A Dance of Life on The Edge

A Dance of Life on The Edge

 

His name is Dan Osman. A ¹⁾Guinness record ²⁾holder¹ and a legend in the world of rock climbing. Over the past 11 years, Dan thrilled, amazed and inspired everyone who saw him in action. On November 23rd 1998, Dan Osman died, doing what he loved to do.

Dan Osman gained fame and recognition for a spectacular sport he created called “rope free-falling”. Tied to the end of a rope ³⁾anchored to a structure, Dan ⁴⁾hurled himself through space facing death head on. He bathed in the rush.

Dan: I can do a lot of things for an adrenaline rush, but I choose this because it’s the only way to get like pure raw adrenaline, you know, pure all together in one.

Friend: Dan was a wild man, creative and bold and ⁵⁾exuberant³, but he was also ⁶⁾methodical, ⁷⁾patient and precise in his technical ⁸⁾mastery of the equipment involved and his understanding of the ⁹⁾dynamics⁴ of every challenge that he undertook.

He spent endless hours perfecting his world-class skills. And his ¹⁰⁾expertise⁵ as a climber and a ¹¹⁾rigger were in big demand. He trained the elite⁶ US Navy SEAL’s ¹²⁾commando fighting unit, and taught safety workers how to ¹³⁾scale buildings. Despite the demands on his life, he always found time to spend with his eight-year-old daughter, Emma. When his thoughts weren’t on Emma, he was focused on setting three new rope free-falling records. He leapt 200 feet suspended across a ¹⁴⁾canyon⁷, 300 feet off a cliff and an astonishing 650 feet off a bridge.

Dan: The difference between rope free-flying which is what I do and say ¹⁵⁾bungee jumping, for instance, is that a bungee is a big rubber band that just kind of “Boings” and stretches out and slows you down, very slowly, where I use a climbing rope which is made of ¹⁶⁾nylon, and what it does is it lets you go all the way to the deck and stops you just before impact.

Rope free-falling is where he gained his fame. But it didn’t stop there. He became the first person to climb a ¹⁷⁾rushing waterfall --battling raging ¹⁸⁾currents and near freezing temperatures he turned the impossible into the probable.

Dan: I like to invent new sports because I can do things that no one else has ever done. No one believes that I can really do it until I come back alive with a smile on my face.

Dan was always looking for new ways to up the thrill and push the envelope. He found it in the ¹⁹⁾perilous⁸ sport called free climbing. Free climbers use no ropes or gear.

Friend: One of the boldest things I ever saw Dan do was free solo rock climbing. He would climb up these routes that were so steep and so hard. He’d be hanging by his fingertips and his toes and that’s it. And these were so steep that once he started he couldn’t turn back. It was ²⁰⁾summit or ²¹⁾plummet⁹.

Like everything else he did, Dan mastered the sport. He became one of the top free climbers in the world. But that wasn’t enough, Dan had to find a way to take this sport to new extremes and he did. He added an even more ²²⁾lethal¹⁰ element: speed. He became the first person on earth to do speed free climbing.

Friend: One of the last things I said to Dan on that last day I saw him was, “That’s enough. Park it. Put your toys away, give it a rest. Spend some time with your daughter, enjoy your life.”

People always used to ask him if he didn’t have a death wish and his most common response was no, he had a life wish. And it was just pushing the edge of life and finding out what happens there at the edge of life and death and the edge of fear and joy.

 

舞在悬崖边上的生命之花

 

他的名字叫丹·奥斯曼，既是世界吉尼斯记录保持者，也是世界攀岩运动的一位传奇人物。在过去的11年里，每个看到丹一展身手的人无不感到激动、惊讶并且深受鼓舞。1998年11月23日，丹在进行他所热爱的运动时，不幸身亡。

丹·奥斯曼发明了一项名为“自由降落”的惊险运动，并因此声名四起。丹将自己系于一根固定在他物上的绳索另一端，无惧于前方未知的死亡，横空奋力跃下，感受急速冲击。

丹：我喜欢各种刺激体验，但我做自由降落，是因为只有这种运动能体会到最纯粹的刺激，集合各种刺激之最。

朋友：丹是个热情奔放的人，他充满创意，勇敢并且精力充沛。他对使用装备有系统、专业而精准的技术知识；对于尝试的每个挑战性动作，他都能准确无误地把握好。

他花了很多工夫在改进自己世界一流的技术。他在攀岩和索具装备方面具有精准的知识，深受欢迎。他训练过精锐的美国海军海豹特战队，教导安全人员如何攀爬建筑物。但不管有多忙，他都会抽出时间与八岁的女儿埃玛共享天伦之乐。当不想埃玛时，他就全力以赴，创造出三项自由降落的新世界纪录。他悬吊着跃下过200英尺深的峡谷、300英尺高的悬崖，以及高达令人惊骇的650英尺的桥。

