Jacket Copy – What are the 100 most beautiful words in the English language?

Photo: Lonely Angel CP via Flickr

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Jacket Copy – What are the 100 most beautiful words in the English language?
Published on L.A.Times – January 28h, 2009 by Carolyn Kellogg

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When thinking of good words, apparently, it's hard to separate them from their meanings. The site alphaDictionary has compiled its selection of the 100 most beautiful words in English (via Nigel Beale) -- in its entirety here or after the jump, with definitions. The list, when recited, is quite beautiful, and the words, for the most part, are familiar rather than obscure: adroit, champagne, dulcet, ebullient, efflorescence, paean, rhapsody.

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There is a plethora (on the list) of words whose meanings are halcyon (on the list), even effervescent (on the list). If you try, you can find the negative -- surreptitious and beleaguer are both on the list -- but the victory would be Pyrrhic (on the list); anyone who can't enjoy the serendipity (on the list) of discovering diaphanous and ingenue together (both on the list) risks being called jejune (on the list).

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You might have noticed a preponderance (not on the list) of words that don't sound particularly English. There does seem to be a definite Francophile (not on the list) bent to the words that made the grade. Is it the pretty, soft sounds? The unusual vowel pairings? The (not on the list) je ne sais quoi?

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I'd suggest two more words for the list: copasetic (all good) and callipygean (I'll let you look it up). What words would you add?

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1 adroit Dexterous, agile.
2 adumbrate To very gently suggest.
3 aestivate To summer, to spend the summer.
4 ailurophile A cat-lover.
5 beatific Befitting an angel or saint.
6 beleaguer To exhaust with attacks.
7 blandiloquent Beautiful and flattering.
8 caliginous Dark and misty.
9 champagne An effervescent wine.
10 chatoyant Like a cat’s eye.
11 chiaroscuro The arrangement of dark and light elements in a picture.
12 cockle A heart-shaped bivalve or a garden flower.
13 colporteur A book peddler.
14 conflate To blend together, to combine different things.
15 cynosure A focal point of admiration.
16 desuetude Disuse.
17 diaphanous Filmy.
18 diffuse Spread out, not focused or concentrated.
19 dulcet Sweet, sugary.
20 ebullient Bubbling with enthusiasm.
21 effervescent Bubbly.
22 efflorescence Flowering, the opening of buds or a bloom.
23 elixir A good potion.
24 emollient A softener.
25 encomium A spoken or written work in praise of someone.
26 ephemeral Short-lived.
27 epicure A person who enjoys fine living, especially food and drink.
28 epiphany A sudden revelation.
29 erstwhile At one time, for a time.
30 eschew To reject or avoid.
31 esculent Edible.
32 esoteric Understood only by a small group of specialists.
33 ethereal Gaseous, invisible but detectable.
34 etiolate White from no contact with light.
35 evanescent Vanishing quickly, lasting a very short time.
36 exuberant Enthusiastic, excited.
37 felicitous Pleasing.
38 fescue A variety of grass favored for pastures.
39 foudroyant Dazzling.
40 fragile Very, very delicate.
41 fugacioius Running, escaping.
42 gambol To skip or leap about joyfully.
43 glamour Beauty.
44 gossamer The finest piece of thread, a spider’s silk.
45 halcyon Happy, sunny, care-free.
46 hymeneal Having to do with a wedding.
47 imbricate To overlap to form a regular pattern.
48 imbroglio An altercation or complicated situation.
49 imbue To infuse, instill.
50 incipient Beginning, in an early stage.
51 ingenue A naive young woman.
52 inglenook The place beside the fireplace.
53 inspissate To thicken.
54 inure To jade.
55 jejune Dull; childish.
56 lagniappe A gift given to a customer for their patronage.
57 lagoon A small gulf or inlet in the sea.
58 languor Listlessness, inactivity.
59 lassitude Weariness, listlessness.
60 laughter The response to something funny.
61 lilt To move musically or lively, to have a lively sound.
62 lithe Slender and flexible.
63 loquacious Talkative.
64 luxuriant Thick, lavish.
65 mellifluous Sweet-sounding.
66 missive A message or letter.
67 moiety One of two equal parts, a half.
68 mondegreen A misanalyzed phrase.
69 nebulous Foggy.
70 niveous Snowy, snow-like.
71 obsequious Fawning, subservience.
72 odalisque A concubine in a harem.
73 oeuvre A work.
74 offing That part of the sea between the horizon and the offshore.
75 onomatopoeia The creation of words by imitating sound.
76 paean A formal expression of praise.
77 palimpsest A manuscript written over one or more earlier ones.
78 panacea A complete solution for all problems.
79 panoply A complete set.
80 pastiche A mixture of art work (art or music) from various sources.
81 peccadillo A peculiarity.
82 pelagic Related to the sea or ocean.
83 penumbra A half-shadow, the edge of a shadow.
84 peregrination Wandering, travels.
85 petrichor The smell of earth after a rain.
86 plethora A great excess, overabundance.
87 porcelain A fine white clay pottery.
88 potamophilous Loving rivers.
89 propinquity An inclination or preference.
90 Pyrrhic Victorious despite heavy losses.
91 quintessential The ultimate, the essence of the essence.
92 redolent Sweet-smelling.
93 rhapsody A beautiful musical piece.
94 riparian Having to do with the bank of a river or other body of water.
95 ripple A small, circular wave emanating from a central point.
96 scintillate To sparkle with brilliant light.
97 sempiternal Forever and ever.
98 seraglio Housing for a harem.
99 serendipity Finding something while looking for something else.
100 surreptitious Sneaky.

