Tom的作文 Tom’s text
盐湖之旅A Visit to the Salt Lake（1）
星期五，我和同班的九位同学及老师一同前往察尔汗盐湖考察，去寻找美丽的盐花。我从资料中知道察尔汗盐湖位于柴达木盆地的中南部，总面积5856平方公里。“察尔汗”是蒙古语的音译，意思是“盐的世界”。有各类盐类矿物质储量600多亿吨，是中国最大的干涸内陆湖。（资料来源：青海盐湖工业集团股份有限公司网）
Last Friday 9 classmates and I went on our study tour with our teacher to Qarhan Salt Lake and were in search of beautiful salt crystals. I had learned from the data that Qarhan Salt Lake lies in the mid-south of Qaidam Basin and covers a total area of 5,856 km2. Qarhan is transliterated from Mongolian and interpreted as the World of Salt. The Qarhan Salt Lake is the largest extinct inland lake in China with its deposit of various saline minerals being more than 60 billion tons. (Source of Data: Website of Qinghai Salt Lake Industry Group Co., Ltd.)
盐湖之旅A Visit to the Salt Lake（2）
从西宁出发我们坐了一夜的火车，第二天的早晨火车经过了茫茫戈壁。在戈壁滩上看到的最多的是一根根的电线杆，而最少的是人，我是第一次见到戈壁滩，它给我的印象是壮阔又荒凉。
We traveled by train which departed from Xining City in the evening and then passed by the boundless Gobi the next morning. The most thing we noticed on the way was lines of telegraph poles and fewer human beings on the Gobi. This was my first time to be in Gobi and I really felt it to be grand and desolate.
盐湖之旅A Visit to the Salt Lake（3）
到了格尔木，我们就直奔察尔汗盐湖，去盐湖的路上我们经过了万丈盐桥。盐桥其实是一条铺在盐湖盐盖上的马路，盖在盐湖上的这个巨大的盐盖有一米厚，盐桥的载重量很大，不仅可以通汽车，就连火车都可以在上面行驶，这是一条用盐铺成的路。（资料来源：察尔汗盐湖国家矿山公园网）在路上我还看到了很多用盐堆积成的盐山，我长这么大还没见过这么多的盐啊！
We continued our trip up to Qarhan Salt Lake after we got to Golmud, and on the way, we passed the Extended Salt Bridge. It is basically a road on the cap of Salt Lake and was made of salt with its thickness being 1 meter. Since the road boasts a great carrying capacity, vehicles are able to pass through the bridge,even the trains. (Source of Data: Website of Qarhan Salt Lake National Mining Park). I noticed that there were so many salt hills, and be frank with you, I had never seen so much salt in my life before and it was amazing!
盐湖之旅A Visit to the Salt Lake（4）
盐湖到了，这和我想象的完全不同，原先我以为盐湖就是在湖面上有一层洁白的盐，用手指挖下一块就能吃，但眼前的盐湖却是一片绿色的汪洋，就像一大块绿色的翡翠，景色美不胜收。听管理员说，盐湖的水是卤水，是有毒的，而且从湖里采出来的盐是不能直接吃的，只有经过特殊加工以后才能吃，因此盐湖里是没有生命的，只有美丽的盐花藏在这碧绿的湖水中。可遗憾的是，管理员说这个季节还不是盐花出现的时候，只有七、八月份天气炎热时，湖水大量蒸发，水位下降，盐花才能浮出水面。所以，很可惜我们没能看到湖里的盐花。
When we got close to the Salt Lake, I realized that it was quite different from what I had ever dreamed of. And I had thought that the Salt Lake was supposed to be covered with a layer of purely white edible salt, while the Salt Lake in front of me turned out to be a vast green ocean which looked like an emerald. I just held my breath when I watched this beautiful scene! We were told by the conservator that the water from the Salt Lake was brine which was poisonous. And the salt exploited from the Salt Lake could be had through the special processing due to its toxicity. Therefore, there are no creatures in the Salt Lake except the graceful salt crystals. It was really a pity that we had no chance to see the salt crystals from the lake as they only emerge from the lake in hot July and August when the water evaporates and the water level rises up.
盐湖之旅A Visit to the Salt Lake（5）
在湖边，我拿着一把小铲去挖盐湖边的盐块，挖了一会儿，我就发现所有的地方都能挖到盐，无论是在马路上还是别的地方，只要铲去它的表层，就会发现里面都是洁白的盐，码头、房屋……所有的东西都是建在盐层上，这里是盐的世界，卤水的海洋。
I went to the lakeside to collect some salt blocks with my scoop. And I found that the purely white salt was available everywhere, on the road, And all of the buildings, like quays and houses were built with salt layers. This is indeed the world of salt and an ocean of brine.
盐湖之旅A Visit to the Salt Lake（6）
我们参观了采盐船，采盐船体形巨大，行动缓慢，一小时才走一米，它是用来采集湖底盐矿的。采盐船的船头有几根粗大的铁管，它们深入湖底吸采盐矿，然后通过船尾长长的运输管运输到陆地上的加工基地，这些盐矿是用来制作钾肥的，钾肥是用来帮助农作物生长的肥料。据资料上讲，察尔汗盐湖钾肥产量占柴达木盆地钾肥总产量的88%，占全国钾肥产量的80%。占全国钾肥年需求总量的19%。每年约200万吨的钾肥从这里运往全国各地，滋养着农作物的生长。（资料来源：察尔汗盐湖国家矿山公园网）
In the end, we visited a salt dredger which moved very slowly with its huge hull. Since it was used for salt mining, it took an hour to move as far as one meter. Several iron pipes in the front of the salt dredger were used for absorbing the saline mine at the bottom of the lake. The saline mine which was absorbed was transported on the land through transportation pipes and used for producing the potash beneficial for the growing of crops. It is indicated from the data that the output of the potash produced in Qarhan Salt Lake accounts for 88% of that of the Qaidam Basin, and 19% of the national annual demand of potash. A total of 2 million tons of potash approximately is transported to each corner of China and nourishes the crops each year. (Source of Data: Qarhan Salt Lake National Mining Park)