Our view from the balloon can be summed up in one word - beautiful. Hualien's fields and mountain peaks shone bright green against the blue sky. And watching the people far below us was a relaxing moment in a busy day. The wind blew gently, causing us to sway a little from side to side.
While in the air, Tawin told us of some of his experiences. He even told us of a close call he had experienced in Malaysia. He had ballooned the world over, flying as high as eight or nine thousand feet. His shirt read "Hua Hin Ballooning," and he was indeed from Thailand.
The burners heat air inside the balloon to take it up. A rope can be pulled to release air from the balloon. But there are no controls for direction - you go where the wind blows. Though difficult to pilot, hot air balloons are easy to enjoy. In what seemed like a moment, we found ourselves back on the ground.
Grammar Gym
Though he clearly enjoyed his job, he told us of a close call in Malaysia.
close call: a dangerous situation that somebody almost did not escape from.
Info Cloud
So, we've been talking about hot air balloons.
And, up to now, hot air means just that - air that is hot.
But hot air is also an informal expression that means empty or exaggerated talk.
Someone might make a lot of promises, but then after a while you relized that their promises turned out to be a lot of hot air, or empty talk.
And, if someone is in the habit of boasting or making exaggerated remarks, then we can say, "The person is full of hot air".
I used to know such a person.
He always told me how much money he had.
He was just full of hot air.
I stopped paying attention to him after a while.
Because he was such a blowhard?
Yes, he was a real blowhard.
He loved to boast in an obnoxious way.
And, what he blew was a lot of hot air.
Yes, you can say that again.
hot air balloons 熱氣球
hot air 熱氣 也指愛說大話
His promises turned out to be a lot of hot air.
他的保證到頭來是一大堆誇張, 空洞不實的大話
full of hot air 形容一個愛說大話, 誇張, 空洞的
a blowhard 愛吹牛的人
Language Lab
sum up phrasal verb
past tense and past participle summed, present participle summing
- The best way of summing up our new management system is to say it is "an absolute disaster".
最貼切去形容我們新的管理制度的一句話就是百分之百的災難
sway v.
1 to move slowly from one side to another
- The heavy rainstorm made the ship sway from side to side.
強烈的暴風雨使得船支前後搖擺
- We joined hands and swayed back and forth.
我們手握著手前後搖擺著
sway v.
2 to influence someone so that they change their opinion
- Eric was swayed by his friends and decided to quit school.
Eric 被朋友影響, 決定不繼續讀書了
release v.
to stop holding or drop something
- The device can help release heat when the engine is overheating.
當引擎過熱的時候, 這裝置可以幫助釋放高溫
- The toxic waste was released into the sewers without being processed.
這個有毒的癈氣物未經處理就被釋放到排水管裡面了
release v.
to let someone go free, after having kept them somewhere
- The suspect was released after interrogation.
這名嫌犯被偵訊之後就被釋放了
pilot n.
someone who operates the controls of an aircraft or spacecraft
- The airline pilot was trained in Britain.
這位航空公司的飛行員是在英國受訓的
pilot v.
to guide an aircraft, spacecraft, or ship as its pilot
- He piloted his private jet all the way to San Francisco.
他駕駛自己的噴射機一路到舊金山
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