英语博客：A Round Robin Tea Party.

　　I had never heard of a Round Robin¹, until this past Sunday. My friend, Jody, invited me to a ladies' round robin in the town of Issaquah which is on the outskirts² of Seattle. We left at about eight o'clock, stopped for coffee on the way, and reached the town of North Bend at about ten thirty. Jody had decided³ to expand our day trip to include an hour of shopping, and North Bend is a great place to do that. There is an open mall area that has many discount, name brand stores; we call them 'outlet⁴'* shops. The items are new, but very reduced in price, possibly because they are a season or two old. I rarely* go there, but I know many women will make the two hour trip, just to get some bargains. My mind wasn't set on shopping; I was intrigued⁵ about the round robin coming up. I was also distracted by the beautiful countryside. Going over the Cascades⁶ towards Seattle from Wenatchee is awesome⁷, if you love miles of dense⁸ forest, and high mountains. Of course, as you approach Seattle, there is a drastic climate change; the area obviously gets lots of rain. There is nothing but green, and trees everywhere. Overlooking North Bend is the impressive Mount Si, a huge mountain that seems to appear out of nowhere. We got back on the road*at about eleven thirty, and reached our destination just before twelve. Walking into the house was quite surprising. The place was packed with ladies, all wearing different hats (everyone was told to wear a hat as a conversation starter). The house itself was intensely decorated, and filled from floor to ceiling with memorabilia, ornaments⁹, photos, and collectibles. I have never seen anything like it in a private home. I have been to a few antique and collectible stores that were chock-a-block* with items. After being introduced to the host and several other ladies, I turned to Jody and said, "This place must be a nightmare to dust!" Every piece of wall was covered with something, and shelves were full to overflowing¹⁰ with things. We were all called to sit down in the main lounge, have vodka and orange, and introduce ourselves. The point of a round robin tea party is to get to know everyone in the room, at least for a few minutes. So, a five course meal was served by the host's husband, and with each course we were to sit in a different room with a different group of ladies. Each course took about half an hour, and during that time we ate, drank far too much tea, and chatted. Some of the ladies had done this for years, and others like myself, were experiencing it for the first time. And, you know, I thoroughly¹¹ enjoyed myself. I had the opportunity to briefly¹² get to know some fascinating ladies. One of the most fascinating was the host, Mary. She had started having parties at the age of seven, and had arranged them ever since. She fills her calendar with gettogethers, parties and trips, for the whole year, and organizes who will be there, and when the invitations go out. It's amazing. Her husband is as amazing as she is. Most men I know would want to live in a house that is like a 'living scrapbook', and certainly wouldn't be interested in serving lunch to a large group of chatty ladies. But, thankfully, it takes all sorts*.

　　Related vocabulary: outlet shops, rarely, to get on the road, chock-a-block (chock-full), it takes all sorts (to make a world).

　　1. There's no point buying a coat for full price at a regular shop. Go to the outlet shop instead, and save money.

　　2. "Do you drink?" "Rarely." "How often?" "Once a year."

　　3. We need to get on the road (be on the road) by six, so we'll get to the office on time.

　　4. His room is chock-a-block with books and magazines; you can hardly walk in the room, it's so full.

　　5. That man goes everywhere on a unicycle. Oh well! It takes all sorts!

1 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

2 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

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 outlet   

n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄

参考例句：

• The outlet of a water pipe was blocked.水管的出水口堵住了。
• Running is a good outlet for his energy.跑步是他发泄过剩精力的好方法。

5 intrigued   

adj.好奇的，被迷住了的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的过去式)；激起…的兴趣或好奇心；“intrigue”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You've really intrigued me—tell me more! 你说的真有意思—再给我讲一些吧！
• He was intrigued by her story. 他被她的故事迷住了。

6 cascades   

倾泻( cascade的名词复数 )； 小瀑布（尤指一连串瀑布中的一支）； 瀑布状物； 倾泻（或涌出）的东西

参考例句：

• The river fell in a series of cascades down towards the lake. 河形成阶梯状瀑布泻入湖中。
• Turning into the sun, he began the long, winding drive through the Cascades. 现在他朝着太阳驶去，开始了穿越喀斯喀特山脉的漫长而曲折的路程。 来自英汉文学 - 廊桥遗梦

7 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

8 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

9 ornaments   

n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The shelves were chock-a-block with ornaments. 架子上堆满了装饰品。
• Playing the piano sets up resonance in those glass ornaments. 一弹钢琴那些玻璃饰物就会产生共振。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 overflowing   

n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的，充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The stands were overflowing with farm and sideline products. 集市上农副产品非常丰富。
• The milk is overflowing. 牛奶溢出来了。

11 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

12 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。