words and expressions

winding

(There is one road from Wall, a winding track rising sharply up from the forest...)
adj. having a curving and twisting shape 曲折的，弯曲的
e.g. a long and winding road
[书的开头诗中有wind的动词用法]

some compliments

She had apples in her cheeks and a spring in her step, ...
此处spring是“a cheerful, lively quality”，活力朝气。
e.g. She walked along with a spring in her step.

He had an easy smile, which illuminated his face from within.

be dependent on which way the wind is blowing

going to London, or Edinburgh, or Dublin, or some great town where nothing was dependent on which way the wind was blowing.

这里作者是把the Village of Wall与像伦敦一样的大城市做了对比，Wall是大片的farm和meadow有着风吹草低见牛羊的空旷，生活节奏简单，大概是有种“靠天吃饭”的意思，用到了这个表达，我觉得非常形象。

mount

As the day of the fair approached the atmosphere mounted.

to increase gradually。 approach这个动词用的也好，文中还有motion当动词使用，表示人的移动。在词汇积累中，我现在的重点是学习生动使用的“小词儿”。

summary

The story began in an old village named Wall and whose people were taciturn. The Wall with a break on it isolated the village from the outside world and always safely guarded on both sides. But every nine years, on MayDay when a fair was being held on meadow, the guard would be relaxed.

One of the proud guards was a young man, Dunstan Thorn who did not see the outsiders to the fair as welcome. He was in love with Daisy, a practical girl in the village waiting him to propose. Dunstan and another guard Tommy were relieved one night during the fair and they both went to the inn to get their reward for guard from Mr. Bromios. After having a talk with a stranger with a black top hat, Dunstan went to sleep in the hayloft hearing the thunder and rain.

My words

作者在开篇交代了故事发生的背景。主要描述Village of Wall的情况，集中介绍了Wall的“与世隔绝”，村民的“沉默寡言”等。但是年轻人们对大城市有向往有期待。作者描述伦敦以及其他几个城市时用的语言尤其吸引我，甚至让我对后续真正的故事减少了期待。大概也是因为人在伦敦，对于有些如此贴近的描述非常有亲切感，比如：
with skins as pale as paper, skins as dark as volcanic rock, skins the colour of cinnamon, speaking in a multitude of tongue.
It was chilly that April, with the awkward changeability of English spring.

里面描述到伦敦和查尔斯狄更斯等，都会让我有类似的亲切感。读这本的意外收获是，更坚信了要多出去走走聊聊。

PS: 预感故事节奏会比较紧凑，很期待。