Mongol1 Fever

Amirah Ahmad

想不想在一望无垠的草原上策马奔腾？想不想躺在璀璨繁星之下饱览夜空？想不想远离电脑，放下手机，真正过一次淳朴宁静的生活？让我们跟随作者，领会一下蒙古草原的慷慨豪放，感受一下这让人痴迷的蒙古热。

It was a little ironic appreciating the glory of the Great Wall during my visit to China when just a couple centuries ago my ancestors had shot arrows through it hoping to make it crumble2. crumble： 瓦解，崩裂。. A descendant of Tamerlane, who tactfully married a princess of Genghis Khan lineage,I am a Mongol by the teeniest tiniest fraction.3. 帖木儿的一个后代迎娶了成吉思汗家族的某位公主，所以很小的程度上我也算是个蒙古人。Tamerlane： 帖木儿（1336—1405）, 中亚的征服者, 帖木儿帝国的创立者；tactfully： 得体地；Genghis Khan： 成吉思汗，蒙古帝国可汗，世界史上杰出的政治家、军事家； lineage： 家系，家族；teeny-tiny： 极小的。Yet despite the paucity of Mongol blood in my veins, the same Mongol passion that once ran through their bodies has completely consumed me.4.paucity： 少量；consume： (使)充满(感情或思想)。Give me a horse and a bow and arrow, and call me Ms. Genghis Khan of the 21st century.

The most bizarre5.bizarre： 古怪的。part of my fascination, however, is that I never showed any interest in the Mongols before I came to China. Sure, I would simply raise my eyebrows while reading my history textbook as I learned about how they built the most expansive empire in history. I would never give a second thought about how they used only a bow and a horse to completely alter the dynamic6. dynamic： 动态，形势。of the ancient world.

Nevertheless, the Mongolian life pulled me in7. pull sb. in： 吸引某人。as I was trying to push everything out. Sick and tired of the city’s obsession with iPhones, iPads,tablets, and laptops, I needed an escape route.8. obsession： 痴迷，着迷；tablet： 平板电脑；escape route： 逃生通道。After residing in the heart of Beijing for four weeks, I was ready to walk through the fields and feel the tickle of the grass on my ankles.9. reside in： 住在；tickle： 痒。I was ready to store away everything but a single camera and witness the magnificence of the natural world in real-time.10. store away： 收起某物；magnificence： 宏伟，壮丽。I was ready to start my Mongolian journey.

It was 6 p.m. and I awoke from my nap. The car was grudging along a dirt road plagued with potholes that were sure to take out a tire.11. 车子在坑坑洼洼的泥土路上艰难前行，地上那些凹进去的洞简直是要把轮胎都颠掉了。We were all shaking back and forth and jolting up and down because of the crude street and that meant only one thing: we had arrived.12. 恶劣的路况使得我们不停地前后摇晃，上下颠簸，这只意味着一件事情：我们已经到达目的地了。The 10-hour trip had exhausted us. After a short dinner, we paraded13. parade： 成群结队地行走。through the small town surrounding our hotel. We went into various stores, asking about the dried milk products and trying on the fur hats. The last store we looked into was one that was relatively crowded. Curiously, we entered the store only to find out it was an entire family who owned the store that seemed to be the customers. After a few laughs and purchases, they asked to take a picture with us. They handed me a white scarf, and I wasn’t sure what to do with it at first. They positioned me in the right stance and we snapped several pictures.14. position： 指定……位置；stance： 位置；snap： 拍照。A little confused but very joyful, my family exited the store after saying goodbye to our new friends. Only the next day was I told that the scarf symbolized respect. Honored and grateful for such wonderful Mongolian hospitality, I was ecstatic15. ecstatic： 热情的，兴奋的。for the rest of the adventure.

Bright and early the next morning, we paraded through the prairies16. prairie： 大草原。and rode horses deep into grassland. To give the horses a bit of a break, we took up bows and sliced arrows through the sky only to watch them pierce a target sandbag 100 feet away from us.17. 停下来让马休息的时候，我们拿起弓，将箭射向天空，眼看着它射穿一百英尺外的沙袋。The thrill of watching it in the air to see if it would land in the center was overwhelming, and I couldn’t stop thinking that years ago the bulls-eye was a person. For dinner, we feasted18. feast： 大吃大喝，享用美食。on a full lamb.As we tore the meat with our teeth and hands, I gazed around the table to see my friends and family kissed by the sun so hard their cheeks were tinted red.Just like the local Mongols. It was beautiful.

The next day was when my life and my future changed right before my eyes. Since that day, I have decided on two things. I have decided on what I will study in college: the Chinese language. I have decided where to live after I receive my bachelor’s degree: either Mongolia or Inner Mongolia.

Curious as to what altered my perception of life? It was a combination of the starry sky, the sound, and the beauty of that land. Our last night there, we stayed in a Mongolian yurt amidst the grassy hills and the elegant windmills.19. Mongolian yurt： 蒙古包；windmill： 风车，磨坊。

The night was perfect. I was at first very apprehensive about the thought of going to the bathroom outside and the mosquitoes in the folds of my blanket just waiting to prey on20. prey on： 捕食。my blood. However, the sky absolutely took my breath away. It was pitch black everywhere and the stars that spotted the sky were the only illumination in the night.21. pitch black： 漆黑；illumination： 照明。I stared at the celestial sky until my neck ached from my craning.22.我盯着天空直到抬头太久脖子都酸了。I stared at it just long enough to see a shooting star whiz by, the perfect way to wrap up the night.23. shooting star： 流星；whiz：高速移动；wrap up： 圆满结束。

The next morning I awoke at 4:30 in the morning to see the sunrise.While waiting for the reluctant sun to wake up, I strolled up and down the barren road, the one tangible24. tangible： 清晰可见的。object reminding us that reality was near and that we had to face it sooner or later. But I never wanted to leave the place I called paradise.

As the sun rose, however, I had a front row seat on the top of our SUV25. SUV： sports utility vehicle，越野车。.The sounds of cows mooing and the rustling feet of the locals of Mongol descent pleased my ears.26. moo： (牛)哞哞叫；rustle： 沙沙作响。The entire experience was so satisfying and breathtaking I can’t even make an effort of describing its magnificence through words. When the sun was fully in the sky, we were given the breakfast of a king. Or at least, that’s how I saw it. The traditional Mongolian breakfast with various dishes of dried milk, bread, and lamb was superb27. superb： 极好的，最佳的。. Because there was a long return trip ahead of us, we were on the road by 8:00 a.m. In the car I felt a fever coming. It was a shame to end the trip with the sniffles and an unbearable feeling in my heart.28. sniffle：（感冒时)不断抽鼻子；unbearable： 难以忍受的。I later learned I was down with Mongol Fever and I don’t think I’ll ever recover.