VOA慢速英语--五岁男孩与父母完成阿巴拉契亚山道

Five-Year-Old Boy Completes Appalachian Trail With Parents

American Harvey Sutton went to his first day of school last week. The 5-year-old boy had a lot to tell his teacher and classmates about his summer.

That is because Harvey just finished walking the entire length of the Appalachian Trail, one of the longest footpaths¹ in the world. The 3,500-kilometer-long trail passes through 14 states in the eastern United States.

Harvey is one of the youngest people ever to walk the trail. He and his parents completed the trip in 209 days.

It was hard work. But it was also fun. Harvey got to watch wild animals like frogs and lizards². He climbed over tall rocks. And he got to eat Skittles, a colorful sweet treat, to give him energy.

"The rock scrambles⁴ were really fun and hard. We were not bored," Harvey said from his home in Virginia, where he lives with his parents, Josh and Cassie Sutton.

His parents tried hard to keep their little boy happy and excited. In fact, they said, they had little time to pay attention to their own physical pain from walking so many kilometers.

"It gave us a bond⁵ and a strength that we hadn't realized before," Cassie Sutton said.

Other young children have hiked the trail, which starts at Springer Mountain, Georgia and ends atop Maine's Mount⁶ Katahdin. Even some babies have travelled the length with their parents.

Harvey was 4 years old when he and his parents began their walk in January. He turned 5 before the family completed the trip earlier this month in Maine.

He is several months younger than "Buddy⁷ Backpacker," a boy who once held the record for youngest person to complete the trail.

But the youngest of all may be Juniper Netteberg. The little girl finished the trail at age four with her parents and three siblings⁹ last October.

It may seem like an extreme activity for a child, but Dr. Laura Blaisdell sees no harm. She is a children's doctor and medical adviser¹⁰ to the American Camp Association¹¹.

Dr. Blaisdell said children are strong enough for the experience if parents attend to their child's usual social and emotional¹² development.

Harvey's parents had been hiking with Harvey since he was two years old. Doing the Appalachian Trail seemed like a good next step.

It was a mostly smooth experience, the family reported. They slept in a tent, waking at 5:30 in the morning and walking all day. Their daily life was simple.

Josh Sutton said meeting and talking with other hikers along the way prevented boredom¹³. They started calling his son "Little Man," early on the trip. Harvey's new name spread quickly among hikers all along the Appalachian Trail.

Karl Donus Sakas hiked with the family from Pennsylvania to the end of the trail in Maine. He helped the family keep Harvey interested by creating a treasure hunt with maps. Little Man found hidden playthings and brightly lit sticks along the trail.

Some other hikers gave Little Man toys, too, including a pet rock and Hot Wheels cars. At a Dollar General store, Harvey bought himself a calculator¹⁴ to keep track of all of the kilometers he had walked.

The Sutton family completed the hike August 9 atop Mount Katahdin in Maine. Now it is off to school for Little Man and back to work for his parents.

Harvey's trip earned praise from another hiker, Dale "Greybeard" Sanders. He is the oldest person to hike the trail, which he did at age 82.

"It's going to change his life forever, and his parents' life, too. The kid went through some hardships, but don't we all? Hardships make us stronger," said Sanders, now 86. "That kid is going to smile through life."

Words in This Story

trail - n. a path through a forest, field, etc.

scramble³ - n. the act of moving or climbing over something quickly especially while also using your hands

excited - adj. very enthusiastic and eager about something

bond - n. something (such as an idea, interest, experience, or feeling) that is shared between people or groups and forms a connection between them

sibling⁸ - n. a brother or sister

tent - n. a portable¹⁵ shelter that is used outdoors, is made of cloth (such as canvas¹⁶ or nylon), and is held up with poles and ropes

hardship - n. pain and suffering

1 footpaths   

人行小径，人行道( footpath的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There are a lot of winding footpaths in the col. 山坳里尽是些曲曲弯弯的羊肠小道。
• There are many footpaths that wind through the village. 有许多小径穿过村子。

2 lizards   

n.蜥蜴( lizard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nothing lives in Pompeii except crickets and beetles and lizards. 在庞培城里除了蟋蟀、甲壳虫和蜥蜴外，没有别的生物。 来自辞典例句
• Can lizards reproduce their tails? 蜥蜴的尾巴断了以后能再生吗？ 来自辞典例句

3 scramble   

v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料

参考例句：

• He broke his leg in his scramble down the wall.他爬墙摔断了腿。
• It was a long scramble to the top of the hill.到山顶须要爬登一段长路。

4 scrambles   

n.抢夺( scramble的名词复数 )v.快速爬行( scramble的第三人称单数 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• The breaking of symmetry scrambles the underlying order of nature. 对称性的破坏会打乱自然界的根本秩序。 来自互联网
• The move comes as Japan scrambles for ways to persuade women to have more babies. 这一行动的出现正值日本政府想尽各种办法鼓励妇女多生育孩子。 来自互联网

5 bond   

n.结合，债券，契约，粘合剂，保证人，键，关栈保留；vt.存入关栈，粘着；vi.结合

参考例句：

• This glue makes a good firm bond.这种胶水粘得很结实。
• His word is his bond.他是讲信用的。

6 mount   

n.山峰，乘用马，框，衬纸；vi.增长，骑上（马）；vt.提升，爬上，装备

参考例句：

• Their debts continued to mount up.他们的债务不断增加。
• She is the first woman who steps on the top of Mount Jolmo Lungma.她是第一个登上珠穆朗玛峰的女人。

7 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！

8 sibling   

n.同胞手足(指兄、弟、姐或妹)

参考例句：

• Many of us hate living in the shadows of a more successful sibling.我们很多人都讨厌活在更为成功的手足的阴影下。
• Sibling ravalry has been common in this family.这个家里，兄弟姊妹之间的矛盾很平常。

9 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

10 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

11 association   

n.联盟，协会，社团；交往，联合；联想

参考例句：

• Our long association with your company has brought great benefits.我方和贵公司的长期合作带来了巨大的利益。
• I broke away from the association ten years ago.我10年前就脱离了那个团体。

12 emotional   

adj.令人动情的；易动感情的；感情(上)的

参考例句：

• Emotional people don't stop to calculate.感情容易冲动的人做事往往不加考虑。
• This is an emotional scene in the play.这是剧中动人的一幕。

13 boredom   

n.厌烦，厌倦，乏味，无聊

参考例句：

• Unemployment can drive you mad with boredom.失业会让你无聊得发疯。
• A walkman can relieve the boredom of running.跑步时带着随身听就不那么乏味了。

14 calculator   

n.计算者，计算机

参考例句：

• Don't forget to bring your calculator that day.那天你可别忘了带计算器。
• I totaled my expenses with a calculator. 我用计算器算出开支的总金额。

15 portable   

adj.轻便的，手提式的；n.便携的东西

参考例句：

• I have a portable typewriter.我有一个便携式打字机。
• There is a pretty portable pair of steps in one corner of the room.屋角放着一架小巧玲珑的折梯。

16 canvas   

n.粗帆布，一块油画布

参考例句：

• The times that people used canvas boat have become history.人们用帆船的时代已成为历史。
• Smith painted an oil painting on the canvas.史密斯在画布上画了一幅油画。