英语博客：Scenes of Spokane.

　　Last week we had the opportunity to spend the weekend in Spokane. It's a city of about 210,000 people, making it the second largest city in Washington State. It's about a three hour drive for us, but it's only 90 miles from the Canadian border. It's name is taken from the Native American Indian tribe¹ that used to live in that area; Spokane meaning 'Children of the sun'. The reason we went there was for a basketball tournament. My son Cass had four games to play, two on Saturday, and two on Sunday. We set off early on Saturday morning, with everybody yawning and dozing²(1) in the car. We checked into our hotel, and then made our way(2) to the High School where the basketball games were going to be played. When the second game was over, we decided³ to go downtown(3) and look around, as we are not familiar with the city. The center has a very large park with a river running through it that becomes Spokane Falls. This is a huge waterfall that tumbles(4) under a wide bridge. The river was high because of the recent melting of snow in the mountains, so the waterfall was extremely turbulent⁵. In another part of the park we saw a monument that was built for the 1974 World's Fair. It was refreshing⁶ to be in a city again, especially one that is clean and interesting. We had dinner in the center of downtown Spokane, and then wandered through the shopping area. I happened to see the 'Mobius' center which is an interactive⁷ museum that I wrote about a few months ago. The streets, hotels, and restaurants were quite full, as it was the graduation weekend for both universities of Spokane: Whitworth, and Gonzaga University. So there were celebrations going on everywhere, and lots of students dressed up(5) looking very smart. Normally, our children's tournaments are only about sports, but I'm glad to say that(6) this trip turned into a cultural outing.

　　1. 'Dozing' comes from the verb 'to doze⁸'; it's a sleepy verb. It means to half sleep.

　　a. During the university lecture I dozed⁹.

　　b. We all doze during political speeches.

　　2. 'To make one's way..' means to find your way to a place; it can be figurative as well.

　　a. We made our way through the crowd to the museum.

　　b. She made her way through a difficult career.

　　3. 'Downtown' is the word we use to describe the center of a city or town. Note that it is not necessary to use 'the' with 'downtown' unless it is followed by another noun, such as area.

　　a. Let's go downtown and see what we can find.

　　b. They'll go downtown Spokane to visit the park.

　　c. I would like to visit the downtown area, as I've never been there before.

　　4. 'To tumble⁴' is a wonderful verb that means to fall in a turning motion.

　　a. I opened the dryer¹⁰ and all the clothes tumbled¹¹ onto the floor.

　　b. The children's toys tumbled down the stairs.

　　5. 'To dress up' is when a person puts on special clothes or a special costume. This is different from 'getting dressed' which is the normal, daily act of putting your clothes on.

　　a. You can't wear jeans to the wedding! You have to dress up!

　　b. We dressed up as ghosts for Halloween.

　　6. 'I'm glad to say' is a wonderful set phrase that can be included in many sentences, at the beginning or at the end.

　　a. He finally passed his exams, I'm glad to say.

　　b. I'm glad to say that the council approved the plans for the park.

　　Join me on my FACEBOOK page at Anna Fromacupofenglish; you're all welcome. Let me know your questions and comments, or if you need to practice English through Skype by sending me an email at [email protected].

1 tribe   

n.部落，种族，一伙人

参考例句：

• This is a subject tribe.这是个受他人统治的部落。
• Many of the tribe's customs and rituals are as old as the hills.这部落的许多风俗、仪式都极其古老。

2 dozing   

v.打瞌睡,假寐 n.瞌睡

参考例句：

• The economy shows no signs of faltering. 经济没有衰退的迹象。
• He never falters in his determination. 他的决心从不动摇。

3 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。

4 tumble   

vi.跌倒，摔下，翻滚，暴跌；n.跌(摔)倒

参考例句：

• Children tumble over each other in play.孩子们玩耍时相互连身翻滚。
• He took a tumble down the stairs.他摔下了楼梯。

5 turbulent   

adj.动荡的，混乱的；汹涌的，狂暴的

参考例句：

• The current is turbulent.水势汹涌。
• The present international situation remains tense and turbulent.当前的国际局势依然紧张动荡。

6 refreshing   

adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的

参考例句：

• I find it'so refreshing to work with young people in this department.我发现和这一部门的青年一起工作令人精神振奋。
• The water was cold and wonderfully refreshing.水很涼，特别解乏提神。

7 interactive   

adj.相互作用的，互相影响的，（电脑）交互的

参考例句：

• The psychotherapy is carried out in small interactive groups.这种心理治疗是在互动的小组之间进行的。
• This will make videogames more interactive than ever.这将使电子游戏的互动性更胜以往。

8 doze   

v.打瞌睡；n.打盹，假寐

参考例句：

• He likes to have a doze after lunch.他喜欢午饭后打个盹。
• While the adults doze,the young play.大人们在打瞌睡，而孩子们在玩耍。

9 dozed   

v.打盹儿，打瞌睡( doze的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He boozed till daylight and dozed into the afternoon. 他喝了个通霄，昏沉沉地一直睡到下午。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• I dozed off during the soporific music. 我听到这催人入睡的音乐，便不知不觉打起盹儿来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 dryer   

n.干衣机，干燥剂

参考例句：

• He bought a dryer yesterday.他昨天买了一台干燥机。
• There is a washer and a dryer in the basement.地下室里有洗衣机和烘干机。

11 tumbled   

v.倒塌( tumble的过去式和过去分词 )；翻滚；突然摔倒；恍然大悟

参考例句：

• He slipped and tumbled down the stairs. 他脚一滑滚下了楼梯。
• A hundred and fifty empty bottles tumbled onto the floor. 150个空瓶子滚落到地板上。 来自《简明英汉词典》