【在飞浪中体验皮艇漂流】 双人皮艇漂流旅游

　　Whitewater kayakingWhitewater kayaking is the sport of paddling a small boat down a fast-moving river. Sometimes a graceful ride, it is more often an adrenaline-filled display of strength, quick thinking and technical skill. Whitewater kayaking first became popular in central Europe in the 1950s, when daring kayakers would plunge through rapids in fast-flowing rocky rivers. The term "whitewater" refers to the appearance of the frothy water found in rapids. Rapids are created when rivers are on a steep gradient, making the water flow very fast, when the flow is constricted into a narrower channel, or where an obstruction such as a boulder interrupts the river, causing eddies and swirling currents.
　　Kayaks were originally developed by the Inuit, the native inhabitants of Canada. The first kayaks were constructed with a wooden frame covered with seal skin and used to hunt in the open waters of the Arctic Ocean. Nowadays most kayaks are made from plastic or fiberglass, and are from two to three metres long. They usually seat one or two people and are propelled with a double-ended paddle. The top of the kayak has a deck, with a hole for the user to sit in, often sealed off with a spray skirt. This means that if the kayak capsizes it will not fill with water and the paddler can, with a manoeuvre known as an "Eskimo roll", right the boat again.
　　皮艇漂流是指在湍急的河面上划着小艇沿流而下的运动。有时它是一次优雅之旅，而更多时候则是一种力量、急智和技能的展示，令人备感亢奋。皮艇漂流于20世纪50年代率先在中欧流行开来的，当时勇猛的划艇者会在岩石纵横的湍猛河流中斩浪穿行。“白浪”这个词指的是急流泛起水沫的样子。当河流的坡度陡斜造成水流变快的时候，当水流被挤入更为狭窄的河道的时候，或是在河流被巨石之类的障碍物阻隔从而引起旋涡和涡流的地方，就会形成急流。
　　皮艇起初是由加拿大的土著居民因纽特人开创出来的。最初的皮艇是木质架构，上敷海豹皮，用来在北冰洋的开阔水域上进行猎捕。
　　如今，大多数皮艇都是用塑胶或玻璃纤维制成的，有两三米长。它们通常容纳一两个人，以双叶桨推动前进。皮艇上层有个甲板，上面有凹口，使用者在其中就坐，而且常常用防浪裙加以密封。这就意味着如果皮艇翻了，它也不会进水，而桨手可以用一种叫做“爱斯基摩翻滚”的动作，再把船给正过来。
　　
　　Types of Whitewater Kayaking
　　There are four basic kinds of whitewater kayaking.
　　River running is kind of like going on a boating tour down a river, except ①every so often your enjoyment of the scenery is interrupted by battling your way through roaring cascades and jagged rocks. Enthusiasts often go on multi-day trips sometimes towing rafts to carry their food and camping gear.
　　Playboating or freestyle is sometimes called a more artistic and technical kind of kayaking. Practitioners usually stay in one spot in the river where there are eddies and waves, and perform a variety of tricks. These can include surfing, spinning, cartwheels and more. Kayaks used in this sport are usually much shorter than normal, giving greater control to the kayaker.
　　Playboating is popular in areas that have no natural whitewater rivers.
　　Creeking is high-adrenaline form of kayaking, in which you take on very technical and challenging rapids. These can include waterfalls, very small and tight rivers, or fast-moving water in huge volumes. Kayaks used for creeking are usually larger than others to give them more stability.
　　皮艇漂流分类皮艇漂流有四种基本类型。
　　河流漂游有点儿像沿河坐船观光，只不过你要不时地在暴瀑和乱石中将你的通路开辟出来，令赏景变得断断续续。爱好者们常常是出游数日，有时还会拖上筏子，装上他们的食物和露营设备。
　　戏舟，即自由式，有时被称为是一种更具艺术性和技巧性的漂流活动。玩家通常会停留在河流中一个有旋涡和波浪的地方，表演各种花样。
　　这些花样包括冲浪、旋转、侧翻等等。这项运动中所用的皮艇，通常比普通的要短，增加了划艇者的操作性。戏舟风行于那些拥有不起浪的天然河流的地区。
　　急流回旋是一种高刺激性的漂流形式，而你对付的就是对技巧性有很高要求、极具挑战性的急流。这些急流包括瀑布、极其狭窄的河流或者汹涌的湍流。用于急流回旋的皮艇通常比其它类型的要大，使其更具稳定性。
　　In Whitewater racing, kayakers compete directly against one another to complete the course in the lowest time possible. The sport comes in two flavours:
　　In slalom, racers try to get from one end of a section of river to the other as quickly as possible whilst going through a series f "gates".
　　The whitewater conditions are usually less dangerous than in creeking, but the placement of the gates and the need to get through them without touching the poles means that getting through the course fast is a feat of real skill.
　　Competitors must go through the gates in order, some downriver, others in the upriver direction. Missing a gate, ②bumping into it, or going through the wrong way all lead to time penalties. This is the only kind of whitewater kayaking featured in the Olympic Games.
　　Slalom kayaks and canoes are long, made of composite material, with thin sterns to go fast, but turn easily. They must ③conform to rigid length and width requirements.
　　Downriver racing has no such niceties. The objective is simple - get from the top of the course to the bottom as fast as you can. These courses normally take between 10 and 20 minutes to complete and ideally feature as many rapids as possible. Though the rivers used are challenging, in order to keep the action flowing they do not include the very trickiest waters, designated "Grade V". Those are the preserve of extreme racing and often feature waterfalls or very dangerous rapids. This is a minority pursuit, as the demands of the courses are beyond the abilities of most kayakers.
