彭蒙惠英语：Kauai Adventure（在线收听）

Kauai Adventure

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Leaving the jungle, we boarded a wagon pulled by a farm tractor for a trek across Kipu Ranch. We fed Lucy, the pet goose, and the cutest pigs on Earth. A mix of wild boars and farm hogs, the piglets had markings in an assortment of colors.

Zipline launch

Lunch was at Kamapua’a Falls, 120 feet of cool, foaming froth, right next to the zipline, which stretches 270 feet across the river at a height of 50 feet. After lunch, we climbed into harnesses and helmets, all carefully checked and double-checked by our guides, and nervously awaited our turn to launch.

The three choices of launch styles are a forward step off the platform’s edge, a running leap, or a backwards jump into the air. We stepped off, dropped immediately, bounced up a little and soared across the river. It was a blast!

Swimming hole

Then it was off to Kipu Falls—30 feet tall, more than 100 feet across and emptying into a world-class swimming hole. A rope swing was 30 feet up in a huge banyan tree. If we swung wide enough, we could easily be 40 feet above the water when we let go. We didn’t take the plunge, although several in our group did—and lived to tell about it.

Sugar plantation

At the Lihue Plantation, we tasted raw sugar cane, stopped at a Jurassic Park overlook, and heard a lesson on economics and history. We learned that an acre of cane (20,000 pounds) makes five pounds of sugar. Sugar was once “king” in Hawaii, dominating lives on the islands from the mid-1800s until after World War II. By 1884, there were 96 sugar plantations there, but labor costs and changing world conditions killed the sugar-growing industry in Hawaii. Today only two working plantations remain.

Vocabulary Focus

froth (n) [frCW] many small, white bubbles on the surface of a liquid

blast (n) [blB:st] a very exciting or enjoyable experience or event

Specialized Terms

banyan tree (n phr) 印地安无花果树 an Indian fig tree with branches that grow down into the ground to form additional trunks

可爱岛探险之旅

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离开丛林后，我们坐上一辆由农场牵引机拉行的车子，穿过奇普农场。我们喂了农场的宠物鹅露西及全世界最可爱的猪。它们是野猪与家猪的混种猪，小猪仔有各种不同颜色的斑纹。

高空滑索前进

我们在位于120尺高、充满清凉浮沫的卡马普阿瀑布享用午餐。这个瀑布紧邻宽度约270英尺、位于河面上方50英尺处的高空滑索。午餐后，我们钻进套索与安全帽中，每样装备都由导游仔细审慎地再三检查，然后我们就紧张地排队等待，准备跳跃。

有3种跳跃的方式可以选择，分别是：从平台边缘向前跨出一步、助跑后往外跳，以及倒退向后方空中跳出等。我们踏出脚步，立刻向下掉落，再往上弹回一点，然后便会在河流上方飞驰而过。棒极了！

游泳池洞

然后就是跳入奇普瀑布。奇普瀑布高约30英尺、宽逾100英尺，瀑布的水注入下方那个世界级天然的游泳池洞中。绳索秋千是在一株巨大的榕树上约30英尺高的地方。如果我们荡得够高的话，放手时，人很可能会是在距水面40英尺的上空。我们并没有一跃跳入水中，不过我们团里有好几位跳了，而且还能活着叙述他们的经历。

甘蔗园

在利忽甘蔗园，我们品尝了未加工的甘蔗；在《侏罗纪公园》的一个鸟瞰台稍作停留；并听了一堂关于经济和历史的课。我们学到，1英亩的甘蔗（2万磅）可以制造出5磅的糖。糖曾经是夏威夷的“天王”，在19世纪80年代中期至二次世界大战结束的这段期间，一直主宰着岛上居民的生活。1884年时，那儿有96座甘蔗园，但劳工成本及不断变化的世界形式扼杀了夏威夷的制糖产业。如今只剩下两座甘蔗园还在生产。