丹：我所做的自由降落和蹦极跳相比，区别在于蹦极跳用的是长长的橡皮绳，会发出“嘣”的声音，然后再让你慢慢减速。而我自由降落用的是尼龙绳，它会让你一路降到最底，受撞前才让你猛然停住。

丹因为自由降落赢得了名声，但他并未就此有所松懈。他还是第一个在急流瀑布中攀爬而上的人，他顽强地战胜了急流怒涛以及近乎冰点的水温，使不可能的任务成为可能。

丹：我喜欢发明新运动，那样我可以去做别人从不曾做过的事。没人相信我会成功，直到我活着回来，面带微笑。

丹总是寻求新方法为刺激度推波助澜。他发明了徒手攀岩的冒险运动，攀岩者不用绳索也不用绞轮。

朋友：我所见过丹做过的最大胆的事之一就是徒手攀岩。他攀的都是陡峭异常的崖壁。他挂在崖壁上，只靠手指和脚趾着力。这些崖壁太险峻了，一旦开始爬就无法回头。不成功则成仁。

像以往一样，他征服了这项运动，并成为世界顶级的徒手攀岩者。但这对丹来说还不够，他必须想办法使这项运动达到一个新的极限，最后他如愿以偿了。他增加了一个致命因素：速度。于是他又成为了高速徒手攀岩的第一人。

朋友：最后一天看见丹的时候，我对他说：“够了。停一停吧。收拾好你的工具，让它们也好好休息一下。多陪陪你女儿，享受享受生活吧！”

从前，人们问他是否有遗愿，他常回答说“没有”。他毕生只有一个心愿：接近生命的极限，体验在生死极限、恐惧与快乐边缘的一切滋味。

 

注释:

1) Guinness [5^inis] n. 吉尼斯（世界纪录）

2) holder [5hEuldE] n. 持有者，保持者

3) anchor [5ANkE] v. 锚定

4) hurl² [hE:l] v. 用力投掷

5) exuberant [i^5zju:bErEnt] a. 活力充沛的

6) methodical [mi5WRdik(E)l] a. 有方法的，有系统的

7) patient [5peiFEnt] a. 耐心的

8) mastery [5mB:stEri] n. 掌握

9) dynamics [dai5nAmiks] n. 动力学

10) expertise [7ekspE5ti:z] n. 专门技术

11) rigger [5ri^E] n. 索具配备人

12) commando [kE5mAndEJ] n. 突击队

13) scale [skeil] v. 攀登

14) canyon [5kAnjEn] n. 峡谷，溪谷

15) bungee [5bQNdVi:] n. 蹦极跳

16) nylon [5nailEn] n. 尼龙

17) rushing [5rQFiN] a. 急流的

18) current [5kQrEnt] n. 水流

19) perilous [5perilEs] a. 危险的

20) summit [5sQmit] n. 顶点

21) plummet [5plQmit] n. 垂直落下

22) lethal [5li:WEl] a. 致命的

 

 

 

 

 

1 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

2 hurl   

vt.猛投，力掷，声叫骂

参考例句：

• The best cure for unhappiness is to hurl yourself into your work.医治愁苦的最好办法就是全身心地投入工作。
• To hurl abuse is no way to fight.谩骂决不是战斗。

3 exuberant   

adj.充满活力的；（植物）繁茂的

参考例句：

• Hothouse plants do not possess exuberant vitality.在温室里培养出来的东西，不会有强大的生命力。
• All those mother trees in the garden are exuberant.果园里的那些母树都长得十分茂盛。

4 dynamics   

n.力学，动力学，动力，原动力；动态

参考例句：

• In order to succeed,you must master complicated knowledge of dynamics.要取得胜利，你必须掌握很复杂的动力学知识。
• Dynamics is a discipline that cannot be mastered without extensive practice.动力学是一门不做大量习题就不能掌握的学科。

5 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

6 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

7 canyon   

n.峡谷，溪谷

参考例句：

• The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
• The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。

8 perilous   

adj.危险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• The journey through the jungle was perilous.穿过丛林的旅行充满了危险。
• We have been carried in safety through a perilous crisis.历经一连串危机，我们如今已安然无恙。

9 plummet   

vi.(价格、水平等)骤然下跌；n.铅坠；重压物

参考例句：

• Mengniu and Yili have seen their shares plummet since the incident broke.自事件发生以来，蒙牛和伊利的股票大幅下跌。
• Even if rice prices were to plummet,other brakes on poverty alleviation remain.就算大米价格下跌，其它阻止导致贫困的因素仍然存在。

10 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。