Learning in The News XXIII - for Advanced Business English Students

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COVER STORY: THE PRESIDENT’S INBOX

The World That Awaits
By Richard N. Haass NEWSWEEK MAGAZINE
Published Oct 25, 2008
From the magazine issue dated Nov 3, 2008
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MEMORANDUM.TO: The president-electRE: Foreign Policy
FROM: Richard N. Haass, President of the Council on Foreign Relations
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There are only two and a half months—76 days, to be precise— between Election Day and your Inauguration, and you will need every one of them to get ready for the world you will inherit. This is not the world you've been discussing on the trail for the last year or more: campaigning and governing could hardly be more different. The former is necessarily done in bold strokes and, to be honest, often approaches caricature. All candidates resist specifying priorities or trade-offs lest they forfeit precious support. You won, but at a price, as some of the things you said were better left unsaid. Even more important, the campaign did not prepare the public for the hard times to come.
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There will be days when you will wonder why you worked so hard to get this job. What will make it so difficult is not just all that awaits, but the constraints that will limit what you can actually do. When George W. Bush became president nearly eight years ago the world was largely at peace, the U.S. military was largely at rest, oil was $23 a barrel, the economy was growing at more than 3 percent, $1 was worth 116 yen, the national debt was just under $6 trillion and the federal government was running a sizable budgetary surplus. The September 11 attacks, for all they cost us as a nation, increased the world's willingness to cooperate with us. You, by contrast, will inherit wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, tired and stretched armed forces, a global struggle with terrorism, oil that has ranged as high as $150 a barrel, a weaker dollar (now worth 95 yen), substantial anti-American sentiment, a federal budget deficit that could reach $1 trillion in your first year, a ballooning national debt of some $10 trillion and a global economic slowdown that will increase instability in numerous countries.
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You will take office two decades after the end of the cold war. What some dubbed the unipolar moment is history. Economic, political and military power is held by many hands, not all of which belong to states, not all of which are benign. This does not mean the United States is weak. To the contrary, this country is still the single most powerful entity in the world. But the United States cannot dominate, much less dictate, and expect that others will follow. There are limits to U.S. resources; at the same time the country has serious vulnerabilities. Enron, Abu Ghraib, Katrina and the financial crisis have taken their toll: America's ability to tell others what to do, or to persuade them through example, is much diminished.
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Against this backdrop, you will face specific challenges. Many are to be found in the greater Middle East, the part of the world where every president beginning with Jimmy Carter has stubbed his toe. Consider Iraq, the issue that most dominated the foreign policy of Bush. There will be ample time for historians to sort out the wisdom (or lack thereof) of embarking on this costly war of choice. The priorities now are to gradually reduce U.S. force presence, back the integration of Iraq's Sunni minority into national institutions, persuade Arab states to help the government and resume a dialogue with Iran on Iraq's future. The good news is that many of the arrows in Iraq are finally pointing in the right direction and it will not dominate your presidency. The bad news is that you know you are in for a rough ride when Iraq is the good news.
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The arrows are pointing in the opposite direction in Afghanistan. The Taliban is gaining ground; security is deteriorating; drugs and corruption are rampant. More U.S. and NATO troops are needed, but any increase will need to be temporary, given rising Afghan nationalism. The chief priority should be training Afghanistan's Army and police. Regular talks are needed with those with a stake in the country's future, including Iran, Pakistan, India, China, Russia and NATO. The government should be encouraged to meet with Taliban leaders willing to accept a ceasefire. Counterdrug efforts, while essential, should be targeted and low-key, lest an alienated populace grow more so.
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It may be better to view Afghanistan and Pakistan as one problem, since Pakistan provides sanctuary for the Taliban. Pakistan's government appears unable or unwilling to control its own territory. The country's return to democracy is at best incomplete and fragile; its economy has slowed. The world's second-most-populous Muslim nation—home to 170 million people, several dozen nuclear weapons and many of the world's terrorists, including Al Qaeda—is failing. Promised assistance should continue to flow; additional economic and military aid should be provided to bolster the government, but only if Islamabad accepts conditions on its use. Military incursions targeting terrorists need to be limited to those instances where there is a high likelihood of accomplishing something truly substantial.
