"Anna, do you want to go cross country skiing in Leavenworth tomorrow?" was the text I received from my friend Nataliya on Sunday. I thought about it for a few minutes. The lazy part of my brain thought, "Oh, just stay at home. It's cold, and you only have one day left of vacation." However, the better part of my brain thought, "You must go. It'll be fun, you'll spend time with your friend, and who knows when you will have another opportunity like this?" So I texted back, "Yes!" As Leavenworth is only twenty five minutes away, it's really not a hassle to get there. I had my skis, poles, boots, and warm clothes ready in the car when Nataliya turned up at seven the next morning. It was still dark. The neighborhood was perfectly silent, and my outside Christmas lights twinkled against the snow on the trees. I felt as though I was escaping! We arrived at The Sleeping Lady resort and parked in the skiing area. The pathways and ski tracks had been freshly groomed(1). I brought my skate skis, and Nataliya brought her cross country skis. The only difference between them, that I can tell, is that you use a different method to propel yourself forward. My skis require a sideways/ forward motion, whereas cross country skis need a simple forward and backward motion. Nataliya is quite good at the sport, but I am a complete beginner. She was very gracious, as I stumbled and slipped along next to her, she would wait patiently for me to catch up. We chatted the whole way, and stopped every now and then to photograph the amazing scenery. It was thick with snow, as Leavenworth is more mountainous and certainly gets more feet of snow than Wenatchee does. As I warmed up, several skate skiers came whizzing past me with the look of triumph on their faces. They really knew how to move! I studied their movements as they disappeared into the distance, and I mimicked(2)what they did. And it worked. I found myself more relaxed and moving quickly. When we got back to the car I was actually sweaty. I had been working much harder than I had realized, but I was content, and looking forward to a big breakfast. We will go again on Friday. The forecast is between -12 and -9 degrees C, so the conditions should be perfectly(3) snowy and cold, with hopefully some sun. 1. 'groomed' describes how the snow had been combed neatly in preparation for the skiers. 'To groom' is used mainly in reference to people and also animals. a. I've never been really into grooming myself. Some of my friends spend hours doing their hair and makeup, but not me! b. For the dog show, the owners spent a long time grooming their animals. 2. 'To mimic' is to copy the actions or expressions of someone or something. a. My father can mimic the call of a lion perfectly. b. The rude students were mimicking the teacher's instructions and making fun of him. c. Some birds can mimic the voices of humans. 3. 'Perfectly' is a very useful adverb. a. He painted every line and shadow of her face perfectly. b. The contract was carried out perfectly. c. Our customers are perfectly content with our services. *We even use 'perfectly' ironically. d. When we went camping, it poured with rain the whole time. I was perfectly miserable. Help with pronunciation and fluency from iTalki.

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