The introductory part of this article (written in italics) has no sound recording.

"Mind's Eye" is a series of articles and monologues that ask you to imagine a scene or a physical object in your mind, using your brain's ability to visualize things, sometimes called your "mind's eye." Articles in this series contain few if any footnotes except in this introduction, because we always show you the actual picture being described, and anything you don't understand will probably become clear after you see the picture.

Before you start this article, you might want to grab a pencil and paper, and you might want to think about whether you want to read the article first or listen to it first. Listening might seem to be more challenging but is probably easier, because you won't have to burden the visual part of your brain with the reading task as well as the visualization task.

In this article the writer will describe a photograph to you. A link to the actual photo is provided at the end of the article. Please don't click the photo link yet. First, read or listen to the description, and try to visualize the scene in your mind's eye. If you have a pencil and paper handy, you can "take notes" by trying to sketch the scene as the writer describes it.

When you think you have a good idea of what the picture looks like, click the link and find out how well you did. Notice especially the differences between your sketch (or your mental picture) and what you actually see in the photo. The differences may come from your own misunderstandings, or they may come from weaknesses in the writer's description. In either case, the comparison will be enlightening. Have fun.

Taking the Plunge

A man and a woman have apparently just gotten married. Both the groom and the bride are still dressed in wedding outfits. The groom is wearing a black suit and the bride is wearing a white wedding gown with a veil flowing behind her head.

The couple is standing on a large rock that rests in front of a wide body of water. A strip of land can be seen on the horizon, though, so it may be a lake. The sky is a pale blue, with wispy white clouds, and the sun is casting shadows of the couple on the rock.

The couple is turned away from the camera and are about to leap from the rock into the water. The man is standing on his left leg, his right leg is stretched out behind him, and his left arm is sticking out into the air. Striking a similar pose, the woman is standing on her right leg, her left leg is stretched out behind her, and her right arm is sticking out into the air.

The woman's left hand is grasping the man's right hand as he holds a bouquet of flowers high in the air. The flowers are yellow, white, and pink, with a large, green leaf protruding from behind towards the right. A white ribbon is tied around the flower stems, just above the couple's hands, and the long sashes of this ribbon are fluttering over the bride's head.

Interestingly, the man is still wearing his black shoes but the woman has taken off her white high-heeled shoes and has placed them on the rock to her right. As a result, she is now barefoot.

An idiom in English, "take the plunge," refers to the act of getting married. Since this couple is literally plunging, or jumping, into the water, the unusual image could well be a depiction of that idiom.

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