美国国家公共电台 NPR A Crash Course In Vermont's Head-Turning, Homegrown Sport

 

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Tomorrow, dozens of competitors will take to the slopes at Mount Snow in Vermont for the annual world championship of jack¹ jumping. No judgment² - we never heard of it either. So Vermont Public Radio's Nina Keck went to find out what it's all about because even she, a lifelong skier³, had no idea.

NINA KECK, BYLINE⁴: Basically a jack jump is a ski with a seat bolted onto it. Some are tricked out with fancy suspension. Some may even use a snowboard. But most are very homemade. Jeff Wasielewski, a former ski instructor⁵ and patroller from Wilmington, Vt., has been jack jumping for 10 years. And he took me over to a beginner slope at Mount Snow to show me how it's done.

JEFF WASIELEWSKI: So this is your jack jump.

KECK: Wasielewski's rig is classic - a random⁶ ski, couple of pieces of wood, plenty of duct tape and a seat cushion he found at the dump.

WASIELEWSKI: I really think the key that helped me out pick up more speed over the years was the seat belt allowing me to actually really get into it and get a lot tighter with my turns.

KECK: That looks like it's courtesy Army Navy surplus store.

WASIELEWSKI: Yeah, I believe this is the old belt from my tool belt, and I just cut it up and modded it back together for this. We weren't kidding when we said most of the stuff came out of the dumpster.

KECK: The seats are low, so when it comes to technique, beginners tend to drag their feet on either side of the ski or worse, as I found out on my first lesson.

OK, I'm going for style points on this one. I will try not to hit you.

WASIELEWSKI: It's all right.

KECK: OK, I'm starting to go - picking up (laughter) speed. Oh, wow, (laughter) it's harder than it looks. OK, so how do I lean here - making a turn (laughter).

WASIELEWSKI: You're on the right track.

KECK: My first jack jump wipeout.

I took a few more diggers, then I strapped⁷ on my real skis to see how an expert does it. Good jack jumpers make it look easy. And yes, some do take them over jumps. They tend to lay back with their legs out straight, dragging their hands behind them to help steer⁸. It's like the ultimate core workout. I struggle to keep up with Wasielewski as he rockets down a steeper run.

WASIELEWSKI: Woo-hoo (ph).

KECK: You're ripping.

WASIELEWSKI: Woo-we (ph). (Laughter) So as you can see on a nice powder day like today, you get a lot of stuff coming up off the ground into your face (laughter).

KECK: I saw some other skiers turning their heads.

WASIELEWSKI: Yeah, that is a lot of the fun, you know, when everyone around you is saying, what is he on; what is he doing? And, you know, even when we first started, I could hear someone yelling, like, well, he's about to go down on that thing. And sure enough, there we went (laughter) - all right, almost safely home.

KECK: Jack jumping is not without some controversy⁹. Most ski resorts in Vermont don't allow it because the rigs don't work very well with chairlifts. And there are concerns about safety. Mount Snow gets a special permit every year for tomorrow's championships, and Wasielewski will be among the racers.

WASIELEWSKI: I am ninth in the world currently in jack jump.

KECK: You're smiling.

WASIELEWSKI: Yes, yes, I am (laughter).

KECK: 'Cause there's only one race a year, and it's more tailgate reunion than a world cup event. But winters are long in Vermont, and jack jumpers say you might as well make them fun.

WASIELEWSKI: That was fun.

KECK: For NPR News, I'm Nina Keck in West Dover, Vt.

WASIELEWSKI: That's already 50 percent more practice than I had before last year's competition.

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

3 skier   

n.滑雪运动员

参考例句：

• She is a skier who is unafraid of danger.她是一名敢于冒险的滑雪者。
• The skier skimmed across the snow.滑雪者飞快地滑过雪地。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

6 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

7 strapped   

adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带

参考例句：

• Make sure that the child is strapped tightly into the buggy. 一定要把孩子牢牢地拴在婴儿车上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soldiers' great coats were strapped on their packs. 战士们的厚大衣扎捆在背包上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 steer   

vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶

参考例句：

• If you push the car, I'll steer it.如果你来推车，我就来驾车。
• It's no use trying to steer the boy into a course of action that suits you.想说服这孩子按你的方式行事是徒劳的。

9 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。