在飞浪中体验皮艇漂流.docVIP

在飞浪中体验皮艇漂流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 interru