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Iran constitutes another challenge where the campaign generated more heat than light. If Tehran continues its current progress in enriching uranium, early on in your presidency you will be presented with the choice of attacking Iran (or green lighting an Israeli attack) or living with a nuclear Iran. Yogi Berra said that when you approach a fork in the road, take it. I respectfully disagree. Neither option is attractive. A military strike may buy some time, but it won't solve the problem. It will, however, lead to Iranian retaliation against U.S. personnel and interests in Iraq and Afghanistan, and much higher oil prices—the last thing the world needs, given the financial crisis. An Iran with nuclear weapons or the capacity to produce them quickly would place the Middle East on a hair trigger and lead several Arab states to embark on nuclear programs of their own.
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I would suggest that we work with the Europeans, Russia and China to cobble together a new diplomatic package to present to the Iranians. Ideally, Iran would be persuaded to give up its independent enrichment capability or, if it refused, to consider accepting clear limits on enrichment and intrusive inspections so that the threat is clearly bounded. We should be prepared to have face-to-face talks with the Iranians, without preconditions. In general, it is wiser to see negotiations not as a reward but as a tool of national security.
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It will be important, too, to ratchet up diplomacy vis-à-vis the Israelis and Palestinians. The current impasse threatens Israel's future as a secure, democratic, prosperous and Jewish state. It breeds radicalism among Palestinians and throughout the Arab and Muslim worlds, and is a major source of anti-Americanism. What is more, time is working against us: physical and political developments will only make it harder to achieve a two-state solution.
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We cannot solve this problem quickly—those Palestinians who are willing to compromise for peace are too weak, and those who are strong are not willing to compromise—but we can bolster Palestinian moderates who, over time, could be partners for Israel. Sooner rather than later you should be prepared to articulate your vision of a fair and stable peace, press Israel to stop settlement activity and push Arab governments and the European Union to do more to raise Palestinian living standards. Hamas should be told that abiding by a ceasefire is a must if it is to participate in any Palestinian election or diplomatic effort.
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A New Strategic FrameworkOther challenges are equally urgent: contending with a nuclear North Korea; working to moderate a resentful and resurgent Russia; brokering peace between Israel and Syria; and taking steps to stabilize those African countries beset by civil strife. But at the same time, it's important not to lose sight of the fundamentals. Unlike most previous eras, in which the dominant threat was posed by a great-power rival, ours is the era of globalization, in which flows of just about anything—from people, dollars and drugs to arms, greenhouse gases and viruses—move across borders in great volume and with great velocity. Many of these flows represent real threats. The problem is that global arrangements have not kept pace.
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The economic institutions created in the wake of World War II (the IMF in particular) require updating. We similarly lack machinery for dealing with climate change, energy security, the spread of nuclear materials, disease and the threat of terrorism. Dean Acheson, Harry Truman's secretary of state, immodestly but accurately titled his memoir "Present at the Creation." Your goal should be no less ambitious: to design and implement a foreign policy that closes the gap between this era's major challenges and the international architecture and rules meant to manage them.
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America cannot do this by itself; the challenges of this era have no single national origin and no national solution. Multilateralism is the only realistic way ahead. The operative term is "integration." We need to bring other major powers into the design and operation of the world—before the century is overwhelmed by the forces globalization has unleashed. This will require sustained consultations followed by sustained negotiations. (This poses no problem, as our diplomats are much less stretched than our soldiers.) It will also require American leadership. There is a real opportunity to make progress: many of today's powers understand that they will either cooperate with one another or pay a steep price.
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People MatterThere will be time to do detailed interagency reviews of policies toward these and other challenges. Let me make a few general recommendations. First, people matter. Very little about history is inevitable. You have talked about a bipartisan administration, and should make this happen. The next four years promise to be difficult, and you do not want to try to lead the country with narrow majorities.
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One of these people deserves special mention. The vice president should be your counselor, a minister without portfolio, and not a cabinet secretary with a specific set of responsibilities. You need someone with an administration-wide perspective who can tell you what you need to hear, even if it isn't always what you want to hear. The one person around you (other than your spouse) you cannot fire is best placed to do this. That said, you should reduce the size and role of the VP's staff. The interagency process is sufficiently sclerotic without adding yet another national-security bureaucracy to the mix.
