第二步：精读重点段落

（Tips: 双击文中单词可以查释义并加入你的生词本哦）

第01段
I first see her lightly shuffling along a winding alleyway off Pontocho, in Kyoto’s historic Hanamachi neighborhood. Her quiet, feminine elegance is unmistakable; she is a maiko; a trainee geiko, or geisha to the Western world; known for her colorful silk kimono and long obi sash, ornamental pins and brilliant scarlet collar. For a few seconds, she returns my gaze; her white-porcelain face poised with only a hint of a cherry-red smile before she veers towards an unassuming doorway. Like a shimmering mirage, she is there – then suddenly she vanishes; melting into the midnight realm of red paper lanterns, tatami-matted rooms with sliding shoji doors and a dreamy accompaniment of three-string shamisen and shakuhachi flutes.

• Shuffle along a winding alleyway off 慢吞吞走在蜿蜒小巷
• Known for 以……为人所知
• Return one’s gaze 回应某人的注视
• Poised with 姿态
• Veer towards an unassuming doorway 走向小巷
• Melt into the midnight realm of 融入夜色
• With a dreamy accompaniment of 伴奏

第02段
Cherry blossom time and geishas reflect the soul of Japan. And there is no other place that can spellbind you like Kyoto.” Hordes of picture-snapping tourists would agree that Kyoto’s cherry blossom season – delicately pink and gossamer when in bloom, and the colorful Gion Matsuri, the oldest festival in Japan hold the year’s best season tickets. But for others, it’s the mere sight of a geisha that inflames their imaginations. Few cities pack in as much history, culture and natural beauty of Kyoto; an ancient city of omnipresent water, tranquil shrines and temples. And of course, the geisha, an exotic child from the “flower and willow world.”

• Hordes of 一大群
• In bloom 盛开／开着花
• Inflame one’s imagination 激发想象
• Pack in 填料

第10段
I retreat to my ryokan, a traditional Japanese guest house near the massive stone walls of Nijo-jo Castle, where I’m greeted with a gentle bow. “Please,” my Kimono-clad hostess says. She gestures towards my room, “Enjoy your rest.” I fall into a billowing futon after a night of sake and shakuhachi. It starts to rain, and a gust of wind knocks against the ryokan’s ageing wooden frame. The ghosts of Niko-jo’s ruling shoguns and the Gion’s geishas begin to encircle me.

• Retreat to 退回
• Be greeted with a gentle bow 鞠躬欢迎
• Gesture towards 示意指向
• A gust of wind 一阵狂风
• Encircle sb. 萦绕我心

（Tips: 双击文中单词可以查释义并加入你的生词本哦）

Kyoto, Through the Torri Gates

[1] I first see her lightly shuffling along a winding alleyway off Pontocho, in Kyoto’s historic Hanamachi neighborhood. Her quiet, feminine elegance is unmistakable; she is a maiko; a trainee geiko, or geisha to the Western world; known for her colorful silk kimono and long obi sash, ornamental pins and brilliant scarlet collar. For a few seconds, she returns my gaze; her white-porcelain face poised with only a hint of a cherry-red smile before she veers towards an unassuming doorway. Like a shimmering mirage, she is there – then suddenly she vanishes; melting into the midnight realm of red paper lanterns, tatami-matted rooms with sliding shoji doors and a dreamy accompaniment of three-string shamisen and shakuhachi flutes.

• Shuffle v. n. 洗牌／慢吞吞走
• Pontocho 先斗町
• Hanamachi 花町
• Maiko n. 舞妓
• Geiko（只在京都的叫法）／Geisha n. 艺妓
• Kimono n. 和服
• Obi sash n. 宽腰带
• Scarlet n. adj. 猩红色
• Veer v. n. 转向，改变观点
• Shimmer adj. v. 闪烁
• Mirage n. 海市蜃楼
• Shoji n. 本房屋用的纸糊木框
• Accompaniment n. 伴奏
• Shamisen n. 日本三弦琴
• Shakuhachi n. 尺八／日本一种五孔竹笛

[2] Cherry blossom time and geishas reflect the soul of Japan. And there is no other place that can spellbind you like Kyoto.” Hordes of picture-snapping tourists would agree that Kyoto’s cherry blossom season – delicately pink and gossamer when in bloom, and the colorful Gion Matsuri, the oldest festival in Japan hold the year’s best season tickets. But for others, it’s the mere sight of a geisha that inflames their imaginations. Few cities pack in as much history, culture and natural beauty of Kyoto; an ancient city of omnipresent water, tranquil shrines and temples. And of course, the geisha, an exotic child from the “flower and willow world.”

