英语博客：Messing about on the water.

　　During the weekend, I took my two youngest children to the park. My youngest son had insisted for the best part of half a day, that we go fishing. It's not exactly the right season for catching¹ a fish, but for 'messing about on the water' it is just right. Anyone who, as a child, was able to take off his shoes and socks, and walk around in a stream or shallow lake, look at little fish and other creatures, and hunt for pretty rocks and shells, will know what 'messing about on the water' means. It's not about accomplishing anything at all. It's about enjoying the time together and the fine weather. I did a lot of messing around in streams when I was growing up. I used to live in a little town in the south west of England called Hatherleigh. It was rural, quiet, and very pretty. Because there wasn't much to do, as far as organised entertainment, us kids would get up to all sorts of things. We climbed trees, trekked² through the farmers' fields, and spent a lot of time down at the stream. I remember biking there with my friends, throwing my bike on the floor, and running down to the stream to hand catch fish called bull-heads. These cute, round headed, fresh water fish would hide under stones; we knew just where to find them. I would spend what seemed like hours, bent³ over, hands cupped in the water, ready to trap a little, wiggly bull-head. We would always let them go after feeling them wiggle in our hands for a few minutes. Gosh, thinking about it now, that was a loooong time ago! It was a time before household computers and cell phones, even before wearing bicycle helmets was a rule! My kids also love to do the same things; I think most kids do. "Oh, look Mum! Baby fish, lots of them, right over there!" Robert and Domini called out from the rocks. We didn't get to catch any fish in our hands, but there were plenty of baby trout⁴ to look at. We collected pretty rocks. We threw skimmers. Do you know what they are? To skim means to lightly touch the surface. So a skimmer is a very flat rock that you throw, that literally⁵ bounces a few times on the surface of the water. My son was able to practice casting his fishing line; he is quite an expert now at throwing the hook⁶ and float a long way out. When the fishing season is here, I plan to surprise him with an official license⁷, so he can catch a trout that is good enough for dinner.
Grammar notes.
Useful verbs and expressions: to insist, to accomplish, to trap, to skim.
1. They insisted that we stay for coffee; we didn't leave their house until midnight.
2. He accomplished⁸ his goal. After a year of studying, he got an 'A' on his final exam.
3. The fisherman trapped the fish in a net, but it wiggled and got out.
4. I skimmed the skin off of the custard that I made. You must do that before you serve it.

1 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

2 trekked   

v.艰苦跋涉，徒步旅行( trek的过去式和过去分词 )；（尤指在山中）远足，徒步旅行，游山玩水

参考例句：

• They trekked for three days along the banks of the Zambezi. 他们沿着赞比西河河岸跋涉了三天。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Six-man teams trekked through the woods, respectively for 72 to 96 hours. 6人一组的小分队，经过长途跋涉，穿过了森林，分别用72小时到96小时不等。 来自互联网

3 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

4 trout   

n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属)

参考例句：

• Thousands of young salmon and trout have been killed by the pollution.成千上万的鲑鱼和鳟鱼的鱼苗因污染而死亡。
• We hooked a trout and had it for breakfast.我们钓了一条鳟鱼，早饭时吃了。

5 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。

6 hook   

vt.钩住；n.钩子，钩状物

参考例句：

• The blacksmith forged a bar of iron into a hook.铁匠把一根铁条锻造成一个钩子。
• He hangs up his scarf on the hook behind the door.他把围巾挂在门后的衣钩上。

7 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

8 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。