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Avoid big reorganizations. The last two—Homeland Security and the intelligence community—have been less than total successes. Your inbox is sufficiently daunting without the added strain of reorganization; it is rarely a good idea to remodel the operating room when the patient is on the table. The one exception may be energy policy, which has never received the attention it merits. Energy policy is national-security policy
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Facing Up to FactsSpeaking of energy, the current situation is untenable. We are channeling vast numbers of dollars to some of the world's most unsavory governments, strengthening them while leaving ourselves vulnerable to supply interruptions and price fluctuations.
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Prices have come down recently as demand has dropped off, but recession cannot become our energy policy. Substantial research demonstrates that we can reduce consumption without slowing economic growth. Your campaign didn't talk much about conservation or efficiency, but the greatest potential for making a difference over the next four years is just this. I am talking not about carbon taxes but rather the setting of energy standards for what this country produces and does. We can offer tax breaks and subsidies as long as they are linked to greater efficiency and "greenness." We should devote resources to the development of alternatives, although resources will be in short supply and developing alternatives will take time.
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Trade is also worth talking about now, even though it was hardly mentioned after the Ohio primary. By the time you take office it will have been 19 months since the president enjoyed trade promotion authority, which gives him the ability to negotiate complex multilateral trade agreements by limiting Congress to a straight up-or-down vote. Several bilateral free-trade agreements are languishing at considerable cost to our economy and to our relationship with friends such as Colombia.
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It will be important to resurrect your ability to negotiate and conclude trade pacts. A new global trade agreement offers the best noninflationary, anti-recession tool for the American and global economies. Estimates are that a new global agreement could add as much as 1 percent growth each year to the U.S. and world economies. Trade brings an added benefit: it is an engine of development for poor countries. Access to the American market can provide jobs and wealth. This will be especially important given that we are unlikely to have as much money for foreign aid.
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I'd like to think the arguments in favor of open trade would carry the day, because on the merits they do. The most successful sector of our economy right now consists of firms that export. Imports give consumers choice and keep inflation low. Job losses tend to be tied to technological change, not imports or offshoring. But I've learned that facts are only part of the story in politics. The only way you are likely to win a debate on trade is if you do more to cushion individual workers from the vagaries of modern global life. This means tax-deferred retraining and education accounts, and a health-care option not linked to jobs. So if you are going to press for health care, I suggest you link it to trade.
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Trade is not the only area where America needs to make sure we stay open for business. We must encourage others to continue to recycle their dollars here—in part by buying and investing in American companies. We require $2 billion a day just to stay afloat. Blocking legitimate investments can also trigger crises in important bilateral relationships. Such protectionism must be resisted at all costs.
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You ran hard against Bush in this campaign, and understandably so, given his historically low approval ratings. But you should be wary of distancing yourself too far from his administration. This is especially important because Bush already distanced himself from himself in his second term. Remarkably, he leaves behind a good deal you can build on: programs to combat HIV/AIDS around the world, diplomatic efforts in the Middle East, a strategic breakthrough with India, important consultative arrangements with China and a good relationship with Brazil, increasingly the anchor of a centrist block of South American countries.
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One area, however, where you would be wise to put some distance between yourself and "43" involves democracy. America does not have the ability to transform the world. Nor do we have the luxury. We need to focus more on what countries do than on what they are. This is not an argument for ignoring human rights or setting aside our interest in promoting democracy. But we should go slow and focus on building its prerequisites—the checks and balances of civil society and constitutionalism—and not rush elections or impose political change through force. Bush was right when he called for a humble foreign policy. You should practice what he preached.
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Let me close where I began. This is a sobering moment in American history. You begin with a good deal of popular support, but mandates must be replenished. I suggest you think of the Oval Office as a classroom, and explain to the American people what we need to accomplish and what it will require. Some 21st-century version of the fireside chat is called for. My reading of things is that the American people are ready to be leveled with. Once the campaign is over, let the leveling begin.
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Vocabulary:

