呼哧呼哧地吃掉了两个热狗。
• The boy chomped his sandwich. 这个男孩大口嚼着三明治。 来自互联网

9 monopoly   

n.垄断，专卖，垄断物（商品），专卖商品

参考例句：

• His monopoly of shipbuilding in that country has been established.他对那个国家造船业的垄断已经建立起来。
• In many countries,tobacco is a government monopoly.在许多国家，烟草由政府专营。

10 tallied   

v.计算，清点( tally的过去式和过去分词 )；加标签（或标记）于；（使）符合；（使）吻合

参考例句：

• The girl tallied them with her eyes for a moment. 新娘用目光把这些化妆品清点了一下。 来自教父部分
• His account of the accident tallied with hers. 他对事故的陈述和她的相吻合。 来自辞典例句