Switzerland's Berner Alps 雪域之行-瑞士-6

----(easy to figure it )out in your head.
---Do you speak English? Yes. May I buy a hot dog, please?
---Um-hum.

Here’s how it works. Right now a Swiss Franc is worth 77 US cents, round that off to 80 cents. If a hot dog costs 5 Swiss Francs, then it costs five 80-cent pieces or roughly 4 dollars. 50 little ones, they are called centimes here, is half a Swiss Franc or 40 cents. If mustard costs 10 centimes, a tenth of 80 cents, it costs the equivalent of 8 cents. 10 Swiss Francs is 8 dollars. Quiz yourself and practice, it becomes second nature about the time you arrive in the next country.

No, you really can figure this out pretty fast, and examine the local coins and currency closely. Those who insist on being confused, will be, and their trips cost a lot more. Those who are expected to travel smart, do. Know the money. And in Switzerland, know the lifts. Save your knees, you don’t have to rough it to get close to nature here. Let’s catch the train down to Lauterbrunnen.

The Alps are full of little villages, huts and lifts that make hiking so civilized-- this is my kind of hiking. Half the fun of all this is gliding¹ through the valleys and over the mountains in all this creative Alpine² engineering: trains, gondolas⁴, funiculars.

Lauterbrunnen, here is a kind of mountain transportation hub. Now we just came down out of the train from Wengen which is way up there and we want to get to a little village on the top of that cliff called Gimmelwald and we could take the bus down the valley and catch a gondola³ up. But let’s stay with the train and we’ll ride the funicular up the steep side of this valley. If you’re afraid of heights, stay in Interlaken, rent a paddle boat.

From the top, we’ll catch the panorama⁵ train over to Murren. There’s the Eiger and the Jungfrau over there where we were this morning.

Murren is a cute little resort full of hikers in the summer and skiers in the winter. But we’re heading for a real backdoor treat about a 30-minute hike or a 10-minute gondola ride down the hill.

Gimmelwald, not to be confused with touristy Grindelwald, is a sleepy village with more cows ringing bells than people.

words to memorize:
1/funicular(funicular railway)=cable缆车

2/panorama train:全景铁车
注:与paranoia音很像，注意区分(paranoia=monomania)

3/gondola:威尼斯一种小船

4/touristy:专对游览者的

1 gliding   

v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的

参考例句：

• Swans went gliding past. 天鹅滑行而过。
• The weather forecast has put a question mark against the chance of doing any gliding tomorrow. 天气预报对明天是否能举行滑翔表示怀疑。

2 alpine   

adj.高山的；n.高山植物

参考例句：

• Alpine flowers are abundant there.那里有很多高山地带的花。
• Its main attractions are alpine lakes and waterfalls .它以高山湖泊和瀑布群为主要特色。

3 gondola   

n.威尼斯的平底轻舟；飞船的吊船

参考例句：

• The road is too narrow to allow the passage of gondola.这条街太窄大型货车不能通过。
• I have a gondola here.我开来了一条平底船。

4 gondolas   

n.狭长小船( gondola的名词复数 )；货架（一般指商店，例如化妆品店）；吊船工作台

参考例句：

• When the G-Force is in motion, the gondolas turn as well. 当“惊呼狂叫”开始旋转时，平底船也同时旋转。 来自互联网
• Moreton Engineering &Equipment Co. Ltd. -Services include sales tower crane, gondolas, material hoist construction equipment. 山明模型工作室-制作建筑模型，包括售楼模型、规划模型、比赛模型等。 来自互联网

5 panorama   

n.全景，全景画，全景摄影，全景照片[装置]

参考例句：

• A vast panorama of the valley lay before us.山谷的广阔全景展现在我们面前。
• A flourishing and prosperous panorama spread out before our eyes.一派欣欣向荣的景象展现在我们的眼前。