VOA慢速英语2015 借助一切工具驶向阿拉斯加

AS IT IS 2015-05-24 Sail, Row, Paddle, All The Way To Alaska 借助一切工具驶向阿拉斯加

We are less than three weeks away from the first-ever ‘Race to Alaska.’ A large group of adventure seekers will be racing¹ from Port Townsend, in the state of Washington, up the Inside Passage to Ketchikan in southeastern Alaska. What makes this race different from other sailing events? No engines are permitted. The event will be a true test of the racers’ maritime² skills.

Jake Beattie's is the main organizer for the Race to Alaska. His day job is director of the Northwest Maritime Center, a non-profit group. The 1,200-kilometer boat race was, in large part, his idea. He says one of his central beliefs is to keep things simple, with as few rules as possible.

"Get a boat without an engine, any boat, doesn't matter what size or number of crew. Be self-supported, meaning that you can't have pre-arranged support or boats chasing you around to fix you if you break. Start in Port Townsend, finish in Ketchikan. If you're first, we'll give you $10,000. If you're second, we'll give you a set of steak knives."

Everybody else who enters the race gets a T-shirt. The "no motors" rule leaves sailing, rowing, paddling, pedaling or some combination of those activities as the way to victory.

"Embedded⁴ in the race is this sort of tortoise versus⁵ hare bet between the choices that favor human power or the choices that favor wind power."

Most of the teams entered in the race plan to use sailboats. But Jake Beattie says the winds can be unpredictable in June. He says this means the winner could be a small, human-powered craft.

"There's one kayaker, a couple of different ocean-going rowboats and one guy on a standup paddleboard who is going to do the entire 750 miles."

One of the racing teams includes the former world record holder⁶ for the number of pull-ups done in one day. At least six teams had a boat specially-made for this race. That includes world-class sailors Joe Bersch and Dalton Bergan of Seattle.

Their new seven-meter long outrigger sailboat looks like a Polynesian boat called a proa.

Bergan: "Both ends of the boat are the bow and the stern. It never tacks⁷ or jibes⁹, which is what most sailors are familiar with. It just reverses."

Bersch: "The boat is going to be a handful. It is quite fast and quite powerful."

Some other unusual qualities of the sailboat include a pedal-powered propeller¹⁰. It also has a sleeping area that looks like a large box in which a dead person is buried. The two co-captains have already nicknamed it, the "sarcophagus."

"There's a tendency to look at some of these boats and say, 'Why are you doing it? You should never try it in that.' Or, 'You'll never win. Why are you doing it?' I think the opportunity to sail up the Inside Passage in a small craft and challenge yourself is a once in a lifetime experience."

Jullie Jackson of Port Townsend has a similar answer.

"Having a small crew on a boat, you know, you are responsible to those people and they are responsible to you and being able to have a common goal that you are all working toward is really amazing. And it is an absolutely beautiful part in the world."

Jullie Jackson and her two crewmates plan to compete in a smooth and shiny, racing sailboat called an Etchells 22. The boat is usually considered a daysailer and offers little protection from the winds and rain.

"I completely understand how people would see it as crazy... But if you understand what your limitations are and you understand what risks you are going into, then it can be approached in a way that is safe."

One way Jake Beattie explains this event is as the Pacific Northwest's answer to the Iditarod, the famous Alaskan sled dog race.

"Yeah, we've been calling this, 'the Iditarod with a chance of drowning.' Or 'the Iditarod with a chance of drowning or being eaten by a bear or run over by a freighter.'"

More than 30 teams from the United States and Canada have entered the full race from Port Townsend to Ketchikan. Jake Beattie predicts the winner of the Race to Alaska will cross the finish line in less than 14 days, but it could take as little as one week.

Words in This Story

adventure – n. danger or excitement

maritime – adj. relating to sailing or the sea

pre-arrange – v. to plan or decide (something) before it happens

embed³ – v. to be or become fixed¹¹ as an important part or quality

tortoise – n. a kind of turtle that lives on land

hare – n. a fast animal similar to a rabbit

jibe⁸ - v. to cause a sailboat to change direction by swinging the sail to the opposite side of the boat 

jibe – n. insulting or critical comments

propeller – n. a device with two or more blades that turn quickly and cause a boat or aircraft to move

1 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

2 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

3 embed   

vt.把…嵌(埋、插)入，扎牢；使深留脑中

参考例句：

• The harpoon struck but did not embed.鱼叉击中了但并没有插入。
• This photo showed us how did the root of plant embed the soil deeply.这张照片显示植物的根是如何深入到土壤里去的。

4 embedded   

a.扎牢的

参考例句：

• an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术
• He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。

5 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

6 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。

7 tacks   

大头钉( tack的名词复数 )； 平头钉； 航向； 方法

参考例句：

• Never mind the side issues, let's get down to brass tacks and thrash out a basic agreement. 别管枝节问题，让我们讨论问题的实质，以求得基本一致。
• Get down to the brass tacks,and quit talking round the subject. 谈实质问题吧，别兜圈子了。

8 jibe   

v.嘲笑，与...一致，使转向；n.嘲笑，嘲弄

参考例句：

• Perhaps I should withdraw my jibe about hot air.或许我应当收回对热火朝天的嘲笑。
• What he says does not jibe with what others say.他所说的与其他人说的不一致。

9 jibes   

n.与…一致( jibe的名词复数 )；（与…）相符；相匹配v.与…一致( jibe的第三人称单数 )；（与…）相符；相匹配

参考例句：

• He made several cheap jibes at his opponent during the interview. 在采访中他好几次对他的对手粗俗地加以嘲讽。
• The report jibes with the facts. 报告与事实相符。 来自辞典例句

10 propeller   

n.螺旋桨，推进器

参考例句：

• The propeller started to spin around.螺旋桨开始飞快地旋转起来。
• A rope jammed the boat's propeller.一根绳子卡住了船的螺旋桨。

11 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。