VOA常速英语2013--加州冲浪者们乘风破浪享受每天新挑战

 

Surfing a Way of Life in California 加州冲浪者们乘风破浪享受每天新挑战

HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA — Surfing started in Hawaii, but Californians adopted the sport early and popularized it around the world.  Huntington Beach, is known as Surf City, where riding the waves has become a way of life.

The surfers come out early to catch the morning waves.  

为了赶上清晨的波浪冲浪者们很早就要动身。

High school teacher Matt Grayson surfs nearly every day.

高中教师马特·格雷森几乎每天都要来这里追逐浪花。

“Just getting out away from it all, get in the water and it is all blue and clean, and it just takes away all your problems," he said.

“刚刚远离这一切,一跃入水,置身与蓝色及清澈当中,你的所有烦恼就会全部烟消云散。”他说道。

At Huntington Beach, they have been surfing for almost a century, but the sport got under way in earnest¹ in the 1950s, and was popularized through music from the Beach Boys and duo Jan and Dean² and by movies, like the 1959 film Gidget, based on a popular novel.  Starring Sandra Dee, the movie told about a teenaged girl's introduction to surf culture.

在亨廷顿海滩,冲浪者们追逐浪花已经将近一个世纪,但这项运动真正开始盛行是在二十世纪五十年代,并通过海滩男孩及duo Jan and Dean的音乐及根据畅销小说改编的1959年电影《冲浪少女》开始逐渐流行开来。桑德拉·迪主演的这部影片讲述一个十几岁少女对于冲浪文化的介绍。

The International Surfing Museum in Huntington Beach preserves the history of the sport, from Hawaiians George Freeth and Duke Kahanamoku, who brought surfing to California in the early 1900s, to modern surfing champs like Kelly Slater.  The boards have changed - they are shorter and faster today.  

亨廷顿海滩国际冲浪博物馆承载着这项运动的历史,从曾在十九世纪早期将冲浪运动带到加利福尼亚夏威夷人乔治·弗里斯及传奇人物杜克·卡哈那莫库,到现代冲浪冠军像凯莉·斯莱特。而冲浪板也在改变—现今它们更短而且更快。

One former competitor says the sport has also changed.  Today, there are big prizes and product endorsements³ for top professionals, says Australian-born Pete Townend, who was world pro-surfing champion in 1976.

一位前参赛选手表示这项运动本身也发生着翻天覆地的变化。今天, 顶级专业运动员享有大额奖金及产品代言,1976年世界职业冲浪冠军澳大利亚籍皮特·汤恩说道。

“There are a lot of young surfers today making a million dollars a year," said Townend. "That is pretty good money to just go surfing in perfect waves with beautiful girls all around, right?”

“现今很多年轻的冲浪者一年能够赚到一百万美元,”汤恩说道。“在完美的海浪中冲浪，而且美丽女孩伴身旁,还有大笔钱赚，太完美了，不是这样吗?”

The U.S. Open of Surfing, held last month in Huntington Beach, brought together top surfers from as far away as Japan and Brazil.  It is a worldwide sport today, says spokeswoman Jennifer Lau.

上个月在亨廷顿海滩举行的美国冲浪公开赛汇集了日本和巴西远道而来的顶尖冲浪者们。女发言人詹妮弗·劳表示现今这是一项全球运动。

“Surfing is something that is appealing and it is a spiritual thing.  You either have what we call the stoke, or you do not, and it is really what keeps you alive," said Lau.

She says “the stoke” is the feeling you get when you are riding a great wave.

“冲浪非常吸引人,而且会带给人们精神上的东西。你要么下水来一次完美冲浪,要么不,你就是为此而活,”劳说道。她所说的“完美冲浪”就是当你驾驭一波大浪时候的那种感觉。

Surfing is the perfect way to get in touch with nature, says longtime surfer Josh Harrison.

冲浪是接触大自然最完美的方式,长期冲浪者乔希·哈里森如此形容。

“Because you are tapping into the energy, really, of the world, in a way of the planet⁴, of the wind and the tides and distant storms, and you are getting that energy here where it is sunny," he said.

“因为你正利用世界的能量,真的就是这样,以这个星球上的一种方式,风和潮汐及遥远的风暴,而你正在在阳光明媚的这里获取能量。”他说道。

He says that every day and each new wave brings another challenge. 

他表示每一天，每一股新的波浪都会带来另一种挑战。

1 earnest   

n.定金，诚挚，认真；adj.认真的，热心的，重要的

参考例句：

• The words were earnest but they fell on deaf ears.言者谆谆，听者藐藐。
• Her earnest manner arrested me.她那种热忱的态度引起了我的注意。

2 Dean   

n.(大学)院长，系主任，教务长

参考例句：

• The students much like the new dean.学生们很喜欢这位新系主任。
• Who is the dean of the Foreign Languages Department?外语系主任是谁？

3 endorsements   

n.背书( endorsement的名词复数 )；（驾驶执照上的）违章记录；（公开的）赞同；（通常为名人在广告中对某一产品的）宣传

参考例句：

• He must make much money on those tennis shoe endorsements he does. 他替那些网球鞋珍重广告，就赚了不少钱。 来自互联网
• But celebrity endorsements remain an important promotional tool for marketers. 尽管如此，邀明星助阵仍是营销人员重要的推广手段之一。 来自互联网

4 planet   

n.行星

参考例句：

• Neptune is the furthest planet from the sun. 海王星是离太阳最远的行星。
• Rubbish, however, is only part of the problem of polluting our planet. 然而, 垃圾只是我们这个星球的污染问题的一个方面。