英语博客：When will she arrive?

 　　Waiting, waiting, waiting. It's difficult to do sometimes. I found myself waiting a couple of weeks ago at Seattle International Airport. My sister and my two nephews were coming for a two week visit, so I made the three hour drive over the mountains to pick them up. I don't often go to Seattle, but I love to. It's a gorgeous¹ place, if you like forests, the sea, and modern buildings. So, I take any opportunity I can to drive there. The airport is actually outside of Seattle, half way between Seattle and Tacoma, and is therefore called Sea-tac airport. It is a smart, modern facility that, believe it or not(1), smells of coffee. How wonderful! You might think that I'm joking, but it's true. You know that Seattle is where Starbucks started, and Seattle is known for being the coffee capital of the U.S. In fact, it has more coffee houses per 100,000 residents than the U.S. has overall(2). So, even the airport is fully² equipped with coffee all over the place. While I waited for my sister to arrive, I found myself(3)at one of the many coffee shops. I bought my soy latte, and wandered around a magazine shop. The plane had come in on time, there was no delay(4). However, because the flight was an international one, my sister and her boys had to go through immigration(4) and customs(4). That is a time consuming necessity. Also, the flight was full, so the two hundred or so sleepy passengers took extra long to arrive at baggage claim. I kept on returning to the arrivals escalator, to see if anyone from the flight had turned up. Nope(5). It took about an hour and a half for the travelers to arrive. It was interesting to stand back and see the different people step off the escalator. There was a real mix of shapes and sizes, ethnicities, and demeanours(6). Some people were dressed professionally, pulling behind them small, black cases on wheels, and obviously focused on business. Others were more casual, looking for family or friends, and openly emotional. There was a tall, military man returning from service abroad(7), who was greeted by his young wife and three year old daughter. She had stood at the top of the empty escalator and called "Daddy, daddy!" impatiently. When he finally arrived and picked her up, she stared at him for a long time with an unsure, curious expression. Then came the stragglers(8): a very hairy man carrying a large, framed picture, a tall African lady with tons of luggage, and a skinny young man with a huge cello³ case. What a variety of people! Then, last but not least(9), my sister and her two boys came up the escalator with big smiles. Finally, they were here. We hugged and kissed, and immediately started chatting and giggling⁴ about the journey. We picked up the luggage and were in the car before we knew it.

　　1. 'Believe it or not' is not an essential phrase. It is light hearted and introduces the idea that something interesting or unusual will be mentioned:

　　a. My daughter has, believe it or not, joined a traveling circus.

　　b. Believe it or not, that very small shop grossed⁵ half a million dollars last year.

　　2. 'Overall' is another way of saying 'all together' or 'in general' or 'added up':

　　a. There were some imperfections, but overall the performance was a success.

　　b. The population, overall, prefers coffee to tea.

　　3. To find oneself can be used with any person:

　　a. We found ourselves pennyless, out of petrol, and in the middle of nowhere.

　　b. So, you met the prince in the party, and before you knew it, you found yourself  in the palace! Unbelievable!

　　4. 'Delay, immigration, customs' are all useful words to do with international travel.

　　a. The plane was delayed, I had trouble in immigration, and customs confiscated⁶ my Elvis toothbrush!

　　b. The plane was on time, thank goodness. My visa was still valid⁷, so I got through immigration quickly, and then I had nothing to declare in customs.

　　5.'Nope' is basically 'no' but with attitude. It is used frequently in the U.S.

　　a. Do you want to go out tonight?       Nope!

　　b. I've lost the receipt for the bookshelves. Could you look for it?      Nope!

　　6. 'Demeanor⁸' means the manner or behavior of someone:

　　a. She looked elegant⁹ and formal, but her demeanor was unsure.

　　b. I can tell by his demeanor that he is confident.

　　7. 'Abroad' is often used instead of 'overseas'. The two are interchangeable:

　　a. She will study abroad for six months to learn a different language.

　　b. They had studied overseas all year, and had decided¹⁰ to stay longer.

　　8. 'Straggler' describes the odd, few people who are the last to arrive, either from a journey, trip, or race:

　　a. At the end of the Tour de France we see the stragglers coming in. Some are well known cyclists who unfortunately fell off their bikes, and others are less known riders.

　　b. The displaced¹¹ villagers got to the shelter by nightfall, the stragglers arriving by midnight.

　　9. 'Last but not least' is a quick way of saying "I'm mentioning this person last (on the list) but he is just as important as anybody else".

　　a. Ladies and gentlemen, we have Princess Sofia, Prince Filipo, and, last but not least, their little sister Princess Angelica.

　　b. Here we have to crown your dinner tonight, last but not least, a pineapple chocolate bomb for dessert.

1 gorgeous   

adj.华丽的，灿烂的，美丽的，宜人的，棒的

参考例句：

• The gorgeous costume added to the brilliance of the dance.华丽的服装使舞蹈更加光彩夺目。
• What a gorgeous day it is today!今天天气多好啊！

2 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

3 cello   

n.大提琴

参考例句：

• The cello is a member of the violin family.大提琴是提琴家族的一员。
• She plays a melodious cello.她拉着一手悦耳的大提琴。

4 giggling   

v.咯咯地笑( giggle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• We just sat there giggling like naughty schoolchildren. 我们只是坐在那儿像调皮的小学生一样的咯咯地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I can't stand her giggling, she's so silly. 她吃吃地笑，叫我真受不了，那样子傻透了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 grossed   

获得（…的）总收入( gross的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her last film grossed a million pounds. 她拍最后一部影片总共赚了100万英镑。
• Her last film grossed (ie earned) a million pounds. 她拍最后一部影片总共赚了一百万英镑。

6 confiscated   

没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their land was confiscated after the war. 他们的土地在战后被没收。
• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。

7 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

8 demeanor   

n.行为；风度

参考例句：

• She is quiet in her demeanor.她举止文静。
• The old soldier never lost his military demeanor.那个老军人从来没有失去军人风度。

9 elegant   

adj.优美的，文雅的，简练的，简结的

参考例句：

• She was an elegant and accomplished woman.她是位优雅的才女。
• She has a life of elegant ease.她过着风雅悠闲的生活。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 displaced   

移动( displace的过去式和过去分词 )； 替换； 移走； 撤职

参考例句：

• Gradually factory workers have been displaced by machines. 工厂的工人已逐渐被机器取代。
• He was displaced by another young man. 他已被另一个年轻人顶替。