英语杂谈：24 Jackson Hole - Part 1

This beautiful valley was named after the nineteenth-century explorer¹ and hunter David

Jackson. After he spent a winter in the area, his friends started to call it "Jackson's Hole."

The valley looks like a hole in the middle of the mountains that surround it. Over time, the name stuck.

Jackson Hole is about forty-eight kilometers long. The valley includes the town of
Jackson. About eight thousand people live there. The valley also includes the Grand² Teton National Park and much of the Bridger-Teton National Forest.
Jackson Hole is a popular holiday place. In the summer, people go there to ride horses, climb mountains, catch fish and take trips on the rivers and lakes.
Many visitors take a trip across the valley on the Snake River. The
Snake Indians once lived near this river. It turns from side to side, Bridger-Teton National like a snake on the move.
Some visitors bird-watch from sailboats. One of the birds they cansee is America's national symbol, the bald³ eagle. Other people go white-water rafting. Rubber rafts⁴ carry them along the fastest parts of the river. The water moves so fast, it becomes white with foam⁵.

In the winter, people come to Jackson Hole to ski⁶. Jackson Hole Mountain Resort⁷ provides some of the best downhill⁸ skiing⁹ and snowboarding in the world.
And there are other kinds of skiing. Some people skate ski; they speed across level snow. Others enjoy the slower speed of crosscountry skiing.
Some people go dog sledding in Jackson Hole. They get on a sled and are pulled by a team of dogs through the snow. This is one of the many ways to enjoy the extraordinary mountain views.
Some wealthy people have homes near the ski resort. Other people stay in the many hotels nearby. Some of these hotels arenew and very costly¹⁰.
In fact, the average sale price of a single-family home in Jackson Hole is more than one million dollars.
Visitors to Jackson Hole have many shopping, dining and entertainment choices.
People can imagine they are in a town in the Old West. At the Million Dollar Cowboy¹¹ Bar, instead of chairs, they can sit on saddles¹² as if riding a horse. On some nights there are dance lessons. People can learn the two-step, a kind of Western dance.
Or they can eat dinner and listen to live music at the Mangy Moose Saloon. There, a large dead moose hangs from the ceiling¹³.
At the Silver Dollar Bar, a long table is covered with more than two thousand shiny¹⁴ silver dollars. If you look carefully, you see that the coins are all from the year nineteen twenty-one.

Visitors can also enjoy an evening at the Jackson Hole Playhouse. In the summer, actors perform musicals and other plays. This brightly painted old theater is one of the oldest wood buildings in town. It has been a popular entertainment place since the nineteen fifties.

Some of the stores in Jackson Hole sell unusual things, like furniture made of deer antlers. Antlers are the hard and bony points that grow on the heads of male deer. These stores sell chairs, lights and other objects made from antlers. They look more like pointy sculptures¹⁵ than furniture.
Many stores in Jackson Hole sell winter sports equipment and clothing. Some sell cowboy clothing. C.J. James owns the Jackson Hole Hat Company. Her Web¹⁶ site describes the cowboy as a "symbol of American independence and strength."
She will sell you a cowboy hat made to fit the exact size of your head. There are many shapes, colors and materials to choose from.
 

1 explorer   

n.探险家，探测者

参考例句：

• His father is an Arctic explorer.他父亲是一位北极探险者。
• The explorer organized an expedition to the North Pole.那位考察者组织了一个去北极的探险队。

2 grand   

adj.豪华的，宏伟的，壮丽的，主要的，重大的；n.(美俚)一千美元

参考例句：

• The pianist played several pieces of music on a grand piano.钢琴家在一架大钢琴上弹了几首乐曲。
• Come on,I'll give you the grand tour of the backyard.跟我来，我带你去后院来一次盛大的旅游。

3 bald   

adj.秃头的；无发的或少发的

参考例句：

• He shaved his head bald.他把头发剃光了。
• The mountain is bald.这座山光秃秃的。

4 rafts   

木筏( raft的名词复数 )； 橡皮艇； 充气船； 大量

参考例句：

• Alexander's engineers built floating rafts for the heavy catapults. 亚历山大的工兵修建了浮动的筏子来运载沉重的弩炮。
• Rafts floated down the river. 木筏顺水漂浮。

5 foam   

v./n.泡沫，起泡沫

参考例句：

• The glass of beer was mostly foam.这杯啤酒大部分是泡沫。
• The surface of the water is full of foam.水面都是泡沫。

6 ski   

n.滑雪橇，滑雪板；vi.滑雪

参考例句：

• The ski is wooden.这滑雪板是木制的。
• Do you have the skill to ski such a difficult slope?你有沿着这样一个陡坡滑雪的本事吗？

7 resort   

n.凭借，手段，常去之地，胜地；vi.求助，诉诸，采取（某种手段等），常去

参考例句：

• He couldn't have passed the exam without resort to cheating.他要不是靠作弊是通不过这次考试的。
• Beidaihe is noted for its summer resort.北戴河以避暑胜地而著称。

8 downhill   

adj.下坡的，倾斜的；adv.往下，每况愈下

参考例句：

• Is Western society going downhill?西方社会是在走下坡路吗？
• This restaurant has definitely gone downhill since I last came here.从我上次来过之后，这家餐馆越来越糟。

9 skiing   

n.滑雪运动

参考例句：

• I'm a complete novice at skiing. 滑雪我完全是个新手。
• to go skiing 去滑雪

10 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

11 cowboy   

n.牛仔，牛郎，牧童

参考例句：

• I felt sure I had all the skills to be a cowboy.我确信自己具备当牛仔的一切本领。
• He loved to see cowboy movies.他爱看牛仔影片。

12 saddles   

马鞍( saddle的名词复数 )； （自行车或摩托车的）车座； （动物的）脊肉

参考例句：

• I'll tell you about it while Frank saddles the horse. 趁弗兰克给我备马的这会儿功夫，我把事情讲给你听吧。
• The interior pairs of cables will be supported on saddles. 当中的各对拉索支承在鞍座上。

13 ceiling   

n.天花板；(规定价格、工资等的)最高限额

参考例句：

• It took more or less a whole day to paint the ceiling.粉刷天花板用了将近一整天的时间。
• A fly is on the ceiling.一只苍蝇在天花板上。

14 shiny   

adj.有光泽的，发光的，辉煌的

参考例句：

• What shiny shoes you're wearing!你穿的鞋子擦得真亮啊！
• All the cups are clean and shiny.所有的杯子都很干净明亮。

15 sculptures   

n.雕刻( sculpture的名词复数 )；雕刻品；雕刻术；雕塑术

参考例句：

• She creates sculptures out of scrap materials. 她利用废旧材料进行雕塑创作。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He asked one of his helpers to borrow some hammers and tear down the Buddhist sculptures. 他吩咐帮手去借几个铁锤，让原先几座塑雕委曲一下。 来自汉英文学 - 现代散文

16 web   

n.网，蛛丝，蹼，织物，圈套，卷筒纸；vi.生蹼，形成网；vt.织蜘蛛网于，使落入圈套

参考例句：

• The spider weaves a web.蜘蛛织网。
• You mean the World Wide Web?你是说国际互联网？