彭蒙惠英语：Kauai Adventure

Kauai Adventure

 

3

Floating the canals

Locals had been sneaking¹ into the old Lihue Plantation² with giant inner tubes to float the canals for decades. The swirling³, whirling fun adventure through mountain-fed irrigation canals and tunnels of the former sugar plantation was not for the faint-hearted. Three years ago, Kauai Backcountry Adventures decided⁴ to open it to thrill-seeking tourists. We started in an open irrigation ditch, sitting comfortably in our oversized inner tubes and wearing protective gloves, helmets and headlamps. The fern-covered walls of these canals looked positively⁵ primeval. Three feet high and maybe 15 feet apart, they sometimes squeezed in so close we could almost touch both sides at once.

 

The first half-mile was tranquil⁶ enough, but soon the invigoratingly cold water propelled us faster. We started spinning, bouncing off the banks and each other and, by some strange law of physics, traveling backwards⁷ 75% of the time.

 

“Lights on! Ankles and elbows in! Watch your heads!” our lead guide yelled. Spinning madly and bouncing, we swooped⁸ into the pitch-black opening of the first of five tunnels. “Turn right! Bear left! Quick right turn!” he called . . . not that we had any control over our direction. We simply spun⁹ and ricocheted off the rock walls in the direction the water propelled us.

 

Perfect finish

The last of the five tunnels had softer clay walls, so we did it in total darkness, tucking in our various body parts and bouncing through. It was the perfect climax¹⁰ to our ride, surrendering our last illusion of control and whooshing¹¹ through the darkness, letting the water take us where it would. Finally, we returned to daylight. Awaiting us was a picnic lunch set beside a swimming hole . . . in case we hadn’t yet had enough water fun.

 

Vocabulary Focus

faint-hearted (adj) [5feint5hB:tid] describes someone who is not confident or brave and dislikes taking unnecessary risks

primeval (adj) [prai5mi:vEl] ancient; existing at or from a very early time

invigoratingly (adv) [in5vi^EreitiNli] making one feel fresher, healthier and more energetic

pitch-black (adj) [5pitF5blAk] extremely dark; so dark that nothing can be seen

ricochet (v) [5rikEFet] to bounce off something

 

可爱岛探险之旅

 

3

在沟渠中漂浮

数10年以来，当地人一直会带着巨型的内胎游泳圈偷偷地溜进利忽野甘蔗园，在园中的沟渠漂流而下。这种在由山泉注入的旧蔗园灌溉沟渠或隧道中任由水流让你打旋、急转的乐趣，并不适合心脏不够强、胆子不够大的人。3年前，可爱岛乡野探险公司决定对追寻刺激的游客开放这个项目。我们从开放式的灌溉水沟下去，舒服地坐在超大型的内胎上，戴着保护手套、安全帽及头灯。这些沟渠两旁羊齿植物覆盖的墙壁看起来极富原始风貌。墙壁约3英尺高；两壁之间约15英尺宽，但有些地方很窄，我们几乎可以同时碰到两边。

前半里还双平稳的，但很快地，令人神清气爽的冷水推着我们加快往前。我们开始打转、碰撞到壁边及其它人后弹回；然后基于某种奇特的物理定律，有3/4的时间，我们是背向着前方行进的。

“打开灯！脚踝和手肘缩进去！小心你们的头！”我们的领队导游喊着。疯狂似的旋转着、碰撞着，突然我们俯冲入伸手不见五指的一片漆黑之中；那是5个隧道中第一个隧道的入口。“向右！转左！快速右转！”他大叫……其实我们根本无法控制方向。我们只是顺着水流推动的方向旋转着，或被石壁弹撞着。

 

完美的句点

5个隧道中的最后一个隧道，两边是比较柔软的粘土壁，所以我们在完全的黑暗之中，紧紧缩起身上的各个部位，一路弹来撞去。这是这趟沟渠之游的完美高潮，放弃最后一丝掌控的幻想，呼啸地穿越黑暗，任由水流带我们到它想要我们去的地方。最后，我们终于重见阳光。在一个天然游泳池畔有野餐式的午餐等着我们……万一我们玩水还玩得不过瘾的话。

 

 

 

1 sneaking   

a.秘密的，不公开的

参考例句：

• She had always had a sneaking affection for him. 以前她一直暗暗倾心于他。
• She ducked the interviewers by sneaking out the back door. 她从后门偷偷溜走，躲开采访者。

2 plantation   

n.种植园，大农场

参考例句：

• His father-in-law is a plantation manager.他岳父是个种植园经营者。
• The plantation owner has possessed himself of a vast piece of land.这个种植园主把大片土地占为己有。

3 swirling   

v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Snowflakes were swirling in the air. 天空飘洒着雪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She smiled, swirling the wine in her glass. 她微笑着，旋动着杯子里的葡萄酒。 来自辞典例句

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

6 tranquil   

adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的

参考例句：

• The boy disturbed the tranquil surface of the pond with a stick. 那男孩用棍子打破了平静的池面。
• The tranquil beauty of the village scenery is unique. 这乡村景色的宁静是绝无仅有的。

7 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

8 swooped   

俯冲，猛冲( swoop的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The aircraft swooped down over the buildings. 飞机俯冲到那些建筑物上方。
• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it. 鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来，并把它杀死。

9 spun   

v.纺，杜撰，急转身

参考例句：

• His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
• Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。

10 climax   

n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点

参考例句：

• The fifth scene was the climax of the play.第五场是全剧的高潮。
• His quarrel with his father brought matters to a climax.他与他父亲的争吵使得事态发展到了顶点。

11 whooshing   

v.（使）飞快移动( whoosh的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I love deadlines. I especially like the whooshing sound they make as they go flying by. 我喜欢最后期待。我尤其喜欢它们飞驰而过时发出的嗖嗖声。 来自互联网
• The constant whooshing of the wind across the roof wouldn't fade into the background. 不断跑车疾速的风雨整个屋顶不会褪色的背景。 来自互联网