Reading and Thinking
SEEING THE TRUE NORTH VIA RAIL: VANCOUVER AND THE HEART OF CANADA
坐火车看"真北方"：温哥华与加拿大腹地
Li Daiyu and her cousin Liu Qian went to Canada to visit their cousins in Halifax on the Atlantic coast. Rather than travel by commercial airline all the way, they decided to fly to Vancouver and then take the train. For both of them, the thought of crossing the whole country by rail was exciting.
李黛予和表妹刘倩前往加拿大探望居住在大西洋海岸哈利法克斯市的表兄妹。她们没有一路乘坐商业航班，而是决定先飞到温哥华，然后再坐火车。一想到可以坐火车横穿整个国家，姐妹俩就激动不已。
airline
rather than 并列结构
Rather than travel by commercial airline all the way 意为"而不是一路乘坐商业航班"，rather than 连接并列结构，表示"而不是"。
例：I prefer to walk rather than take a taxi. 我宁愿走路也不愿打车。
注意：rather than 后接动词原形，与前面形式保持一致。
Before starting out, they spent a couple of days in Vancouver, seeing the sights. During their first day, as is typical of Vancouver, it rained. Despite the weather, they were able to take a boat ride out into the bay, and later visit an island that had wonderful shops selling crafts and antiques. The next day was clear and mild, and they were pleased to see the beautiful mountains looking out over the city. Later they took a pleasant hike in a forest just a short distance away.
出发前，她们在温哥华待了两天，欣赏当地风光。第一天温哥华一如往常细雨蒙蒙。尽管天气不佳，她们仍然泛舟驶入海湾，接着游览了一座岛屿。岛上有精致的店铺，出售手工艺品和古董。第二天，天气晴朗，温度适宜，她们看到壮美的群山俯瞰着整座城市，甚是欣喜。随后，她们在不远处的森林中徒步旅行，十分惬意。
bayantiquepleasant
as引导非限制性定语从句
as is typical of Vancouver 为 as 引导的非限制性定语从句，as 指代后面的内容，意为"正如"。
例：As is known to all, the earth is round. 众所周知，地球是圆的。
The next morning, the two girls arose early to take the train to Lake Louise, passing through the Canadian Rockies. Seen from the train window, the mountains and forests of Canada looked massive. When the train arrived at the station, they took a taxi to Lake Louise where the blue water literally took their breath away with its exceptional beauty. They spent the night, and then took a coach bound north through the Canadian Rockies to Jasper. Looking at the beautiful scenery, they both agreed that it was the most awesome journey they had ever taken. In addition to seeing spectacular mountain peaks and forests, one highlight of their trip was being able to see many different creatures, including deer, mountain goats, and even a grizzly bear and an eagle.
次日清晨，两个女孩早早起床，登上开往路易斯湖的火车穿越加拿大落基山脉。从车窗往外望去，加拿大巍峨的山脉和辽阔的森林尽收眼底。火车到站后，她们乘坐出租车前往路易斯湖。那里湛蓝的湖水美丽异常，摄人心魄。住了一夜之后，她们乘坐长途汽车，向北穿过加拿大落基山脉，直达贾斯珀。望着眼前的美景，两人一致认为这是她们所经历过的最棒的一次旅行。除了欣赏壮丽的山峰和森林，旅程的亮点之一是能看到种类繁多的动物，如鹿、山羊，甚至还有一只灰熊和一只老鹰。
arisemassivetake one's breath awayboundhighlightawesome
过去分词作状语
Seen from the train window 为过去分词短语作状语，逻辑主语为 mountains and forests，表被动。
例：Seen from the hill, the city looks beautiful. 从山上往下看，这座城市很美。
From Jasper, they caught the train towards Toronto. One of the train's first stops was in Edmonton, the provincial capital of Alberta, the centre of Canada's huge oil and gas drilling industry. Edmonton is freezing cold in winter, with daily temperatures averaging -10°C. Since it can be too cold to go outdoors, Edmonton is home to many shopping malls. In fact, one of the largest shopping malls in North America is in Edmonton.
在贾斯珀，她们坐上了开往多伦多的火车。火车的头几站中有一站是埃德蒙顿，这是阿尔伯塔省的省会，也是加拿大庞大的油气开采业中心。埃德蒙顿冬季十分寒冷，日平均气温为零下10摄氏度。由于天寒地冻，不适合户外活动，因此埃德蒙顿拥有众多大型购物中心。事实上，北美最大的购物中心之一就在埃德蒙顿。
freeze
with复合结构
with daily temperatures averaging -10°C 为 with 复合结构（with + 宾语 + 宾补），作伴随状语。
例：He slept with the window open. 他开着窗户睡觉。
From Edmonton, the train headed southeast across the great Canadian Prairie. At school, Daiyu and Liu Qian had learnt that Canada's population is only slightly over thirty-seven million. However, they did not anticipate seeing such an open country, and were truly amazed. They went through two wheat-growing provinces, where they saw a bunch of farms that covered a very large area.
火车从埃德蒙顿出发，向东南方行驶，一路穿越加拿大大草原。黛予和刘倩在学校学过，加拿大的人口才刚过3700万。但两人还是未曾料想能看到如此辽阔的国度，真是惊叹不已。她们穿越两个种植小麦的省份，看到一片片广阔的农场。
anticipatea bunch of
where引导非限制性定语从句
where they saw a bunch of farms 为 where 引导的非限制性定语从句，修饰 provinces。
After another day on the train, eventually they were back in an urban area, the city of Winnipeg. From there, they travelled through the night, and woke up in Ontario — a land of forests and lakes. The train thundered on, through the rolling hills. The bushes and maple trees outside their windows were red, gold, and orange, and there was frost on the ground, confirming that autumn had arrived in Canada. Night came again, and the train turned south towards Toronto. When they woke up the next morning and pulled back the curtain, they could see the wide stretch of Lake Huron — one of the four Great Lakes on Ontario's southern border. It was not until 9:30 a.m. that they finally reached the capital of Ontario, Toronto. All in all, their trip from Vancouver to Toronto had taken a duration of four days.
她们在火车上又度过了一天，最终回到了都市区——温尼伯市。从该市出发，她们连夜前行，从梦乡中醒来时火车已抵达森林和湖泊密布的安大略省。火车继续轰隆隆地向前行驶，穿过绵延的群山。窗外的灌木丛和枫树林呈红色、金色和橘黄色，地面盖着一层霜，表明加拿大已进入秋季。夜幕再次降临，火车转向南行，开往多伦多。次日清晨，她们醒来，拉开车窗窗帘，辽阔的休伦湖映入眼帘。休伦湖是安大略省南部边境的四大湖之一。上午九点半，她们终于抵达安大略的省会多伦多。从温哥华到多伦多，她们的旅行总共历时四天。
thunderfrostcurtainborderduration
It was not until...that... 强调句型
It was not until 9:30 a.m. that they finally reached 为强调句型，强调 not until 时间状语。
例：It was not until midnight that he came back. 直到午夜他才回来。
还原：They did not reach... until 9:30 a.m.
要点摘要
- 姐妹俩选择坐火车横穿加拿大，从温哥华出发
- 温哥华两天：海湾泛舟、古董店、森林徒步
- 穿越落基山脉到路易斯湖和贾斯珀：壮丽山景和野生动物
- 经过埃德蒙顿、大草原、温尼伯，最终到达多伦多，历时四天