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Catch A Wave – The Beauty of Surfing 冲浪乐逍遥

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

Surfing, or “he ‘e nalu” in Hawaiian, tests the very limits of human capabilities. Mastery requires extraordinary swimming skills, athleticism, nerve, a nearly religious zeal for “the perfect wave.” But how did an arcane coastal pastime transform into an international sport?

「冲浪」（夏威夷语念作「海也拿乐」）是能彻底测试人类体能极限的运动。浪要冲得好，需要非常好的泳技、运动员的拼劲、胆识和近乎宗教般追逐「完美波浪」的狂热。不过究竟这种原先只有少数人才会的海岸消遣是如何转变成国际运动的呢？

Traditional surfing was a far cry from today’s surfing. Traditional surf boards weighed up 80 kilograms, so ancient Hawaiians – though as skilled and daring as modern surfers – couldn’t have executed many modern moves. In the early years of western contact, surfing declined alarmingly (like most traditional Hawaiian culture). It’s in large part thanks to Duke Kahanamoku, a Waikiki Beach native, that the sport survived and flourished. Beginning in 1912, Duke demonstrated and spread the sport in California and Australia, laying the groundwork for the fifties surf revolution.

传统冲浪与现代冲浪大异其趣。传统的冲浪板最重可达80公斤，所以以前的夏威夷人──虽然他们也像现代冲浪客一样艺高人胆大──却无法表演许多现代的招数。夏威夷与西方文化接触初期，冲浪活动遽降（大多数的传统夏威夷文化也一样）。这项运动能够得以保全和兴盛，主要得感谢一位威基基海滩的当地人──卡阿那莫酷公爵。打从1912年起，公爵就在加州和澳洲示范并推广这项运动，为五０年代的冲浪革命奠定了基础。

In the early fifties, technological advances vastly reduced the cost, weight, and size of surfboards. Overnight, almost any teenager could afford one, so the beaches were crawling with gremmies. As surfing’s popularity skyrocketed into the sixties, there were B-grade surf movies, The Beach Boys, Sally Field in the TV show Gidget…. Not to mention professional surf contests. Today, surfing’s devil-may-care attitude, clothing, and even its slang are more than a sport. They’re fixtures of popular culture.

五０年代初期，科技进步大大降低了冲浪板的成本、重量、和尺寸大小。突然之间，几乎每个青少年都买得起冲浪板了，于是海滩上挤满了冲浪新手。这波冲浪热潮持续到六０年代达到了巅峰，开始有B级冲浪电影、海滩男孩和女星莎莉菲尔德主演的电视电影「Gidget」陆续问世，更别提还有职业冲浪比赛了。如今，冲浪运动那种不顾一切的拼命三郎态度、衣着、甚至这个圈子所用的俚语在在说明它已不只是种运动而已，这些已成为流行文化中不可或缺的一环了。

Vocabulary

课文讲解

surfing [ˋsɝfɪŋ] n. 冲浪游戏

mastery [ˋmæstərɪ] n. 完全控制; 熟练；精通

athleticism [æθˋlɛtəsɪzəm] n. 热爱体育

nerve [nɝv] n. 勇敢，胆量

zeal [zil] n.〔尤指实现宗教或政治目标的〕热情﹐热忱

arcane [ɑrˋken] adj.【文】秘密的﹐神秘的

pastime [ˋpæs͵taɪm] n. 消遣；娱乐

a far cry from【口】与...大不相同 a thing that is very different from something else

alarmingly [əˋlɑrmɪŋlɪ] adv. 令人挂虑地；惊人地

groundwork [ˋgraʊnd͵wɝk] n. 基础；根基

crawl [krɔl] v. 充斥着[（+with）]

gremmie ['gremɪ] n. 笨手笨脚的冲浪板运动者 a young or inexperienced surfer

devil-may-care [͵dɛv!mɪˋkɛr] adj. 满不在乎的﹐ 不顾一切的 careless or reckless; happy-go-lucky

fixture [ˋfɪkstʃɚ] n. 固定在某位置的人或物;〔房屋或建筑物内的〕固定装修物; 固定附着物

Sentence of the Day

Duke Kahanamoku was never at sea when he was in the ocean.

