我比地铁快2秒 英国小伙和地铁赛跑获胜

 　　Anyone who’s ever been stuck on a train must have thought this at least once: maybe it would be quicker on foot.

　　任何被困在车里的人估计都会想过：说不定走路都比坐车快。

　　James Heptonstall did more than just wonder – he got up and ran like the clappers.

　　英国小伙子詹姆斯·赫普顿斯托尔除了想还付出了行动，他起身飞奔与地铁展开了赛跑。

　　In a daredevil challenge of man versus¹ machine, the 30-year-old England touch-rugby player burst out through the train’s open doors, sprinted³ fearlessly up flights of steps and belted through city streets in an attempt to beat it to the next stop.

　　在这场人与地铁的较量中，30岁的英触式橄榄球员詹姆斯在地铁到站、门刚一打开的瞬间就立刻冲出去，跨过台阶、穿过街道，一路狂奔，试图在地铁到达下一站时能赶上它。

　　Somewhere beneath him, the London Underground train he had just abandoned at Mansion⁴ House had already begun to clatter⁵ and trundle its way eastwards⁶ on the Circle Line, unhindered, and running perfectly⁷ on schedule.

　　一边是狂奔的詹姆斯，而另一边，他要挑战的那趟伦敦地铁也已从他下车的“市长官邸站”启动，准确无误地按行程路线向东行驶。

　　Had this been a Superman movie, our hero would have been billed as ‘Faster than a speeding train…’

　　这要是在超人电影里，詹姆斯一定会是个“比地铁跑得还快的大英雄”。

　　He swipes his Oyster⁸ Card to get through. He leaps down the steps so fast he almost tumbles into the wall. In the carriage he vacated one stop earlier, all eyes are now on the platform entrance as the train doors are about to close.

　　詹姆斯刷卡通过检票口后，飞快跑向月台。期间，他因速度太快，在下楼梯时差点撞到墙壁。而在他下车的那节车厢里，所有的人都在盯着月台入口那边，因为车门马上就要关闭了。

　　And then he appears! With a dramatic, triumphant⁹ lunge, he hurls¹⁰ himself back into the carriage – cheered and applauded by the same passengers who had watched him depart. Mission accomplished… with less than two seconds to spare.

　　就在这时，詹姆斯出现了。只见他故作夸张、得意洋洋的一个箭步，赶在地铁关门之前跳进了车厢里。见证他离开又回来的车厢乘客们立刻为他欢呼鼓掌。任务完成了，而且提前了2秒钟。

　　Now his Race The Tube video, filmed on a miniature camera strapped¹¹ to his head, is becoming a favourite on YouTube and a talking point among weary Underground travellers across the network.

　　现在，通过詹姆斯额头上的小摄像头记录下的他“与地铁赛跑”的过程已经成为YouTube上的热门视频之一，同时也成为地铁乘客的谈论焦点。

　　Mr Heptonstall completed the 415-yard, platform to platform sprint² in 1min 18secs.

　　詹姆斯在1分18秒的时间里跑完了两个地铁站间415码（约380米）的距离。

　　He clocked up an average speed approaching 11mph, on a route that included having to negotiate two ticket barriers and scale or descend¹² 75 steps. The train took 1min 20secs to travel along 339 yards of track, timed from the moment its doors closed at Mansion House and opened at Cannon¹³ Street.

　　他的速度达到了每小时11英里（约17.7千米），这期间他还得穿过两个检票口、上下75个台阶。而地铁在这两站间的运行距离为339码（约310米），运行时间为1分20秒，即从“市长官邸站”关门到“景隆街站”开门的时间。

　　Footage inside the carriage was taken on a second camera operated by his friend Noel Carroll.

　　詹姆斯的朋友诺埃尔·卡罗尔用另一个摄像头在车厢里记录下了他出发和回归的场景。

　　‘At first the other people on the train didn’t really know what was going on,’ he said.

　　“开始车厢里的其他人不知道发生了什么。”詹姆斯说。

　　‘I did get a few suspicious looks, although to be fair, I was wearing sportswear with a camera strapped to my head. I belted out as soon as the doors opened and Noel explained to the carriage what we were trying to achieve. After that, they were all waiting on tenterhooks¹⁴.’

