http://news.yahoo.com/heart-pounds-eyes-close-tallest-waterslide-195540259.html
By BILL DRAPER
pound (v) 跳動
waterslide (n) 滑水道
Halfway up the 264 stairs leading to the top of the world's tallest waterslide, it was clear this was the most breathtaking ride I'd ever encountered.
halfway (n) 半程
lead (v) 通往
clear (a) 分明
breathtaking (a) 驚險的
ride (n) 路程
encounter (v) 遇上
And that was before I ever stepped foot in the raft.
step (v) 踏出
raft (n) 筏
Two-thirds of the way up the circular stairs is a sign that says I've reached the height of the Statue of Liberty. A few dozen more steps and I've reached the level of Niagara Falls — and the relief that despite being a little light-headed, this 50-year-old former smoker was going to make it to the top of the ride called "Verruckt" — German for "insane."
two-thirds (n) 三分之二
circular (a) 圓形的
sign (n) 標誌
reach (v) 達到
height (n) 高度
Statue of Liberty
dozen (n) …打的數量
level (n) 高度
relief (n) 鬆口氣的感覺
despite (prep) 儘管
light-headed (a) 暈眩的
former (a) 從前的
to make it to A: 成功到達A
insane (a) 瘋狂的
From a distance, the waterslide at the edge of Schlitterbahn Waterpark, about 15 miles west of downtown Kansas City , Missouri
distance (n) 距離
edge (n) 邊緣
mile (n) 哩(距離單位)
downtown (a) 市中心
Even from just below the 168-foot-tall structure, it's easy to dismiss the steepness of the first plunge if you've not been to the top and watched nervously as the gate opens and your raft starts creeping to the edge.
foot (n) 呎
structure (n) 架構
dismiss (v) 忽視
steepness (n) 陡峭
plunge (n) 下墜
creep (v) 緩慢移動
But the steady screams of grown men and women clinging to their rafts as they nosedive through bursts of water are proof this ride is anything but tame.
steady (a) 規律的
scream (n) 尖叫
grown (a) 成人
to cling to: 緊握住
nosedive (v) 下衝
burst (n) 爆開
tame (a) 溫馴的
Before being allowed to climb the stairs to Verruckt, two or three riders at a time step onto a scale to make sure their combined weight isn't over 550 pounds . A park worker then reads a two-page list that's as much a warning as it is a disclaimer that Verruckt isn't for the faint of heart (or anyone who is overweight, has a history of back problems or is pregnant).
allow (v) 准許
rider (n) 騎乘者
scale (n) 磅秤
combined (a) 合共的
pound (n) 磅
S is as much N1 as it is N2: S是N1同時也是N2
warning (n) 警告
disclaimer (n) 免責聲明
the faint of heart (n) 膽小的人
overweight (a) 過重
back (n) 背部
pregnant (a) 懷孕
At 250 pounds and a frequent patron of the chiropractic arts, at least I'm not pregnant.
frequent (a) 經常的
patron (n) 常客
chiropractic /ˌkaɪərəʊˈpræktɪk/ (a) 脊骨醫學的
Among the warnings delivered to riders before they start their ascent is that one of the possible hazards of going down the waterslide is ... death.
deliver (v) 傳達
ascent (n) 上升
hazard (n) 危險
Once riders reach the top platform where we will climb aboard the raft, each team of riders steps onto another scale and is weighed again. A green light indicates that neither I nor the woman who volunteered to ride with me gained another 120 pounds on the way up.
platform (n) 平台
aboard (ad) 上(交通工具)
weight (v) 測體重
indicate (v) 表示
neither A nor B: A與B皆非
volunteer (v) 自願
It wasn't until I stood on the platform waiting for my heart to stop pounding that I began to get a little anxious about boarding the raft — the same kind that during testing just weeks earlier had lifted up and flown over the edge, destroying upon its impact with the ground both the vessel and the sandbag people it was carrying.
anxious (a) 焦慮
board (v) 登上(交通工具)
testing (n) 測試
lift (v) 升起
flow (v) 流
destroy (v) 毀壞
impact (n) 撞擊
vessel (n) 船身
sandbag people: 沙包模擬的人
Verruckt's designer, Jeff Henry, told me earlier in the day that he wore cowboy boots his first time down because if he was going to die, he wanted to go with his boots on.