卡阿那莫酷公爵只要在海上就绝不会含糊。

at sea  不知所措, 茫然, 胡涂

课文讲解

Elizabeth walks into the living-room as her boyfriend Lawrence is watching a surfing DVD:  伊丽莎白的男朋友劳伦斯正在看一部冲浪电影的DVD时，她走进客厅里来：

L: Let’s go rhino hunting.

我们去猎犀牛吧！

E: Uh, aren’t we going surfing in Hawaii for our vacation?

哦，我们休假不是要去夏威夷冲浪吗？

L: Of course, dude. “Rhino hunting” is the latest thing. It’s when surfers use power boats or jet skis to get towed out to waves that would be impossible to reach otherwise.

当然要，城市乡巴佬。「猎犀牛」是时下最流行的运动，指冲浪者让快艇或水上摩托车拖着滑到用其他方法到达不了的海上。

E: Ah, I suppose we’re heading to Waimea Bay on the North Shore for some twelve-meter waves? Maybe this gremmie is getting too stoked for Hawaii.

噢，我猜我们是要去北海岸的威迈湾，体验一下12公尺高的巨浪吧？或许你这个冲浪菜鸟听到要去夏威夷就兴奋过头吓到了吧。

L: Hey, I’ve been surfing in Hawaii once before. I’m practically a local.

嘿，我以前在夏威夷冲过浪。实际上我熟得像当地人一样。

E: Whatever you say. If you’re such a rad surfer, why are you watching this DVD? Isn’t it ancient history?

随便你怎么说吧。但如果你真的是高竿的冲浪好手，为什么还要看这片DVD？那不是已经老掉牙的东西吗？

L: Hey, Endless Summer is the surf movie that started it all! Rhino hunting or not, check out the style of these dudes. When this was released in sixty-six, surfers still rode long boards.

嘿，「夏日无尽」可是冲浪电影的开山祖师呢！且不管猎不猎犀牛，瞧瞧这些帅哥的造型。这部片子在1966年推出时，冲浪者用的都还是长板呢。

E: Right. And ironically, in sixty-six, a surfer named Nat Young changed surfing to a short board style when he blew everyone away at the World Surfing Championships.

没错，而且很讽刺地在1966年时，一位名叫纳特扬的冲浪者在世界冲浪锦标赛中改用短板，结果他击败了各路英雄好汉，给人留下深刻的印象。

L: Those were the days!

多美好的往日时光啊！

E: We’re getting ahead of ourselves. How about you call to confirm our hotel reservation?

我们早些做准备。你打电话确认一下我们的旅馆订房怎样？

L: OK. But only if we go buy some board wax afterwards.

好，但是之后我们一定要去买一些冲浪板专用蜡。

－by Iain Ferguson & Lyle Wagner

Vocabulary

课文讲解

rhino [ˋraɪno] n.【非正式】犀牛

dude [djud] n.【美】【俚】男人；男孩

jet ski【商标】水上摩托; 小型高速滑艇

tow [to] v. 拖，拉

otherwise [ˋʌðɚ͵waɪz] adv. 用别的方法

stoked [stokt] adj.【美口】〔因意外的惊喜而〕振奋的﹐非常兴奋的

rad [ræd] adj. 出色的；杰出的 slang excellent; wonderful

ironically [aɪˋrɑnɪklɪ] adv. 讽刺地

blow someone away  把别人给震了，让人非常吃惊

get ahead of oneself 好高骛远、不切实际  to do or say something sooner than it ought to be done so that the proper explanation or preparations have not been made

afterwards [`æftɚwɚdz] adv. 随后

Sentence of the Day

Elizabeth and Lawrence are chomping at the bite to go on vacation.

伊丽莎白和劳伦斯迫不及待要去渡假了。

be chomping at the bite to  跃跃欲试  be very keen to start an activity or to go somewhere