1. 观潮

Lesson One

Tidal Bore Watching

1.The tidal bore of the Tsien-tang has been called the wonder of the world since ancient times.

2.The annual lunar August 18 is the tidal bore watching day.

3.On this morning, we came to Yanguan Town in Haining City, which is said to be the best place to watch the tide.

4.We, with the crowd, ascended the embankment to watch the tidal bore.

5.The wide Qiantang River lies in front of us.The river is calm, wider and wider to the east, and shrouded in a misty mist in the sunshine after the rain.

6.Zhenhai Ancient Pagoda, Zhongshan Pavilion and Tide Watching Terrace stand by the river.

7.In the distance, several hills are looming in the clouds.

8.Before the tidal bore came, the embankment was already crowded with people.

9.Everyone looked up, waiting and looking forward.

10.At about one o’clock in the afternoon, a rumbling sound came from a distance, like muffled thunder rolling.

11.All of a sudden, the crowd bubbled around us, and we are told that the tidal bore is coming!

12.When we tiptoed to the east, the river was calm and we couldn’t see any change.

13.After a while, the noise grew louder and louder, only a white line in the east where the water meets the sky can be seen, and the crowd boiled up again.

14.The white line soon moved towards us, gradually lengthened and thickened, and crossed the river.

15.Closer, I saw the white waves rolling, forming a water wall more than two zhang in height.

16.The wave was getting closer and closer, just like thousands of white horses go hand in hand and run like the wind in a mighty way; it sounded as if the mountains fell and the earth split, and as if the earth were shaken by the earthquake.

17.At the moment, the bore was rushing west, but the waves after the first were still rolling in all over the sky, and the river still roared with wind and waves.

18.It took a long time for Qiantang River to regain its calm.

19.Look under the embankment, the river has risen by two zhang.