彭蒙惠英语：Dive the South Pacific

 

Dive the South Pacific

By Yvette Cardozo

 

For many people, the South Pacific evokes² images of coconut³ palms, fragrant⁴ flowers, exotic fruit and, above all, romance. To a scuba⁵ diver, it means much more

 

1

For the diving devotee, French Polynesia in the South Pacific is a noteworthy dive spot for one key reason. Few other locations offer the chance to do “pass diving” while surrounded by sharks.

 

Pass diving, also called “pass flying,” is done in atolls, the rims⁷ of extinct volcanoes that protrude⁸ out of the water like the edge of a bowl. Cracks in the rim⁶ form the “passes.” When tides force water in or out of the bowl, a fierce current — up to seven knots — flows through the cracks. The force of this surging water is enough to rip your facemask off.

 

We were in French Polynesia’s Tuamotu Archipelago — an hour by air northeast of Tahiti, at the king of all pass dives — Apataki Atoll. The channel here is narrow and V-shaped.

 

We dropped down into the water from the Tahiti Aggressor dive skiff. The current grabbed us immediately and we were off.

 

Sharks!

 

We cruised low over the coral heads to a point down the pass where Aggressor Captain Randy Wright crammed⁹ fish heads into a hole. We attached ourselves to a rock with a reef hook to watch a pack of gray reef sharks tumbling head over tail in their effort to get the fish. Then they straightened out and flowed up the pass, looking like a river of sharks. Suddenly, they were gone.

 

Tethered to the rock, we held out our arms and drifted with the flow. Mostly it was a steady blast in the face, but every so often the current would gust¹⁰ and we would flutter on the ends of our lines like leaves in the wind.

 

Later, at Rangiroa Atoll, part of the Tuamotu Archipelago, the sharks knew we were coming. The minute Randy got there with a tuna head, he was surrounded. A dozen gray reef sharks circled, getting closer with every turn until they were within touching¹¹ distance.

 

Vocabulary Focus

evoke¹ (v) [i5vEuk] to make someone remember something or feel an emotion

devotee (n) [7devEu5ti:] a person who strongly admires a particular person or is extremely interested in a subject or activity

protrude (v) [prE5tru:d] to stick out from or through something

 

Specialized¹² Terms

atoll (n) 2121 a ring-shaped island formed of coral which surrounds an area of sea water

knot (n) 节（水流、船舶、空气与飞机速度的一种单位） a measure of the speed of ships, aircraft or movements of water and air (approximately 1.85 km per hour)

archipelago (n) 群岛 a group of small islands

dive skiff (n phr) 潜水小筏 a small, shallow, flat-bottom boat used by divers¹³ preparing to enter the water

coral head (n phr) 珊瑚头 a growing colony of live, tiny coral animals making small “mountains” on the ocean floor, or on an established coral reef

reef hook (n phr) 礁石挂钩 a metal claw attached to a rope and snap ring, which is then attached to a diver

 

潜入南太平洋

吴四明   译

 

对许多人来说，南太平洋让他们联想到椰子树、香花与具有异国风味的水果，而最重要的是浪漫的爱情。对水肺潜水的人而言，它的意义更多。

1   

基于一个主要的理由，南太平洋上的法属波利尼西亚是爱好潜水的人值得注意的潜水胜地。世上很少有其它地点能提供在鲨鱼环绕下进行“隘口潜水”的机会。   

“隘口潜水”又称为“隘口飞扬”，是指在环状珊瑚岛（环礁）中潜水，所谓的环礁是海底死火山凸出海面那状似碗缘的火山口边缘部分。边缘上的裂缝形成了“隘口”。浪潮推动海水进出这个凹陷如碗状的地形时，一股强大的水流会穿过边缘的裂缝处，强度甚至可能高达7节。高涨海水的力量足以冲掉你的面罩。

