彭蒙惠英语：Kauai Adventure（在线收听）

Kauai Adventure

3

Floating the canals

Locals had been sneaking into the old Lihue Plantation with giant inner tubes to float the canals for decades. The swirling, whirling fun adventure through mountain-fed irrigation canals and tunnels of the former sugar plantation was not for the faint-hearted. Three years ago, Kauai Backcountry Adventures decided to open it to thrill-seeking tourists. We started in an open irrigation ditch, sitting comfortably in our oversized inner tubes and wearing protective gloves, helmets and headlamps. The fern-covered walls of these canals looked positively primeval. Three feet high and maybe 15 feet apart, they sometimes squeezed in so close we could almost touch both sides at once.

The first half-mile was tranquil enough, but soon the invigoratingly cold water propelled us faster. We started spinning, bouncing off the banks and each other and, by some strange law of physics, traveling backwards 75% of the time.

“Lights on! Ankles and elbows in! Watch your heads!” our lead guide yelled. Spinning madly and bouncing, we swooped into the pitch-black opening of the first of five tunnels. “Turn right! Bear left! Quick right turn!” he called . . . not that we had any control over our direction. We simply spun and ricocheted off the rock walls in the direction the water propelled us.

Perfect finish

The last of the five tunnels had softer clay walls, so we did it in total darkness, tucking in our various body parts and bouncing through. It was the perfect climax to our ride, surrendering our last illusion of control and whooshing through the darkness, letting the water take us where it would. Finally, we returned to daylight. Awaiting us was a picnic lunch set beside a swimming hole . . . in case we hadn’t yet had enough water fun.

Vocabulary Focus

faint-hearted (adj) [5feint5hB:tid] describes someone who is not confident or brave and dislikes taking unnecessary risks

primeval (adj) [prai5mi:vEl] ancient; existing at or from a very early time

invigoratingly (adv) [in5vi^EreitiNli] making one feel fresher, healthier and more energetic

pitch-black (adj) [5pitF5blAk] extremely dark; so dark that nothing can be seen

ricochet (v) [5rikEFet] to bounce off something

可爱岛探险之旅

3

在沟渠中漂浮

数10年以来，当地人一直会带着巨型的内胎游泳圈偷偷地溜进利忽野甘蔗园，在园中的沟渠漂流而下。这种在由山泉注入的旧蔗园灌溉沟渠或隧道中任由水流让你打旋、急转的乐趣，并不适合心脏不够强、胆子不够大的人。3年前，可爱岛乡野探险公司决定对追寻刺激的游客开放这个项目。我们从开放式的灌溉水沟下去，舒服地坐在超大型的内胎上，戴着保护手套、安全帽及头灯。这些沟渠两旁羊齿植物覆盖的墙壁看起来极富原始风貌。墙壁约3英尺高；两壁之间约15英尺宽，但有些地方很窄，我们几乎可以同时碰到两边。

前半里还双平稳的，但很快地，令人神清气爽的冷水推着我们加快往前。我们开始打转、碰撞到壁边及其它人后弹回；然后基于某种奇特的物理定律，有3/4的时间，我们是背向着前方行进的。

“打开灯！脚踝和手肘缩进去！小心你们的头！”我们的领队导游喊着。疯狂似的旋转着、碰撞着，突然我们俯冲入伸手不见五指的一片漆黑之中；那是5个隧道中第一个隧道的入口。“向右！转左！快速右转！”他大叫……其实我们根本无法控制方向。我们只是顺着水流推动的方向旋转着，或被石壁弹撞着。

完美的句点

5个隧道中的最后一个隧道，两边是比较柔软的粘土壁，所以我们在完全的黑暗之中，紧紧缩起身上的各个部位，一路弹来撞去。这是这趟沟渠之游的完美高潮，放弃最后一丝掌控的幻想，呼啸地穿越黑暗，任由水流带我们到它想要我们去的地方。最后，我们终于重见阳光。在一个天然游泳池畔有野餐式的午餐等着我们……万一我们玩水还玩得不过瘾的话。