評論
打印
Bungee -- Just for the Thrill
蹦極—玩得就是心跳
Would you pay lots of money to fall off a 120-foot high platform,
你愿意花重金，僅在腰部和腳踝上掛著彈性繩索，
held only by an elastic cord around your waist or ankles?
就從120英尺的高臺上跳下去嗎？
It may sound crazy, but lots of people do it.
這雖聽起來很瘋狂，但很多人都在玩。
Bungee Jumping, as it is called, is gaining as much popularity
蹦極跳，隨著它的流行，
as it is gaining controversy and criticism.
也得到了褒貶不一的評價。
Bungee has quite an old origin.
蹦極起源甚久。
The idea of this way of jumping comes from the ancient ritual "Gkol"
蹦極跳起源于古老的"Gkol"儀式，
performed in the Pentecost Island in the Pacific Archipelago of Vanuatu.
這種儀式最早是在太平洋群島的瓦努阿圖的五旬節島上開展的。
The legend says that in the village Bunlap a man had a quarrel with his wife,
據說Bunlap村落有個男人和妻子吵架后，
and she ran away and climbed a tree where she wrapped her ankles with vines.
他妻子為逃避丈夫爬上了樹，用蔓藤牢牢綁住腳踝。
When he came up to her, the woman jumped from the tree
當那個男人靠近她時，她跳下了樹。
and so did her husband not knowing what his wife had done.
男人不知道妻子在干什么，也跟著跳了下去。
So he died but the woman survived.
結果男人命喪黃泉，他妻子卻活了下來。
The men of Bunlap were very impressed by this performance，
Bunlap部落的男人對此印象深刻，
and they began to practice such jumps in case they got in similar situation.
于是，在遇到相同的境遇時，他們也開始這樣跳下去。
This practice transformed into a ritual for rich yam harvest and also for proving manhood.
這個習俗后來轉化成了慶祝豐收和證明男子氣概的儀式。
Bungee jumping as a sport started in New Zealand, probably in the 1970s.
大約在20世紀70年代，蹦極才在新西蘭開始成為一種運動。
People attached thick elastic cords, called bungees, to their bodies.
人們綁在身上一種叫做"橡皮繩“的結實彈性繩索，
Then they jump off bridges or high buildings,
然后就從大橋或者高樓上跳下。
falling fast through the air until the cord caught them,
他們在空中急速下落，直到繩索開始反彈，
and then bounced back up and down a few times until coming to a stop.
然后上下反彈多次直到停止。
