【英语趣味课堂】哥斯达黎加的冒险-Costa Rican Adventure

Todd: So, Steven, you're from Costa Rica. Now, I look on the internet sometimes for really cool adventures, and Costa Rica's always up there for these wild things you can do, like Kayaking, surfing, windsurfing, nature hikes, volcano hikes and stuff. Have you done any of these things in your country?

 

Steven: If you haven't done all these activities in Costa Rica, you pretty much are not in Costa Rica. And Costa Rica is mostly composed of these activities. You can surf in both seas, because we have both seas. We also kayak. Kayak you can go through the forest in Costa Rica. You can go inside, look at the roots of Costa Rica and also rock climbing. Rock climbing ... we got tons of mountains, everywhere. You can see them everywhere and if you see a mountain, you can climb it.

 

Todd: So of all these activities, sounds like you've done them all, which is your favorite?

 

Steven: My favorite I think is kayaking because you just goto the inside of the forest. You go inside. You can see animals moving around. You can see the sea where fishes are just swimming through you. And of course if you are a nature lover as me, I would recommend kayaking.

 

Todd: So when you do this, do you actually have to own your own equipment like your own kayak and your own helmet or is it something you just rent?

 

Steven: Well, for these places they are all available. You can rent them, but if you own one, you can take it with a kayak wherever you want, but it's more efficient and it's better for the person to just rent the kayak as they maintain it and you don't have to have lying down in your garage.

 

Todd: Do you need training before you do this or do they just plop you right inside a kayak and push you downstream?

 

Steven: Actually kayaking in Costa Rica is not like throwing you down the river. The water is chill¹, and you don't need any training. You just go hop² into the kayak and and start moving.

 

Todd: Sounds good man. I want to go.

 

重点词汇：

 

Learn Vocabulary from the Lesson

up there

 

Costa Rica is up there for adventure.

 

In this example the phrase ‘up there’ means ‘popular’. Notice the samples.

 

Hong Kong is up there for great shopping.

At my university, iPhone is up there with Blackberrry as the phone to own.

nature lover

 

If you are a nature lover, I recommend kayaking through the forest.

 

A nature lover is a person who enjoys outdoor activities such as camping or hiking. Notice the following.

 

My family spends two weeks every year in the mountains. We’re real nature lovers.

The town’s nature lovers protested the construction of a new power plant next to the lake.

efficient

 

It is more efficient to rent a kayak than to own it.

 

Someone or something that is efficient works fast and effectively. Here are two examples using efficient.

 

Our new secretary is efficient and well organized.

With high price of oil, many people are buying smaller, more fuel efficient cars.

plop inside

 

They plop you right inside the kayak.

 

Here, ‘plop’ means to fall or drop down suddenly. Notice the sample sentences.

 

He plopped on the bed and quickly fell asleep.

When my dad gets home, he always plops his briefcase³ near the door.

hop into

 

You just hop into the kayak and go.

 

When talking about transportation, the phrase ‘hop into’ means to enter quickly.

 

The robbers hopped⁴ into a waiting car and escaped.

If you get lost in London, just hop into a taxi. The drivers can take you anywhere.

1 chill   

vt.使变冷，使冷却，使沮丧；n.寒冷，风寒

参考例句：

• With the chill factor,it's nearly minus forty here.加上风寒指数，气温接近零下40度。
• The bad news cast a chill over the whole family.这坏消息使全家人感到沮丧。

2 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

3 briefcase   

n.手提箱，公事皮包

参考例句：

• He packed a briefcase with what might be required.他把所有可能需要的东西都装进公文包。
• He requested the old man to look after the briefcase.他请求那位老人照看这个公事包。

4 hopped   

跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花

参考例句：

• He hopped onto a car and wanted to drive to town. 他跳上汽车想开向市区。
• He hopped into a car and drove to town. 他跳进汽车，向市区开去。