　　在白浪竞速中，划艇者相互间直接进行对抗，尽可能以最短时间来完成赛程。这项运动分为两种：
　　在回转赛中，赛手要试着尽快从一个河段的一端驶向另一端，与此同时还要穿越一系列的“门洞”。白浪的程度通常没有急流回旋中的那么危险，但门洞的设置以及穿越其中而不触门柱的要求则意味着快速完成赛程要有真本领。参赛者必须按顺序穿越门洞，有些是按下游方向，而其它则按上游方向。漏过一个门洞、撞上一个门洞，或者是反向穿行，都会被扣时。这是唯一一种出现在奥运会上的皮艇漂流运动。
　　回转赛的皮艇和单人划艇的船身长，由复合材料制成，为了快速行驶、易于转向，采用了细窄的船尾。而在长度和宽度上，它们必须符合严格的要求。
　　顺流竞速没有那么严格。目标简单明了――以你最快的速度从赛程的起点到达终点。这些赛程通常需要10到20分钟来完成，而急流则是多多益善。虽然所用河段是有挑战性的，但为了保证运转流畅，其中就不包括被定为“第五级”的最棘手流段。那些流段是极限竞速所专用的，通常包含瀑布或是非常危险的急流。这是属于少数人的活动，因为那些赛道的要求非大多数划艇者能力所及。
　　Where It Happens The biggest places for whitewater kayaking, not surprisingly, are in North America. Canada and the USA both possess outstanding natural beauty and hundreds of miles of suitable waterways. They also have plenty of people who enjoy outdoor pursuits, and so the sport is very popular there.
　　Whitewater kayaking also has a sizable following in Europe, where the sport first took off. The United Kingdom is known for having many good whitewater spots, as are the Alps. Meanwhile, Norway is known for its extremely challenging rivers, typically steep with many waterfalls. They are run mainly by very experienced kayakers and often feature on extreme kayaking videos, made to ④show off the skills of the very best in the sport.
　　漂流圣地最受欢迎的皮艇漂流之地，不用吃惊，就在北美。加拿大和美国都拥有无与伦比的自然美景和数百英里长的可用水道。它们还拥有许多喜欢户外活动的人群，因此这一运动在那里十分流行。
　　在这项运动的发源地――欧洲，皮艇漂流也有大批拥趸。与阿尔卑斯山地区一样，英国以拥有众多优良的白浪场所而闻名。与之相对，挪威所著称的是它那极富挑战性的河流，典型的就是那些瀑布众多、坡度陡斜的河流。它们主要是用作经验丰富的划艇者的竞赛之地，经常出现在那些该运动的高手展现技艺的极限漂流录像片上。
　　
　　Classifying Whitewater
　　Kayakers use a standard system to rate the difficulty and danger of
　　different river sections, in order to make sure they are not getting in over their heads and tackling rapids that will be too much for their own skill.
　　
　　Class 1: no rapids, smooth flowing water.
　　Class 2: some rough water - the line is easy to see and pursue.
　　Class 3: whitewater but very safe for larger rafts;
　　kayakers should have good rolling or self-rescue skills.
　　Class 4: whitewater
　　for experienced paddlers only; the route through the rapids may require quick maneuvering.
　　Class 5: whitewater for advanced paddlers; scouting the rapid may be required, and there may be hidden hazards which require precise maneuvering.
　　Class 6: impassable or exploratory; for teams of experts, taking all safety precautions.
　　kayak /`kai2k/ v&n.(划)皮艇
　　paddle /`p2dl/ v.用桨划
　　rapid /`r2pid/ n.急流
　　frothy /`fr4Fi/ adj.起泡的；多泡的
　　gradient /`Greidi9nt/ n.倾斜度；坡度
　　constrict /k9n`strikt/ v.使变窄；压缩
　　boulder /`b9uld9/ n.大石头；漂石
　　eddy /`edi/ n.漩涡
　　seal /s1l/ n.海豹毛皮
　　spray skirt (划艇时用的)防浪裙
　　capsize /k2p`saiz/ v.(特指船)倾覆
　　manoeuvre /m9`n6v9/ n.机动动作
　　cascade /k2s`keid/ n.小瀑布；喷流
　　jagged /`_2Gid/ adj.参差不齐的；锯齿状的
　　tow /t9u/ vt.拖；牵引
　　spin /spin/ v.漩涡
　　cartwheel /`k3tw1l/ vi.侧手翻
　　feat /f1t/ n.功绩
　　downriver /`d#n`riv9(r)/ adj.下游的
　　upriver /`7p`riv9/ adj.上游的
　　composite /`k4mp9zit/ adj.合成的；复合的
　　stern /st8n/ n.船尾
　　nicety /`naisiti/ n.拘泥细节；挑剔
　　pursuit /p9`s(t/ n.事务；嗜好
　　following /`f4l9uiM/ n.一批拥护者
　　tackle /`t2kl/ vt.应付；处理
　　self-rescue /`self `resk(/ n.自救
　　① every so often 偶尔；时常
　　② bump into 撞上
　　③ conform to符合；遵照
　　④ show off 卖弄；炫耀
　　白浪类型
　　划艇者们为了确保他们是在量力而为，应付着那些没有超过其能力所及的急流，使用了一套标准体系来鉴定不同河段的难易和危险程度。
　　第一级：没有急流，静流水面。
　　第二级：某些汹涌的水面――赛道易于识别和顺行。
　　第三级：对于更大型筏艇来说非常安全的
　　白浪水面；划艇者要有良好的翻滚、自救能力。
　　第四级：仅限于有经验桨手的白浪水面；
　　穿越急流的路线可能会要求具备敏捷的操作技巧。
　　第五级：适用于高手级桨手的白浪水面；可能需要对急流进行勘察，而且可能会有暗险，需要进行精准的操作。
　　
　　第六级：无法逾
　　越或是具备探险性；适用于专家小组，要带上所有安全预防设备。