The white poplar is no ordinary tree. Let me sing its praises. When you travel by car through Northwest China’s boundless plateau, all you see before you is something like a huge yellow-and-green felt blanket. Yellow is the soil—the uncultivated virgin soil. It is the outer covering of the loess plateau accumulated by Mother Nature several hundred thousand years ago. Green are the wheat fields signifying man’s triumph over nature. They become a sea of rolling green waves whenever there is a soft breeze. One is here reminded of Chinese expression mai lang meaning “rippling wheat” and cannot help admiring our forefathers’ ingenuity in coining such a happy phrase. It must have been either the brainwave of a clever scholar, or a linguistic gem sanctioned by long usage. The boundless highland, with dominant yellow and green, is flat like a whetstone. Were it not for distant mountain peaks standing side by side (which, as your naked eyes tell you, are bellow where you stand) , you would probably forget that you are on the highland.

单词解析

第一句：白杨树实在是不平凡的，我赞美白杨树！

The white poplar is no ordinary tree. Let me sing its praises. 

1. poplar [ˈpɑːplər] n. 白杨树，杨树（树干高，木质较软）。如外研社英语同义词辨析词典上有这么一句话：

A tall poplar tree once stood there.

该处曾有一棵高大的白杨树。

2. be no ordinary sth 不平凡，非同寻常。如金融时报上有这么一句话：

This was no ordinary collection of young people.

这不是一群普通的年轻人。

3. sing one’s praises 赞美，赞扬。如牛津词典上有这么一句话：

They always sing his praises.

他们总是对他大加赞扬。

第二句（一）：当汽车在望不到边际的高原上奔驰，扑入你的视野的，是黄绿错综的一条大毡子；

When you travel by car through Northwest China’s boundless plateau, all you see before you is something like a huge yellow-and-green felt blanket.

1. boundless [ˈbaʊndləs] adj. 无限的；无止境的。如外研社英语同义词辨析词典上有这么一句话：

Every child has limitless/boundless potential for success.

每个孩子都有无限的成功潜能。

2. plateau [plæˈtoʊ] n. 高原；（发展、增长后的）稳定期，停滞期。如柯林斯词典上有这么一句话：

The road straightened and we were on a plateau.

路变直了，我们驶上了高原。

3. blanket [ˈblæŋkɪt] n. 毯子；毛毯；厚层；厚的覆盖层。如牛津词典上有这么一句话：

She put a blanket over the sleeping child.

她给熟睡的孩子盖上毯子。

第二句（二）：黄的，那是土，未开垦的处女土，几十万年前由伟大的自然力所堆积成功的黄土高原的外壳；

Yellow is the soil—the uncultivated virgin soil. It is the outer covering of the loess plateau accumulated by Mother Nature several hundred thousand years ago.

1. uncultivated [ʌnˈkʌltɪveɪtɪd] adj. 未经耕作的；未开垦的。如汉英大词典上有这么一句话：

Not a single mu of land is left uncultivated in our village.

我们村没有一亩荒废的土地。

2. virgin [ˈvɜːrdʒɪn] n. 处女；童男；童贞马利亚（耶稣之母）；无……经验的人；新手。如柯林斯词典上有这么一句话：

I was a virgin until I was thirty years old.

我30岁前一直是个处女。

3. loess 美 [ˈloʊəs] n. 黄土。

4. Mother Nature 大自然（尤指被看作影响人类的力量）。如纽约时报上有这么一句话：

Look at one aspect in one country: Mother Nature in Brazil.

来看看一个国家的其中一方面：巴西的大自然。

第二句（三）：绿的呢，是人类战胜自然的结果，是麦田，和风吹送，翻起了一轮一轮的绿波……

Green are the wheat fields signifying man’s triumph over nature. They become a sea of rolling green waves whenever there is a soft breeze.

1. triumph [ˈtraɪʌmf] n. 巨大成功；（巨大成功或胜利的）心满意足，喜悦；（成功的）典范，楷模。如牛津词典上有这么一句话：

As is usual in this kind of movie, good triumphs over evil in the end.

像这类电影的一贯结局一样，善良战胜了邪恶。

2. a sea of 许多，大量的。如汉英大词典上有这么一句话：

The square was a sea of people.

广场上人山人海。

3. breeze [briːz] n. 微风；和风；轻而易举的事。如牛津词典上有这么一句话：

The scent of the flowers was wafted along by the breeze.

微风传花香。

第二句（四）：这时你会真心佩服昔人所造的两个字“麦浪”，若不是妙手偶得，便确是经过锤炼的语言的精华；

One is here reminded of Chinese expression mai lang meaning “rippling wheat” and cannot help admiring our forefathers’ ingenuity in coining such a happy phrase. It must have been either the brainwave of a clever scholar, or a linguistic gem sanctioned by long usage.

1. ripple [ˈrɪpl] v.（使）如波浪般起伏；扩散；涌起。如柯林斯词典上有这么一句话：

A slight wind rippled the crops in the valley. 

一阵微风吹过，山谷里的庄稼便随风起伏。

2. ingenuity [ˌɪndʒəˈnuːəti] n. 独创力；聪明才智；心灵手巧。如金融时报上有这么一句话：

In the US, this requires real ingenuity.

在美国，这需要真正的别出心裁。

3. coin 美 [kɔɪn] v. 创造（新词语）；（用金属）铸（币），造（硬币）。如柯林斯词典上有这么一句话：

Jaron Lanier coined the term 'virtual reality' and pioneered its early development.

杰伦·拉尼尔创造了“虚拟现实”这个词，并成为推动其早期发展的先驱人物。

4. brainwave [ˈbreɪnweɪv] n. 灵感；妙计；脑电波。如汉英大词典上有这么一句话：

She had a brainwave and found a good solution.

她灵机一动，想出了个好办法。

5. gem [dʒem] n.（经切割打磨的）宝石；难能可贵的人；风景优美的地方；美妙绝伦的事物。如柯林斯词典上有这么一句话：

The book is a gem of Victorian idiosyncrasy.

这本书展现了维多利亚时代特色的精华。

第二句（五）：黄与绿主宰着，无边无垠，坦荡如砥，

The boundless highland, with dominant yellow and green, is flat like a whetstone.

1. dominant [ˈdɑːmɪnənt] adj. 首要的；占支配地位的；占优势的；显著的；（基因）显性的，优势的。如柯林斯词典上有这么一句话：

Economically, the centre of Spain has lost its dominant role.

西班牙中部在经济上已失去了其主导地位。

2. whetstone [ˈwetstoʊn] n. 磨刀石。

第二句（六）：这时如果不是宛若并肩的远山的连峰提醒了你（这些山峰凭你的肉眼来判断，就知道是在你脚底下的），你会忘记了汽车是在高原上行驶。

Were it not for distant mountain peaks standing side by side (which, as your naked eyes tell you, are bellow where you stand), you would probably forget that you are on the highland.

1. side by side 密切（合作）；和睦（相处）；并排；并肩。如柯林斯词典上有这么一句话：

We sat side by side on two wicker seats.

我们在两把柳条椅上肩并肩坐着。

2. naked eyes 肉眼。

3. highland [ˈhaɪlənd] n. 高地；高原；苏格兰高地。如金融时报上有这么一句话：

Winds sweep across a highland plateau featuring little but coarse grass and volcanic rock.

这里是一片高原，有的不过是火山岩和荒草，风儿呼啸而过。

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