美国国家公共电台 NPR--Extreme kayaking on North Carolina's Green Narrows draws thousands of spectators

Extreme kayaking on North Carolina's Green Narrows draws thousands of spectators

Transcript¹

SALUDA, N.C. — On the first Saturday in November whitewater kayakers from near and far gather in the town of Saluda, N.C. — about 30 miles south of Asheville — for one of the most intense sporting events in the nation, the Green Race. The race takes place in the Green Narrow Gorge² in the Green River Game Lands.

The only way to watch the race is to hike down a two-mile steep ravine — a trek³ so strenuous⁴ and technical that it parallels the vertical⁵ waterfalls the extreme kayakers are about to embark⁶ in. It's an event where it seems you couldn't have one without the other.

This year, about 175 expert boaters launched down a fast three-quarter-mile stretch of deadly Class V rapids.

Spectators — some 2,000 of them — make the descent deep into the narrow canyon⁷ and find a spot on the river banks to cheer the oncoming kayakers.

Every bit of rock is full as far as one can see downriver and upriver alike.

And being in the presence of thousands of friends and family, kids, parents, grandparents and pet dogs made for a surreal energy that is palpable – loud cheers resonating off the canyon walls.

Adriene Levknecht won the women's heat of the Green Race and remembers being energized⁸ by the crowd's roar and thunderous applause as she navigated⁹ the hardest section of the race and made her final stretch to the finish line.

"It's like kayaking in a stadium. Everybody cheering, yelling. When somebody runs Gorilla¹⁰, the biggest rapid out there, you can hear the echo from the people all the way down there," Levknecht says.

Levknecht learned to kayak on the Green. She has been coming here with her mom and dad for 17 years.

"When I was 18, I got to be a really good kayaker and this is where it was."

But this is the first time that her 72-year-old dad was not able to hike in to watch her race.

"He called me at the top where it gets really steep and he's like, 'A, I'm not going to make it. I can't. My balance. I just don't want to fall. I don't want to be the one who gets carried out.' And so I was like, 'Dad, just watch on Livestream. It's all good'."

Her 70-year-old mom, Laurie Levknecht, was able to make it in and stood on the river banks with thousands of others.

"I remember the first time I hiked in here, and I was like, 'Are you kidding me?' People kayak this. They got to be nuts."

Adds Laurie: "But, you know, I love the Green race. I love coming in here. I know people who have been coming in for so long, watching these athletes, just watching the whole vibe and of course, watching Adriene."

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 gorge   

n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃

参考例句：

• East of the gorge leveled out.峡谷东面地势变得平坦起来。
• It made my gorge rise to hear the news.这消息令我作呕。

3 trek   

vi.作长途艰辛的旅行；n.长途艰苦的旅行

参考例句：

• We often go pony-trek in the summer.夏季我们经常骑马旅行。
• It took us the whole day to trek across the rocky terrain.我们花了一整天的时间艰难地穿过那片遍布岩石的地带。

4 strenuous   

adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的

参考例句：

• He made strenuous efforts to improve his reading. 他奋发努力提高阅读能力。
• You may run yourself down in this strenuous week.你可能会在这紧张的一周透支掉自己。

5 vertical   

adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置

参考例句：

• The northern side of the mountain is almost vertical.这座山的北坡几乎是垂直的。
• Vertical air motions are not measured by this system.垂直气流的运动不用这种系统来测量。

6 embark   

vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机

参考例句：

• He is about to embark on a new business venture.他就要开始新的商业冒险活动。
• Many people embark for Europe at New York harbor.许多人在纽约港乘船去欧洲。

7 canyon   

n.峡谷，溪谷

参考例句：

• The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
• The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。

8 energized   

v.给予…精力，能量( energize的过去式和过去分词 )；使通电

参考例句：

• We are energized by love if we put our energy into loving. 如果我们付出能量去表现爱意，爱就会使我们充满活力。 来自辞典例句
• I am completely energized and feeling terrific. 我充满了活力，感觉非常好。 来自辞典例句

9 navigated   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的过去式和过去分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• He navigated the plane through the clouds. 他驾驶飞机穿越云层。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The ship was navigated by the North Star. 那只船靠北极星来导航。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 gorilla   

n.大猩猩，暴徒，打手

参考例句：

• I was awed by the huge gorilla.那只大猩猩使我惊惧。
• A gorilla is just a speechless animal.猩猩只不过是一种不会说话的动物。