VOA标准英语2011---day Treasure Hunters Prize the Hunt

Modern-day Treasure Hunters Prize the Hunt

There is a breed of modern day treasure hunter that utilizes¹ the Internet, a knack² for orienting and solving puzzles, and a sense of adventure to acquire its prize. But these 21st century explorers are not seeking riches, they're after something called a letterbox.
As a cold rain spits on a car ferry in western Ireland, James and Nancy Hartigan and their two children huddle³ together in the car, plotting the rest of the day’s travel.
"Killimer to Knock around Kilmore to Lab, and then back to Kilkerrin," James says. "And then we will hit the Battery at Lackyle, back out, probably hit the cemetery⁴, and then up the road."
Letterboxing journey
This is the final leg of their journey from Ashland, Virginia, to their father’s ancestral home to see relatives and leave behind a letterbox.
"We have been doing this letterboxing thing for a while," James says. "And it is just a kind of neat way of connecting with people, you know, as opposed to sending emails and what-not. It is something that you have to travel to go get."
A letterbox is a weather-proof box which typically contains a hand-carved rubber stamp and notebook. A letterboxer hides it in a public place, and posts clues and directions for finding it on the Internet. Those who find a box, use the stamp to mark their personal notebook and leave an imprint⁵ of their own stamp in the letterbox’s notebook. Then they put the box back in its hiding place for the next treasure hunter to find.
"I definitely like the whole letterbox thing," says Sean Hartigan, 10, who carved a train to use as his personal stamp. "I am actually kind of hoping for, like, next time we come, eight or nine notes in there."
His older sister Maggie has written an introductory passage in the notebook. "I wrote about my hat and about how awesome⁶ Ireland is, and I am going to move here when I get rich, along with many other things."
But, first, they have to hide the box, which involves a long drive through drizzling⁷ rain over bumpy⁸ back roads and an after-dark arrival at the final resting place for many of James Hartigan's ancestors.
"This is Kilkirren cemetery," says James, once they arrive at their destination. "The gravestones would be several hundred years old."
The family wedges its letterbox into a crack in the cemetery wall. They have given clues to its location to their relatives.
Unique pastime
Letterboxing began in bog-covered parkland in Devon, England, in 1854.
"A gentleman left his calling card out on the moors⁹ and said, 'Anyone to find this also do the same or write a little note,' that sort of thing," says Randy Hall, an American software engineer and author of “The Letterboxer’s Companion.”
Hikers started leaving their cards. The idea caught on and word of other hikers hiding boxes in remote areas with cryptic¹⁰ directions spread through word of mouth. Stamps eventually replaced cards. For more than a century, the pastime was limited to a few enthusiasts¹¹ on the moors.
A 1998 article in a major U.S. magazine introduced letterboxing to many Americans. Its popularity soared thanks to the Internet, which has become the primary means of distributing clues.
In Britain, Hall says, the clues often require the use of a compass, while in the United States, directions and puzzles dominate.
"It is kind of like setting up treasure hunts," he says. "It is like a mental activity, a brainy activity."
Hall is renowned¹² for his clever and complex puzzles. The only clue he provides for locating a North Carolina letterbox is a haiku poem:
Roll’s pal¹³ in a noose¹⁴
Sign marks his lupine brother
Pine tree to the north.
"I like people to have an 'aha' experience when they figure it out. They feel, 'Wow, that is really cool.' To create a sense of discovery," Hall says. "I do not like it when it is just ‘Walk down the path and look under a rock.’"
Working together
Letterboxing is also catching¹⁵ on as a vacation activity. Andrea Wyman and her family make it part of every vacation, including a 2010 trip to Ohio.
"We were letterboxing on Lake Erie and we ended up in a forest area that we probably would not have gone to at all," she says. "But the letterbox was hidden within a little campground."
Wyman, an associate professor at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, has designed a course on letterboxing for grandparents and their grandchildren.
She says the pastime encourages generations to work together while enjoying the outdoors and exploring new places. And, solving the puzzles and writing the clues are good workouts for the brain.
"When you are trying to help someone find your letterbox, you are editing, reading and reviewing everything that you write down on your clue list so that you can help someone come and find your hidden book," Wyman says.
Her 11-year-old daughter, Hannah, has found her fair share of boxes. She says letterboxing allows her to do what she calls ‘cool stuff’ that does not involve computers.
"We went to this park and then it said from this certain tree take 42 third-grader steps," Hannah says. "And I was a third-grader at that time, so I got to figure out where the letterbox was."
She stamped the book with her snowflake stamp and walked away with a souvenir and a fond memory. The treasure - for her, the Hartigans and the thousands of other letterboxers - is in the hunt.

1 utilizes   

v.利用，使用( utilize的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• One highly successful approach utilizes a triplet aspheric lens array. 一种很成功的方法是利用一个三合非球面透镜阵列。 来自辞典例句
• The first utilizes a blend of finely ground ceramic powders. 第一种用的是一种磨细的陶瓷粉末混合物。 来自辞典例句

2 knack   

n.诀窍，做事情的灵巧的，便利的方法

参考例句：

• He has a knack of teaching arithmetic.他教算术有诀窍。
• Making omelettes isn't difficult,but there's a knack to it.做煎蛋饼并不难，但有窍门。

3 huddle   

vi.挤作一团；蜷缩；vt.聚集；n.挤在一起的人

参考例句：

• They like living in a huddle.他们喜欢杂居在一起。
• The cold wind made the boy huddle inside his coat.寒风使这个男孩卷缩在他的外衣里。

4 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

5 imprint   

n.印痕，痕迹；深刻的印象；vt.压印，牢记

参考例句：

• That dictionary is published under the Longman imprint.那本词典以朗曼公司的名义出版。
• Her speech left its imprint on me.她的演讲给我留下了深刻印象。

6 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

7 drizzling   

下蒙蒙细雨，下毛毛雨( drizzle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The rain has almost stopped, it's just drizzling now. 雨几乎停了，现在只是在下毛毛雨。
• It was drizzling, and miserably cold and damp. 外面下着毛毛细雨，天气又冷又湿，令人难受。

8 bumpy   

adj.颠簸不平的，崎岖的

参考例句：

• I think we've a bumpy road ahead of us.我觉得我们将要面临一段困难时期。
• The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track.铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄，成了一条崎岖不平的小径。

9 moors   

v.停泊，系泊（船只）( moor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• the North York moors 北约克郡的漠泽
• They're shooting grouse up on the moors. 他们在荒野射猎松鸡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 cryptic   

adj.秘密的，神秘的，含义模糊的

参考例句：

• She made a cryptic comment about how the film mirrored her life.她隐晦地表示说这部电影是她人生的写照。
• The new insurance policy is written without cryptic or mysterious terms.新的保险单在编写时没有隐秘条款或秘密条款。

11 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册

12 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。

13 pal   

n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友

参考例句：

• He is a pal of mine.他是我的一个朋友。
• Listen,pal,I don't want you talking to my sister any more.听着，小子，我不让你再和我妹妹说话了。

14 noose   

n.绳套，绞索（刑）；v.用套索捉；使落入圈套；处以绞刑

参考例句：

• They tied a noose round her neck.他们在她脖子上系了一个活扣。
• A hangman's noose had already been placed around his neck.一个绞刑的绳圈已经套在他的脖子上。

15 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。