GABE always rode the bus to work. But a few days ago， he suddenly hopped on his dust-covered bike and decided to ride it to work. His colleague， Jason， wanted to know why.
Jason： Gabe， no offence， but what's wrong with you？
Gabe： What do you mean？
Jason： You're working awfully hard to ride a bike across Beijing！ Why not just keep taking the bus to work？
Gabe： I've been inspired by the energetic riders of the Tour of Qinghai Lake. Riders were dashing and sweating， making their best efforts to overtake others and win the yellow jersey.
Jason： A yellow jersey？ Isn't that a cheap prize？
Gabe： Haven't you ever seen the Tour de France？ A yellow jersey is not the final prize， but an honour for a rider who tops the Individual General Classification at the end of each stage. Jersey winners are granted extra points and special privileges.
Jason： Was a Chinese at the top of the overall standings？
Gabe： Unfortunately not.
Jason： Why not？ China is a country dubbed “the kingdom of bicycles”。 And almost everyone rides a bike.
Gabe： But our riders lack professional training and competitive experience.
Jason： Anyway， I think it's a fantastic opportunity for all the riders. Racing around the scenic Qinghai Lake is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Gabe： It's also good preparation for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. I really hope the Chinese can perform well in the Olympic cycling events.
no offence： 無意冒犯。常用在一句對方可能不太受用的話之前，避免對方生氣。
the Tour of Qinghai Lake： 或“the Tour de Qinghai Lake”，環(huán)青海湖國際公路自行車賽，簡稱環(huán)湖賽，每年7至8月在青海省舉行，世界上海拔的國際性公路自行車賽。每年有來自五大洲的20支運(yùn)動隊的100多名運(yùn)動員參加，比賽總距離為1，000多公里，平均海拔3，000多米。
dash： 沖刺，也可以說“sprint”。
overtake： 超車，搭配為“overtake sb.” （超過某人）或 “overtake from the left/right side” （從左邊/右邊超車）。
the yellow jersey： 黃色領(lǐng)騎衫。環(huán)湖賽分為9個賽段，前段比賽中個人總成績（individual general classification）的車手將在下一賽段中身穿黃色領(lǐng)騎衫參加比賽。國際自行車賽事中領(lǐng)騎衫還有別的顏色，代表不同的意思，如在世界的環(huán)法自行車賽上（the Tour de France），每一賽段中總積分（points general classification）排名第一的車手獲得綠色領(lǐng)騎衫，爬坡成績者（King of the Mountains）穿紅白斑點衫，25歲以下成績的車手穿白色領(lǐng)騎衫。凡是獲得領(lǐng)騎衫者都將獲得加分。
the overall standings： 總排名。“overall winner”即“總冠軍”。
dubbed “the kingdom of bicycles”： 譽(yù)為“自行車王國”。dub： 授予……的稱號。
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity： 一生難得的好機(jī)會。once-in-a-lifetime： 一輩子只有一次的，常被用來形容珍貴的難得的機(jī)會（opportunity/chance）。
Olympic cycling events： 奧運(yùn)會自行車項目。主要包括三種賽制：山地自行車賽（mountain bike）、公路賽（road cycling）以及場地自行車賽（track cycling）。
Jason： Gabe， no offence， but what's wrong with you？
Gabe： What do you mean？
Jason： You're working awfully hard to ride a bike across Beijing！ Why not just keep taking the bus to work？
Gabe： I've been inspired by the energetic riders of the Tour of Qinghai Lake. Riders were dashing and sweating， making their best efforts to overtake others and win the yellow jersey.
Jason： A yellow jersey？ Isn't that a cheap prize？
Gabe： Haven't you ever seen the Tour de France？ A yellow jersey is not the final prize， but an honour for a rider who tops the Individual General Classification at the end of each stage. Jersey winners are granted extra points and special privileges.
Jason： Was a Chinese at the top of the overall standings？
Gabe： Unfortunately not.
Jason： Why not？ China is a country dubbed “the kingdom of bicycles”。 And almost everyone rides a bike.
Gabe： But our riders lack professional training and competitive experience.
Jason： Anyway， I think it's a fantastic opportunity for all the riders. Racing around the scenic Qinghai Lake is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Gabe： It's also good preparation for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. I really hope the Chinese can perform well in the Olympic cycling events.
no offence： 無意冒犯。常用在一句對方可能不太受用的話之前，避免對方生氣。
the Tour of Qinghai Lake： 或“the Tour de Qinghai Lake”，環(huán)青海湖國際公路自行車賽，簡稱環(huán)湖賽，每年7至8月在青海省舉行，世界上海拔的國際性公路自行車賽。每年有來自五大洲的20支運(yùn)動隊的100多名運(yùn)動員參加，比賽總距離為1，000多公里，平均海拔3，000多米。
dash： 沖刺，也可以說“sprint”。
overtake： 超車，搭配為“overtake sb.” （超過某人）或 “overtake from the left/right side” （從左邊/右邊超車）。
the yellow jersey： 黃色領(lǐng)騎衫。環(huán)湖賽分為9個賽段，前段比賽中個人總成績（individual general classification）的車手將在下一賽段中身穿黃色領(lǐng)騎衫參加比賽。國際自行車賽事中領(lǐng)騎衫還有別的顏色，代表不同的意思，如在世界的環(huán)法自行車賽上（the Tour de France），每一賽段中總積分（points general classification）排名第一的車手獲得綠色領(lǐng)騎衫，爬坡成績者（King of the Mountains）穿紅白斑點衫，25歲以下成績的車手穿白色領(lǐng)騎衫。凡是獲得領(lǐng)騎衫者都將獲得加分。
the overall standings： 總排名。“overall winner”即“總冠軍”。
dubbed “the kingdom of bicycles”： 譽(yù)為“自行車王國”。dub： 授予……的稱號。
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity： 一生難得的好機(jī)會。once-in-a-lifetime： 一輩子只有一次的，常被用來形容珍貴的難得的機(jī)會（opportunity/chance）。
Olympic cycling events： 奧運(yùn)會自行車項目。主要包括三種賽制：山地自行車賽（mountain bike）、公路賽（road cycling）以及場地自行車賽（track cycling）。