我们到了法属波利尼西亚土阿莫图群岛中的隘口潜水之王阿帕塔奇环礁，位于大溪地东北方1小时飞行航程的地方。这里的海峡狭窄，且呈V字形。   

我们从大溪地“攻击号”的潜水小筏跳进水里。水流立即吞噬了我们，把我们卷到很远的地方。

 

鲨鱼！   

我们向珊瑚头下方潜去，到达隘口之下，攻击号船长蓝迪·莱特将一些鱼头塞入一个洞内。我们用礁石挂钩把自己固定在一块岩石上，看到一群灰色礁鲨争先恐后地抢鱼吃。然后它们转身出来，顺着水流飘到隘口上方，看起来好像一条鲨鱼河。突然地，它们全都不见了。   

绳子将我们系在岩石上，我们伸出手臂，随波逐流。大部分的时间，水流只是有节奏地不断轻打脸庞，但有时候，水流会突然变强，我们就挂在绳索的尾端颤动着，仿佛风中的叶子。   

之后，到土阿莫图群岛中的朗伊罗环礁时，鲨鱼知道我们会来。蓝迪刚一拿着鲔鱼头到那里，就立刻被包围了。十几只灰色礁鲨在他身旁游荡，每绕一圈就更逼近他一点，最后已达伸手可及的范围。

 

 

1 evoke   

vt.唤起，引起，使人想起

参考例句：

• These images are likely to evoke a strong response in the viewer.这些图像可能会在观众中产生强烈反响。
• Her only resource was the sympathy she could evoke.她以凭借的唯一力量就是她能从人们心底里激起的同情。

2 evokes   

产生，引起，唤起( evoke的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• Each type evokes antibodies which protect against the homologous. 每一种类型都能产生抗同种病毒的抗体。

3 coconut   

n.椰子

参考例句：

• The husk of this coconut is particularly strong.椰子的外壳很明显非常坚固。
• The falling coconut gave him a terrific bang on the head.那只掉下的椰子砰地击中他的脑袋。

4 fragrant   

adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的

参考例句：

• The Fragrant Hills are exceptionally beautiful in late autumn.深秋的香山格外美丽。
• The air was fragrant with lavender.空气中弥漫薰衣草香。

5 scuba   

n.水中呼吸器

参考例句：

• I first got hooked on scuba diving when I was twelve.12岁时我开始迷上了带水中呼吸器潜水。
• While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。

6 rim   

n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界

参考例句：

• The water was even with the rim of the basin.盆里的水与盆边平齐了。
• She looked at him over the rim of her glass.她的目光越过玻璃杯的边沿看着他。

7 rims   

n.（圆形物体的）边( rim的名词复数 )；缘；轮辋；轮圈

参考例句：

• As she spoke, the rims of her eyes reddened a little. 说时，眼圈微红。 来自汉英文学 - 围城
• Her eyes were a little hollow, and reddish about the rims. 她的眼睛微微凹陷，眼眶有些发红。 来自辞典例句

8 protrude   

v.使突出，伸出，突出

参考例句：

• The tip of her tongue was protruding slightly.她的舌尖微微伸出。
• A huge round mass of smooth rock protruding from the water.一块光滑的巨型圆石露出水面。

9 crammed   

adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式)

参考例句：

• He crammed eight people into his car. 他往他的车里硬塞进八个人。
• All the shelves were crammed with books. 所有的架子上都堆满了书。

10 gust   

n.阵风，突然一阵（雨、烟等），（感情的）迸发

参考例句：

• A gust of wind blew the front door shut.一阵大风吹来，把前门关上了。
• A gust of happiness swept through her.一股幸福的暖流流遍她的全身。

11 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

12 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

13 divers   

adj.不同的；种种的

参考例句：

• He chose divers of them,who were asked to accompany him.他选择他们当中的几个人，要他们和他作伴。
• Two divers work together while a standby diver remains on the surface.两名潜水员协同工作，同时有一名候补潜水员留在水面上。