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Inbox: noun [C] (US in-box)a flat open container where letters and other documents are put when they arrive in a person's office and where they are kept until the person has time to deal with them (caixa de entrada)
to get ready: verb to prepare
inherit: verb [T] to begin to have responsibility for a problem or situation that previously existed or belonged to another person
trail: noun [C] a path through the countryside, often made or used for a particular purpose, a path
hardly be: adverb - with effort or difficulty
former: adjective [before noun] of or in an earlier time; before the present time or in the past
trade-offs: noun - [C usually singular] a situation in which you accept something bad in order to have something good
lest: conjunction LITERARY in order to prevent any possibility that something will happen
forfeit: verb [T] to lose the right to do or have something because you have broken a rule
Even more: adverb - (easier explained in Portuguese) até mais
the hard times to come: adjective - difficult to bear or endure (tempos dificeis por vir)
constraints: noun [C] something which controls what you do by keeping you within particular limits
actually: adverb - in fact or really
national debt: noun [C usually singular] (US also Public Debt) the total amount of money that is owed by a country's government
budgetary: adjective – from Budget : the official statement that a government makes about how much it will collect in taxes and spend on public services in the future
surplus: noun [C or U], adjective (an amount which is) more than is needed
willingness: noun [S or U] [+ to infinitive]from: willing adjective - be willing (to do sth) to be happy to do something if it is needed
struggle: verb [I] to experience difficulty and make a very great effort in order to do something
federal budget: The budget for the federal government. The federal budget of a country is determined yearly, and forecasts the amount of money that will be spent on a variety of expenses in the upcoming year.
ballooning: verb [I] to quickly increase in size, weight or importance
slowdown: noun [C] a reduction in speed, activity or the rate that things are produced
take office: verb - assume an office, duty, or title; "When will the new President take office?"
cold war: Guerra Fria (easier explained in Portuguese)
dubbed: Past tense of the verb Dub - verb [T + noun] -bb- to give something or someone a particular name, especially describing what you think of them
unipolar: adjective - of or having only one magnetic or electric pole, describing a movement (neste texto com o sentido de um movimento unilateral)
entity: noun [C] FORMAL something which exists apart from other things, having its own independent existence
taken their toll: noun - a grievous or ruinous price ; especially : cost in life or health
backdrop: noun - [S] the general situation in which particular events happen
challenges: noun [C or U] (the situation of being faced with) something needing great mental or physical effort in order to be done successfully and which therefore tests a person's ability
Middle East: Oriente Médio (easier explained in Portuguese)
stubbed his toe: expression: to make a mistake (him in the article), flubbed-up,
sort out: verb [I or T] to put a number of things in an order or to separate them into groups
wisdom: noun [U] the ability to use your knowledge and experience to make good decisions and judgments
lack: noun lack of sth the absence of something or when there is not enough of it
thereof: adverb FORMAL of or about the thing just mentioned
costly: adjective - expensive
arrows: noun [C] a sign consisting of a straight line with an upside down V shape at one end of it, which points in a particular direction, and is used to show where something is
in for a rough ride: expression: is going to face difficult times
rampant: adjective (of something bad) getting worse quickly and in an uncontrolled way
low-key: adjective describes an event that is quiet and without a great show of excitement
unwilling: adjective not willing
to flow: verb [I] (especially of liquids, gases or electricity) to move in one direction, especially continuously and easily
to bolster: verb [T] to support or improve something or make it stronger
likelihood: noun [U] the chance that something will happen
accomplishing: Present Continuous Tense of the verb to accomplish - verb [T] to finish something successfully or to achieve something
military strike: military attack (ataque militar)
lead to: phrasal verb If an action or event leads to something, it causes that thing to happen or exist
cobble: from the noun cobble: a rounded stone used on the surface of an old-fashioned road in this text used with the sense of “pavimentar - figurativamente”.
reward: noun [C] something given in exchange for good behaviour or good work, etc
to ratchet up: phrasal verb [M] to increase/decrease something over a period of time
vis-à-vis: French expression nm+adv frente a, defronte. • adv face a face, cara a cara
breeds: verb [T] to cause something to happen, usually something bad
throughout: preposition, adverb in every part, or during the whole period of time
to achieve: verb [T] to succeed in finishing something or reaching an aim, especially after a lot of work or effort
to compromise: noun [C or U] an agreement in an argument in which the people involved reduce their demands or change their opinion in order to agree
rather than: adverb - in preference to; instead of
settlement: noun - a new colony, or a place newly colonized
beset: adjective [after verb] troubled (by); full (of)
civil strife: noun [U] FORMAL violent or angry civil disagreement
to lose sight: to forget about an important idea or fact because you are thinking too much about other things
disease: noun [C or U] (an) illness of people, animals, plants, etc., caused by infection or a failure of health rather than by an accident
overwhelmed: adjective - very great or very large
sustained: Past Tense of to sustain - verb [T] to cause or allow something to continue for a period of time
pay a steep price: expression – pagar um alto preço por… (easier explained in Portugues)
sclerotic: adjective SPECIALIZED - FIGURATIVE DISAPPROVING
Avoid: verb [T] to stay away from someone or something, or prevent something from happening or not allow yourself to do something
Daunting: adjective making you feel slightly frightened or worried about your ability to achieve something
Untenable: adjective FORMAL - describes a theory or argument that cannot be supported or defended against criticism
Channeling: Present Continuous Form of the Verb to channel - verb [T] -ll- or US USUALLY -l- to direct something into a particular place or situation
come down: phrasal verb - INFORMAL If a price or a level comes down, it becomes lower
dropped off: (DECREASE) phrasal verb If the amount, number or quality of something drops off, it becomes less
tax breaks: noun a tax deduction that is granted in order to encourage a particular type of commercial activity [syn: tax benefit]
Trade: noun [U] the activity of buying and selling, or exchanging, goods and/or services between people or countries
Wealth: noun [U]a large amount of money or valuable possessions that someone has
foreign aid: noun [U] the help that is given by a richer country to a poorer one, usually in the form of money or food
to be tied to: estar preso a – neste texto figurativamente (easier explained in Portuguese)
offshoring: away from or at a distance from the coast
tax-deferred: A situation in which taxes will have to be paid at some point in the future, but they are not paid now. An example of a tax-deferred investment is an Individual Retirement Account (IRA), whose earnings accumulate tax free. When the funds are withdrawn after the IRA owner reaches age 59⁄, taxes have to be paid on the withdrawn funds.
health care: NOUN The prevention, treatment, and management of illness and the preservation of mental and physical well-being through the services offered by the medical and allied health professions.
to stay afloat: adjective - free of major trouble
Remarkably: adjective unusual or special and therefore surprising and worth mentioning
Breakthrough: noun [C] an important discovery or event that helps to improve a situation or provide an answer to a problem
setting aside: phrasal verb [M] If a judge or court sets aside a previous decision or judgment, they state that it does not now have any legal effect, usually because they consider it to have been wrong
humble: adjective not proud or not believing that you are important
preached: Verb Tense of to preach - verb [T] to try to persuade other people to believe in a particular belief or follow a particular way of life
sobering: adjective making you feel serious or think about serious matters
replenished: Past Tense of to replenish - verb [T] FORMAL to fill something up again
to accomplish: verb [T] to finish something successfully or to achieve something
to be leveled with: to speak truthfully and openly

