英语听力：自然百科 环球风情：新西兰（二）

 Hello, everyone. I'm Peddy Kim. Today we're heading off to New Zealand, well known as a thrill seekers' paradise. Hey this is the country that invented bungee jumping of all things. And that's the just the beginning. So get ready and pack your sense of adventure as we escape to this rugged¹ south Pacific nation.

 

If you're looking for an adrenaline high, there may be no easier place to find it, but New Zealand, after all, this is the country that invented commercial bungee jumping pioneered right here at the Kawarau bridge.

 

For more ways to just feel glad you're alive, wander into the mountain resort of Queenstown, New Zealand's epicenter of adventure.

 

“We're quite proud. We called ourselves adventure capital of the world. There're so many adventures to visit. In fact we worked out, if you did one of every type of activity, you may need 60 days.”

 

It's tough enough to jump at Kawarau, but at other sites in Queenstown, the drop is enough to make adventure seem like lunacy.

 

“People who have really tried hard to jump are the ones who get the most out of it.”

 

At least that's the theory.

 

That's great.

 

To see Queenstown's rivers from another perspective, try rowing down one in a jet boat. There's no propeller², so the boat can operate in just a few inches of water.

 

Jet boats were invented to navigate³ New Zealand's shallow rivers, but it turned out they were just as effective scaring the daylights out of customers’ paying for the privilege.

 

Queenstown has enough adventure activities to easily fill a week. And you can often get your thrills on a budget by booking several adventures at once. And while Queenstown offers one-stop adventure shopping, there're plenty of other places in New Zealand to get your pulse racing⁴.  On the north island, the volcanic⁵ area of Rotorua is home to gizers, rate hiking, and an odd orb⁶ called the zorb.

 

“Just rolling around, not knowing where you're, which way you're going, sliding over and under each other.”

 

David Aker, his brother and another New Zealander invented the Zorb in 1994.

 

“There're some people that just did bungee jump, that may be gonna do anything we're going to introduce on earth and it's terrifying for them.”

 

“Well, it seemed like a good idea at that time. But I'll tell you at the bottom.”

 

First timers often feel anxious as the zorb heads down hill but just about the time you think this is an activity better suited to hamsters than humans. The zorb literally⁷ knocks you off your feet. You can't steer⁸ it, or stop it, yet you can't help but enjoy it.

 

So if you are headed to New Zealand and you got a little spare cash and a fairly strong stomach, you too can do something crazy and live to tell the tale.

1 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

2 propeller   

n.螺旋桨，推进器

参考例句：

• The propeller started to spin around.螺旋桨开始飞快地旋转起来。
• A rope jammed the boat's propeller.一根绳子卡住了船的螺旋桨。

3 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

4 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

5 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

6 orb   

n.太阳；星球；v.弄圆；成球形

参考例句：

• The blue heaven,holding its one golden orb,poured down a crystal wash of warm light.蓝蓝的天空托着金色的太阳，洒下一片水晶般明亮温暖的光辉。
• It is an emanation from the distant orb of immortal light.它是从远处那个发出不灭之光的天体上放射出来的。

7 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

8 steer   

vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶

参考例句：

• If you push the car, I'll steer it.如果你来推车，我就来驾车。
• It's no use trying to steer the boy into a course of action that suits you.想说服这孩子按你的方式行事是徒劳的。