The raft inches into position, and all I see is the sky. It's the scariest part so far, the feeling of moving closer to the drop.
inch (v) 慢移
position (n) 適當位置
drop (n) 墜落
That plunge goes fast, up to 70 mph . So fast that water shoots up over the sides of the raft and my eyes close by instinct. By the time I open them — a matter of seconds — I've reached the bottom and my mind gropes for an explanation of what just happened.
mph (miles per hour) (n) 時哩 (速度測量單位)
shoot (v) 射
instinct (n) 直覺
by the time…: 到…的時候
bottom (n) 底
grope (v) 探索
explanation (n) 解釋
In some ways the trip down was the anticlimactic conclusion to a journey I had been waiting weeks to experience. In other ways, I felt I had accomplished something important — not just for me, but for any other overweight middle-age guy who questions his ability to conquer what Henry called the "baddest ride ever built."
anticlimactic /ˌæntiklaɪˈmæktɪk/ (a) 因預期過高而失望
conclusion (n) 結局
accomplish (v) 成就
middle-aged (a) 中年
question (v) 質疑
conquer (v) 征服
bad (a) 帶種或使壞的那種壞
中譯
在往264階梯高的世界最高的水道頂端的半途, 這想當然是我所遇過最驚險的水道航程.
當我踏進小艇後, 精彩的還在後面.
距圓梯頂2/3處有標誌寫著我已達到自由女神的高度. 再加幾十步我到尼加拉瓜瀑布高度 --- 儘管有些暈暈的, 我同時感覺很欣慰, 我這50歲的前任老菸槍即將到達這名為Verruckt的旅程最高點 --- 這個德文字意思是 “瘋狂的”.
從遠處看, 位於密蘇里堪薩斯市中心15哩處的Schlitterbahn水上樂園邊緣的水道, 看起來並不多可怕.
就算從正低於168呎高的建築看, 也很容易忽略第一墬的陡度, 假使你從未走到頂點怯怯地看著門打開筏艇往邊緣移動的情形.
但緊抓著艇的成年男女發出如出一轍的尖叫, 當他們穿過發濺的水下衝時, 這正證明這絕非一段溫馴的水程.
准許爬Verruckt的梯子之前, 兩三個乘客同時踩體重計好確定合起來體重不超過550磅. 樂園員工接著讀一份2頁的單子, 那是免責聲明, 同時也是警告, 說明Verruckt不適宜心臟不好的人(或是超重者, 有過背部問題, 孕婦).
我重達250磅, 整脊常客, 不過至少我不是孕婦.
開始上爬前, 給乘客的警語中載明, 下墜水道可能的傷害之一是 … 死亡.
乘客一達平台頂端的乘艇處, 每隊要再踏上磅秤秤重一次. 綠燈表示不是我就是那自願與我一起搭乘的女士爬上來途中增加了120磅.
我本來還覺得沒什麼, 直到站在平台上盼著心跳穩住, 我才感覺到搭筏讓我有些慌張 --- 同款筏幾周前在測試時衝起航出護緣, 撞地的衝擊弄毀了船隻本身以及上頭的模擬沙包乘客.
Verruckt'的設計者, Jeff Henry, 當天較早前告訴我, 他第一次坐時他穿著牛仔靴, 因為他想如果他死去的時候, 他要穿著它的愛靴走.
小艇就定位, 我只看見眼前一片天. 目前為止最恐怖的部分, 是這種即將要下墜的感覺.
下墜得好快, 有到70mph. 快到艇的兩旁水都衝上來, 讓我不自覺閉眼. 等我張開時 --- 只幾秒的事--- 我已經到底了, 我搞不清剛剛發生了什麼事.
在一些方面來說, 這趟下墜作為旅程的尾聲不算精彩, 特別是我這幾周一直期待著這次的經驗. 另一些方面, 我感覺我達成一個重要任務 --- 不只為我自己, 也為任何一位超重的, 中年的, 懷疑自己是否具備能力去克服Henry口中這趟惡棍水程的男士.
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