Learning in the News XXII - For Advanced Students

Sun Valley by Knobby Tires, Not Skis
By MATT FURBER
The New York Times - Published: October 24, 2008
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HAPPY TRAILS Approaching Mahoney Butte.

MOUNTAIN biking in Sun Valley, Idaho, is best seen from the saddle. But a glimpse from a four-seater airplane of the valley’s mountains, alpine lakes, rivers, canyons, forests and lava flows helped set the stage.
The pilot, Tor Andersen, who had his mountain bike and fly-fishing rod neatly stowed in the fuselage of the 51-year-old Cessna 182, was joining me for some autumn mountain biking during the harvest moon.
After our arrival at Friedman Memorial Airport and a quick visit to a bike shop for trail information and last-minute gear, we rode east to the Lamb’s Gulch Trail in Croy Canyon with Scott Douglas, an owner of Sun Valley Trekking, an outfitter that rents out backcountry huts and yurts.
“Sun Valley is prized for its grooming,” Mr. Douglas said, referring to the cornerstone ski resort that opened in 1936 under the guidance of W. Averell Harriman, then the chairman of Union Pacific Railroad. Today, the resort has state-of-the-art snowmaking and grooming equipment on Dollar and Bald Mountains. “The bike trails are just as smooth.”
Daniel Henry, a mine owner based in Hailey, said that the secret to those smooth rides is in the dirt. "The six-sided fractured shale common in the area packs down like concrete," said Mr. Henry, a former Colorado School of Mines student.
Trail volunteers work regularly through the spring and summer sculpturing the ground on Croy Canyon trails. As Blaine County has grown in recent years, so has demand for mountain bike and motorcycle trails, said John Kurtz, a Bureau of Land Management recreation planner. But some mountain bikers have taken projects into their own hands.
When he learned that bikers were building trails without authorization, Mr. Kurtz contacted a local trail stewardship group called Big Wood Backcountry Trails. Together, they found volunteers to help restore the illegally constructed trail to its natural character and to build new authorized trails.
Croy Canyon has become a test case for public lands management because the bureau is working with riders and private property owners to form a new recreation area that will offer trails that allow motorized vehicles along with some areas that will be exclusive to nonmotorized trail users.
“I couldn’t ask for a better job,” said Mr. Kurtz, who works with a recreation planning committee based at the bureau in Washington “One day, I’m out here building trail. The next day, I am working on national policy.”
Although riding opportunities are expanding and have a longer season on the drier terrain overseen by the bureau, forest rides to the north offer more shade, creek crossings and surprising views as riders pop in and out of the trees.
Sun Valley and its mining-era neighbor Ketchum sit at the top of the Wood River Valley, a stretch of alpine forest, mixed with bald, sage and grass slopes. Following the Big Wood River as it flows south from Galena Pass, the resort area is peppered with aspen groves, willow and cottonwood trees. North of the pass, the road leads to Stanley and the Sawtooth Wilderness.
Wielding a jackhammer on a recent bureau trail project, Renee Catherine, trail coordinator for the Sawtooth National Forest, said she works closely with the bureau manager because she values cooperation between agencies in a place where trails cross boundaries.
During the peak of autumn colors, some trails I rode connected Bureau of Land Management and United States Forest Service land. Customized cattle guards made it possible to keep riding without having to open and close range-land gates, just as hand-built wooden ramps and bridges made it possible to keep riding without having to dismount in the forest and riparian zones.
Trail quality was at its height on the roughly 450 miles of single track around Sun Valley. Day trips here can also include excursions to the Sawtooth Valley, including loops in the Boulder and White Cloud Mountains, a proposed wilderness area east of the Sawtooth range. One of the most popular ride-from-the-road experiences there is the 17.5-mile Fisher Creek Loop, which passes through the burn zone of the Valley Road Fire, a 2005 wildfire.
Like many trail networks in the area, the popular circuit barely scratches the surface of possibilities.
The Sun Valley area is challenging to reach. It is about a 12-hour drive from Seattle, San Francisco, or Denver, and the closest big airport is two and a half hours away in Boise. As a result, even at the height of the season on sanctioned trails, it is rare to see many other riders. Riding the Bald Mountain Trail to the Warm Springs connector, an after-work constitutional on the ski mountain for many locals, I met only one person.
Encounters with signs of wildlife are common anywhere in the Sun Valley area. Seeing a mountain lion on the trail is rare, but a moose on Main Street, or a bear in the garbage, is not unknown. Deer, elk and fox are ubiquitous. And whether a rider is in Hailey, Ketchum or Stanley, trailheads are so close to home base that enjoying a pint at the end of a ride is always an option.