　　“我确实看到了一些质疑的目光，毕竟我当时穿着运动服而且头上还戴着小摄像头。地铁门一开我就冲出去了，之后诺埃尔跟大家解释了我们在干什么。大家搞明白之后，就都一起紧张地等待了。”

　　His spectacular re-entry to the carriage provoked delight and admiration¹⁵ – and secured a dozen or so impartial¹⁶ witnesses to verify his feat¹⁷, should he ever need them.

　　詹姆斯78秒跑赢地铁的壮举赢得了车厢乘客的欢呼和敬佩，一些亲眼目睹的乘客表示如果有需要，可以为詹姆斯证明。

　　Mr Heptonstall was inspired to tackle the ultimately pointless challenge by others who had completed similar quests on European transport networks.

　　詹姆斯是在网络上看到其他人在欧洲做同样的尝试时，受到启发想自己来做这个挑战的。

　　He often uses the Tube to get to work but confesses he is not a huge fan. ‘Sometimes I just run,’ he said.

　　他确实经常坐地铁上下班，但是他承认自己不是个地铁迷。“有时候我只是想跑跑步而已。”

1 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

2 sprint   

n.短距离赛跑；vi. 奋力而跑，冲刺；vt.全速跑过

参考例句：

• He put on a sprint to catch the bus.他全速奔跑以赶上公共汽车。
• The runner seemed to be rallied for a final sprint.这名赛跑者似乎在振作精神作最后的冲刺。

3 sprinted   

v.短距离疾跑( sprint的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sprinted for the line. 他向终点线冲去。
• Sergeant Horne sprinted to the car. 霍恩中士全力冲向那辆汽车。 来自辞典例句

4 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

5 clatter   

v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声

参考例句：

• The dishes and bowls slid together with a clatter.碟子碗碰得丁丁当当的。
• Don't clatter your knives and forks.别把刀叉碰得咔哒响。

6 eastwards   

adj.向东方（的），朝东（的）；n.向东的方向

参考例句：

• The current sets strongly eastwards.急流迅猛东去。
• The Changjiang River rolls on eastwards.长江滚滚向东流。

7 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

8 oyster   

n.牡蛎；沉默寡言的人

参考例句：

• I enjoy eating oyster; it's really delicious.我喜欢吃牡蛎，它味道真美。
• I find I fairly like eating when he finally persuades me to taste the oyster.当他最后说服我尝尝牡蛎时，我发现我相当喜欢吃。

9 triumphant   

adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的

参考例句：

• The army made a triumphant entry into the enemy's capital.部队胜利地进入了敌方首都。
• There was a positively triumphant note in her voice.她的声音里带有一种极为得意的语气。

10 hurls   

v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的第三人称单数 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• Jane really hurls herself into learning any new song, doesn't she? 对任何新歌，简都会一心一意去学，对吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The necromancer hurls a bolt of dark energies against his enemies. 亡灵法师向对手射出一道带着黑暗能量的影束。 来自互联网

11 strapped   

adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带

参考例句：

• Make sure that the child is strapped tightly into the buggy. 一定要把孩子牢牢地拴在婴儿车上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soldiers' great coats were strapped on their packs. 战士们的厚大衣扎捆在背包上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 descend   

vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降

参考例句：

• I hope the grace of God would descend on me.我期望上帝的恩惠。
• We're not going to descend to such methods.我们不会沦落到使用这种手段。

13 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

14 tenterhooks   

n.坐立不安

参考例句：

• The students are on tenterhooks to hear the result of the examination.学生们烦躁不安地听考试结果。
• The mother was on tenterhooks until her little Laura came back.当小珞拉回来后，她母亲才放下心来。

15 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

16 impartial   

adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的

参考例句：

• He gave an impartial view of the state of affairs in Ireland.他对爱尔兰的事态发表了公正的看法。
• Careers officers offer impartial advice to all pupils.就业指导员向所有学生提供公正无私的建议。

17 feat   

n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的

参考例句：

• Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
• He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。