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Taking Ironing to the Extreme 极限烫衣运动

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Have you ever come home from school on a lovely sunny day only to be given some tedious household tasks to do? There’s nothing ___1___ about housework, particularly ironing, and you probably get a little bored being stuck indoors while patiently trying to get the creases out of the laundry. ___2___, you might want to consider taking your iron and ironing board with you as you set off to do something a bit more crazy.

你有没有这种经验：在阳光普照的好天气下课回家，却发现只有一堆无聊的家事要做。做家事毫无刺激感可言──尤其是烫衣服。对于必须待在屋内、试着耐心地把一堆洗好衣物的皱痕烫平一事，你可能觉得有点无聊。既然如此，你应该会想考虑带着熨斗和烫衣板出去做一些比较疯狂的事。

This is what happened to a factory employee named Phil Shaw back in 1997. As the story goes, the Englishman returned home after a hard day’s work to find a large pile of wrinkled ___3___ awaiting him. As Shaw would much rather be outside indulging in a spot of rock climbing than stuck indoors ___4___ homemaker, he was struck by the realization that he could get out of the house by bringing his pile of housework along with him. Before long, Shaw was ironing while skiing in the Alps and climbing trees in the Black Forest. Thus, extreme ironing ___5___. It’s the only way, Shaw’s website explains, to “combine the danger and excitement of an extreme sport with the satisfaction of a well-pressed shirt.”

1997年时，这情况就发生在一位工厂员工菲力．萧氏身上。这位英国人在辛苦工作一天回家后，发现有一大堆皱巴巴的衣服等着他烫。比起被困在家里做家事，他更想要去户外享受攀岩。于是他忽然想到把家事带出门做的主意。不久后，萧氏一边在阿尔卑斯山山脉滑雪和德国黑森林爬树，一边烫衣服。因此，「极限烫衣运动」焉然诞生。萧氏在他的网页上写着：既要同时享受危险刺激的极限运动，又有熨烫平整的衬衫可穿，极限烫衣运动是唯一之道。

Little by little, extreme ironing gained practitioners and ___6___, from Australia and Germany to Chile and Croatia. “Ironists” attracted to this oddball sport have ironed on Everest and in the Brazilian rainforest, ___7___ while scuba diving and mountain biking. So, next time you plan to jump out of a plane, don’t forget to bring your ironing board with you!

渐渐地，从澳洲、德国到智利、克罗埃西亚，有越来越多的专业人士和粉丝都从事极限烫衣运动。着迷这奇特运动所的「烫衣者」曾在圣母峰和巴西热带雨林烫过衣服，也曾在水肺潜水和骑山地自行车时做过相同的事。所以当你下次计划从飞机跳伞时，别忘了带烫衣板呀！

－by Alice Davis

Vocabulary

单词发音

tedious [ˋtidɪəs] adj. 冗长乏味的；使人厌烦的

household [ˋhaʊs͵hold] adj. 家的，家庭的；家用的

ironing [ˋaɪɚnɪŋ] n. 熨衣服

crease [kris] n.（衣服、纸等的）折缝，折痕；绉痕

laundry [ˋlɔndrɪ] n. 送洗的衣服；洗好的衣服

set off 出发; 启程 to cause sudden activity; to start on a journey

wrinkled [ˋrɪŋk!d] adj. 有皱纹的

indulge [ɪnˋdʌldʒ] v. 沉迷于；满足（欲望等）

practitioner [prækˋtɪʃənɚ] n. 从事者，实践者

oddball [ˋɑd͵bɔl] n.【口】古怪的人

scuba diving [ˋskubə͵daɪvɪŋ] n. 戴水肺潜水

Extreme Ironing

Underwater Extreme Ironing

Answer