Outdoor Activities

The week-long National Day holiday is due to start in one day's time. What are your travel plans? Many people nowadays prefer to take part in outdoor activities, such as mountain climbing, outdoor camping and drifting. Many of these intrepid¹ explorers seek travel companions on online forums². However, as accidents during outdoor activities have been on the rise in recent years, experts suggest that people carry out as much preparation as possible before they go exploring.

Zhang Wan³ has more.

 
It has become more and more popular for people to make plans for outdoor exploration based on their own interests. Some place invitations on the internet in an attempt to find travel companions. When you read through some of the outdoor activity websites online, it's easy to find a large number of such invitations. Pu Minghui, marketing⁴ director of an outdoor activity website explains:

"The current trend is that more and more invitations, posted by outdoor activity team leaders, are appearing on the website. Meanwhile, invitations from people who just want to find travel companions are also sharply on the rise. From this, we can see that more people are participating in outdoor activities nowadays."

Ms. Chen is a veteran outdoor traveler. She says the reason she loves outdoor activities is because she feels freer to choose where and when she travels.

"You're free to make your own travel plans, and you can get closer to local people, ultimately giving you a better travel experience."

However, as more people have embraced outdoor activities, more accidents have occurred in recent years. As recently as April of this year, Beijing police conducted two rescue missions for amateur mountaineering teams who were trapped in Beijing's surrounding hills.

According to data by the China Emergency Relief Union, the number of outdoor accidents in 2010 was as high as 182, with 52 death as a result.

Yuanshan, a rescue team leader says they started recording⁵ incidents in 2007. Their statistics reveal that the number of accidents have been rapidly increasing in certain places, particularly in Shanxi, Henan and Zhejiang provinces.

Experts say the main reason for these accidents is that some team leaders are not qualified⁶, while some outdoor travelers are not fully⁷ prepared, skills wise, to join demanding outdoor activities.

Yuanshan suggests people prepare fully before taking part in outdoor activities.

"Whether it's during the winter or summer, be sure to take warm clothing or thick blankets with you when you enter mountainous areas. It's advisable to take a thermal⁸ blanket with you, because it will keep you warm should you become trapped on the mountain."

Outdoor activity veterans also suggest that people do their utmost to keep their communication equipment working. If it fails, you should leave a message, explaining your situation, with the people you meet on your way.

For CRI, I am Zhang Wan.

1 intrepid   

adj.无畏的，刚毅的

参考例句：

• He is not really satisfied with his intrepid action.他没有真正满意他的无畏行动。
• John's intrepid personality made him a good choice for team leader.约翰勇敢的个性适合作领导工作。

2 forums   

讨论会； 座谈会； 广播专题讲话节目； 集会的公共场所( forum的名词复数 )； 论坛，讨论会，专题讨论节目； 法庭

参考例句：

• A few of the forums were being closely monitored by the administrators. 有些论坛被管理员严密监控。
• It can cast a dark cloud over these forums. 它将是的论坛上空布满乌云。

3 wan   

(wide area network)广域网

参考例句：

• The shared connection can be an Ethernet,wireless LAN,or wireless WAN connection.提供共享的网络连接可以是以太网、无线局域网或无线广域网。

4 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

5 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

6 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

7 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

8 thermal   

adj.热的，由热造成的；保暖的

参考例句：

• They will build another thermal power station.他们要另外建一座热能发电站。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。