October is a busy month for biking in the Wood River Valley. Crosstoberfest, an off-road race that starts at the plaza at Sun Valley’s River Run Lodge at the end of October, is the final entry in an annual series of community-wide biking events. Other events include a new midsummer road race in Hailey and the Galena Grinder, a mountain bike event given by Galena Lodge on the tracks that form the Nordic ski area at the base of the pass to the Sawtooth Valley.
“The soil moisture is perfect right now,” said Chris Leman, a trail designer. Having spent some of the year helping map trail reroutes in the Sawtooth National Forest, where the 2007 Castle Rock Fire burned about 48,500 acres in the Smoky Mountains and threatened Ketchum and Sun Valley, Mr. Leman also worked with the volunteer trail crews in Croy Canyon.
“I just designed a trail that is about 10 or 12 miles long,” Mr. Leman said. After he had spent the summer mapping future trails, Mr. Leman’s new boots were nearly worn out.
Despite the hard work that goes into maintaining the trails, mountain biking in the Wood River Valley is not entirely about suffering. Once there, the county is comfortably accessible to visitors with plenty of modern convenience and cosmopolitan interaction.
“It’s Paris on the Wood,” said Greg Randolph, who was raised in McCall, Idaho, and who writes a monthly column, “Ask Chopper,” for Bike Magazine.
Near Ketchum’s Elephant’s Perch outdoor store, where I met Mr. Randolph in the bike shop, Iconoclast Books offers a diversion for bikers resting between rides. There are also a number of art galleries, coffee shops and theaters in the Wood River Valley.
The Sun Valley Center for the Arts played host to Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the Harvard professor and cultural critic, who spoke at the Church of the Big Wood at the end of the week.
“The riding is terrible here,” Mr. Randolph said, amicably trying to steer me clear of riding choices we discussed. “I wouldn’t recommend any of it. It’s a bad experience.”
What can you believe from a former professional mountain bike racer who has chosen to live with his family smack in the middle of the Wood River Valley?
“It’s a whole other world in here,” said Sean McLaughlin, a bike mechanic, adding a caveat to any trail information gleaned from the cadre of local riders who popped in to the bike shop. As we chatted about Sun Valley trails, Rebecca Rusch, a reigning mountain bike world champion, just home from 24 Hours of Moab, Bike Race in Utah, arrived looking for a bike cleaning. She was preparing to leave the next day for a race in Brazil,. Then, Muffy Ritz, the three-time-second-place finisher of the Race Across America, came in stating that the thing that kept her in the valley was the Nordic skiing.
Another mechanic, Roger Mankus, a veteran of the Leadville 100 mountain bike race in Colorado, had more practical advice for an average biker.
“The Burger Grill is half price between 4 and 6. Get the double double,” he said.
Before I could react, however, the proprietor of Johnny G’s Subshack stopped by with his fourth consecutive flat tire and made a better offer.
Beer at Grumpy’s, Lefty’s or the Wicked Spud in Hailey are all memorable stops, as is a trip to the Cavallino Lounge or Sun Valley Resort. If it’s breakfast or lunchtime in the Sawtooth Valley, many riders pop into the Stanley Baking Company.
One of the appealing aspects of riding in the Wood River Valley is the relatively low elevation, compared with places like Utah or Colorado. Few trails rise above 8,000 feet.
As the harvest moon peaked, I managed to pull a group of mountain bikers away from their families for the ride to a Sun Valley Trekking hut called Coyote Yurt, for an overnight stay. We chatted on the ascent past Lupine Point with stunning views of the Boulder Mountains to the east. The ride was smooth, except for a section of crusty leftover snow on a shady, north-facing slope.
Knowing that we wouldn’t be racing back to the village at the end of the day’s ride, our party began to unwind when we reached the yurt in the Smoky Mountains about 12 miles from Highway 75. Joe St. Onge, also a Sun Valley Trekking owner, started supper, and his wood stove began to warm the yurt in the evening chill. Suddenly, the yellow moon popped up from behind the Devil’s Bedstead, an imposing peak in the Pioneer Mountains, one of five surrounding ranges.
Dinner conversation flowed between the validity of vegetarianism and various political views, to questions about mountain ecology and Ultimate Fighting. There were also plenty of postulations about the global economy. Will Hovey, a volunteer fireman and private equity investor, said the view from his office of a snow-dusted Bald Mountain has been his favorite picture lately, since on his computer screen, he’s only been seeing red.
Craig Maxwell, a Wood River Valley native and structural engineer who also joined us for the overnight, pointed out predatory birds and signs of wildlife.
The next morning, riding the Warm Springs Ridge Trail back to civilization again, we hit patches of snow. One section was covered with pancake-sized paw prints.
“That was either one wolf doing laps or a pack of them,” Mr. Maxwell said, as we gained a ridge.
Where the wolf tracks faded out, we swooped downhill toward town on plush single track in the sun.