• Spellbind vt. 迷住
• Horde n. 一大群
• Snap vt. vi. n. 折断
• Gossamer n. 蛛丝／adj. 轻飘飘的
• Omnipresent adj. 无所不在的

[3] Kyoto’s geikos not only symbolize the golden thread that ties old Japan with the new; their beguiling culture is tightly woven into many Zen-dreams. Almost a vision from a Japanese fable, they have long been revered for their poise and accomplishments in the arts and for keeping powerful secrets. My host tells me that their graceful silhouettes are ostensibly rare birds of flight in this once-feudal stronghold of Japan.

• Beguiling adj. v. 欺骗／令人陶醉
• Weave v. 编织／编造
• Silhouette n. 轮廓／剪影／vt. 仅显出轮廓
• Ostensibly adv. 表面上
• Feudal adj. 领地的／世仇的

[4] “In the past there were several thousand geikos in Kyoto but their numbers fell to only 200 at the end of the last century,” she explains as we sample wafer-size sashimi. “When the stock market crash happened, things went very bad. Japanese business people could not afford to be entertained by them. There was grave talk that they could soon disappear.” But as fortune would have it, the movie Memoirs of a Geisha ignited public interest, and an arts foundation was created to attract a new generation of geikos. Today, the number of maikos in training has doubled.

• Wafer n. 晶片
• Grave adj. 重大的／n. 坟墓
• Ignite vt. vi. 点燃

[5] “Our heritage is very important to us,” she continues, “which is why we take their culture very seriously.” And it appears that every corner I turn in the Gion, the denizens of old Kyoto find imaginative ways to advance their discreet presence on the city’s tourism grail.

• Gion n. 祇园
• Denizen n. 外籍居民
• Discreet adj. 谨慎的
• Grail n. 圣杯／长期梦寐以求的东西

[6] After a girl finishes training as a maiko, she becomes a geiko. Geiko are expected to do many things in a more sophisticated manner than maiko, so they can create a wonderful atmosphere and good relationships with guests. In addition, they not only dance but also play shamisen and sing at the same time.
[7] How can you tell a geiko from a maiko? Look for subtle differences in attire, from head to toe. Here are a few.
First, the geiko will be wearing a stylized wig, while the maiko wears her own long hair, elaborately dressed with decorative pins.
Next, look at the neckline of her kimono. A geiko’s under-collar is pure white, while a maiko’s will be red, either plain or patterned.
Another difference is in the obi, or the sash around her waist. The ends draping behind the geiko’s obi will be shorter than those of her apprentice – as will the height of the wooden shoes she wears.

• Attire n. 盛装
• Wig n. 假发
• Drap／drop vt. vi. 滴下

[8] Part diplomat, part entertainer, part cultural preservationist, the geiko (the maiko is her apprentice) is the product of up to five years of training. “Geisha” translates best as “performing artist,” and her studies cover etiquette, all forms of Japanese music, dance, games, flower arranging, the tea ceremony, and the fine art of conversation. In short, she is the perfect hostess. It’s still possible to experience dinner with a geiko, but it requires an introduction from a trusted source.

• Etiquette n. 礼节

[9] Many tourists visit Gion hoping to catch a glimpse of a geiko or maiko on their way to or from an engagement at an ochaya in the evenings or while running errands during the day. However, they aren’t the only ones to have a romantic picture of the Japanese geisha. Even among the Japanese, catching a rare glimpse of a traditionally clad geisha – or geiko in the Kyoto dialect – can be as much a sport as birdwatching.

• Clad adj. 穿衣的／v. 穿衣

[10] I retreat to my ryokan, a traditional Japanese guest house near the massive stone walls of Nijo-jo Castle, where I’m greeted with a gentle bow. “Please,” my Kimono-clad hostess says. She gestures towards my room, “Enjoy your rest.” I fall into a billowing futon after a night of sake and shakuhachi. It starts to rain, and a gust of wind knocks against the ryokan’s ageing wooden frame.
The ghosts of Niko-jo’s ruling shoguns and the Gion’s geishas begin to encircle me.

• Ryokan n. 日式旅馆
• Billowing adj. 波浪般的
• Futon n. 日式床垫
• Sake n. 日本米酒
• Shogun n. 幕府首领
• Encircle vt. 包围／环绕