Vocabulary:
Saddle: noun [C]a seat, often made of leather, used on a horse, bicycle, motorcycle, etc
Glimpse: verb [T] to see something or someone for a very short time or only partly
Rod: noun [C]a long thin pole made of wood or metal
Neatly: adverb tidily, with everything in its place
Stowed: verb [T]past tense form of stow - to store something
harvest moon: noun the moon at and about the period of fullness that is nearest to the autumnal equinox. Origin: 1700–10
Gear: noun [U] the equipment, clothes etc. that you use to do a particular activity: fishing/camping gear
Outfitter: noun OLD-FASHIONED a shop that sells sport clothes and accessories
Huts: noun [C]a small, simple building, usually consisting of one room (cabanas)
Yurt(s): noun a circular tent of felt or skins on a framework of poles, used by nomads of Mongolia
Grooming: noun [U]the things that you do to make your appearance tidy and pleasant, for example brushing your hair, or the things that you do to keep an animal's hair or fur clean and tidy
Cornerstone: noun [C] something of great importance which everything else depends on
under the guidance: noun [U] under the help and advice about how to do something or about how to deal with problems connected with your work, education, or personal relationships
chairman: noun [C]a person in charge of a meeting or organization
smooth: adjective having a surface or substance which is perfectly regular and has no holes, lumps or areas that rise or fall suddenly
mine owner: Proprietário de uma mina (easier explained in Portuguese)
dirt: noun [U] dust, earth or any substance that makes a surface not clean (in this case refers to “a terra”)
shale: noun [U]a type of soft grey rock, usually formed from hardened clay, which breaks easily into thin layers
stewardship: noun [C] a person whose job it is to organize a particular event, or to provide services to particular people, or to take care of a particular place
planning committee: A Planning committee in the United Kingdom is a committee of Local Authority councilors that sit as the Local Planning Authority to determine Planning Applications. Advice is usually given to the committee by Planning Officers who provide a recommendation for approval or refusal. Meetings are cyclical and are usually held between every 3 to 6 weeks and should be open to the public. (in this text it means “um Comitê de Planejamento”)
overseen: verb [T] overseeing, oversaw, overseen to watch or organize a job or an activity to make certain that it is being done correctly
creek: noun [C]1 UK a narrow area of water that flows into the land from the sea, a lake, etc. 2 US a stream or narrow river
sage: adjective, noun [U] greyish-green
grass: noun[C or U] a low green plant which grows naturally over a lot of the Earth's surface, having groups of very thin leaves which grow in large numbers very close together
slopes: noun [C]1 a surface which lies at an angle to the horizontal so that some points on it are higher than others; 2 (part of) the side of a hill or mountain
peppered: with lots of
aspen groves: noun [C] Populus tremuloides, also known as American Aspen, Quaking Aspen, Trembling Aspen, Quakies, Quakers, Popple, Golden Aspen, Mountain Aspen, Poplar, Trembling Poplar, Álamo Blanco, and Álamo Temblón, is a deciduous tree native to cooler areas of North America.
Willow: noun [C]a tree that grows near water and has long, thin branches that hang down
Wielding: Holding
Jackhammer: noun [C]US for pneumatic drill
Boundaries: noun [C] a real or imagined line that marks the edge or limit of something
cattle guards: noun - a group of people in charge of protecting bulls or cows from being attacked or stolen
riparian zone: a riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a stream. Plant communities along the river margins are called riparian vegetation, characterized by hydrophilic plants. Riparian zones are significant in ecology, environmental management, and civil engineering because of their role in soil conservation, their biodiversity, and the influence they have on aquatic ecosystems. Riparian zones occur in many forms including grassland, woodland, wetland or even non-vegetative. In some regions the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, or riparian strip are used to characterize a riparian zone. The word "riparian" is derived from Latin ripa, meaning river bank.
Pint: noun [C] a measure for liquid equal to about half a liter
Soil: noun[C or U] the material on the surface of the ground in which plants grow; earth
Amicably: adjective relating to behavior between people that is pleasant and friendly often despite a difficult situation
Gleaned: verb [T] past tense of glean – information collected in small amounts and often with difficulty
Cadre: group noun [C]a small group of trained people who form the basic unit of a military, political or business organization
flat tire: pneu furado (easier explained in Portuguese)
supper: noun [C or U]a main meal eaten in the evening, or a small meal eaten in the late evening
postulations: noun [C] FORMAL – plural for of Postulate - an idea that is suggested or accepted as a basic principle before a further idea is formed or developed from it
wildlife: vida selvagem – (easier explained in Portuguese)
paw prints: pegadas (de lobos) easier explained in Portuguese)
plush: adjective INFORMAL luxurious; expensive, comfortable and of high quality