VOA文化艺术2022--新冠肺炎爆发后，英国的滚奶酪比赛重新开始

Britain’s Cheese Rolling Race Returns after COVID Break

A famous cheese-rolling race that takes place on a steep¹ hill in England returns on Sunday, after a two-year delay² caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The event is held in the town of Brockworth. It was first recorded in 1826. It involves competitors³ chasing⁴ a four-kilogram round of Double Gloucester cheese down a 200-meter hill.

The rolling cheese reaches speeds of 100 kilometers per hour. The first person to make it down the hill is the winner. Most of the cheese chasers fly head over heels⁵ down the hill.

Members of the local rugby team wait at the bottom as "catchers" to help slow people down. Emergency medical workers are nearby in case of serious injuries. Some people say the event is too dangerous because of the number of injuries people receive.

The event is now famous as an "extreme⁶ sport." It has been broadcast on television around the world. Thousands of people who want to watch make the trip to Brockworth, which is about 160 kilometers west of London.

Max McDougall lives nearby. He was the winner in 2019. He was not able to defend his championship the following year because of the pandemic.

This year, there are three men's races, a women's race, and a safe children's race, which is an uphill run.

At the end, the winner gets to eat the special prize: a huge piece of cheese.

Words in This Story

steep – adj. something, such as a hill, or a road, that is almost straight up and down, or rising very sharply⁷

head over heels – phrase⁸. a term used to describe something that is very hard, but in this case a complete rotation of the body; sometimes used about falling in love

1 steep   

adj.陡峭的，险峻的，急剧升降的，不合理的；n.悬崖，峭壁，浸渍，浸渍液；v.浸，泡，沉浸

参考例句：

• The slope is too steep for us to climb.这斜坡太陡，我们爬不上去。
• There was a steep climb on the road out of town.市外公路上有一处很陡的上坡路。

2 delay   

v./ n.拖延，延误，延迟，延期；耽搁

参考例句：

• The strike caused a great delay in the delivery of the mail.这次罢工严重地延误了邮件的投递。
• I couldn't judge whether the delay was good or bad.我不能断定这样延迟是好还是坏。

3 competitors   

竞争者( competitor的名词复数 )； 对手； 参赛者； 竞赛者

参考例句：

• We are now outselling all our competitors. 我们现在比所有竞争对手都卖得多。
• We are lagging far behind our European competitors in using new technology. 我们在使用新技术方面远远落后于我们的欧洲对手。

4 chasing   

n.雕镂术，雕刻工作；车螺丝；抛光；螺旋板

参考例句：

• My dog likes chasing rabbits. 我的狗喜欢追捕兔子。
• The children were having fun, chasing each other's shadows. 孩子们追逐着彼此的影子，玩得很开心。

5 heels   

n.高跟鞋；紧随某人；跟捬；飞奔逃跑；（袜子等的）后跟( heel的名词复数 )；足跟；有…后跟的；女高跟鞋

参考例句：

• Her heels clacked on the marble floor. 她的鞋后跟在大理石地面上发出咔嗒咔嗒的响声。
• The dogs yapped at his heels. 几只狗跟在他后面汪汪乱叫。

6 extreme   

adj.末端的，尽头的；极度的，极端的；n.极度，最大程度

参考例句：

• She lived on the extreme edge of the forest.她住在森林的最边缘。
• His views are rather extreme.他的见解相当偏激。

7 sharply   

adj.锐利地，急速；adv.严厉地，鲜明地

参考例句：

• The plane dived sharply and rose again.飞机猛然俯冲而后又拉了起来。
• Demand for personal computers has risen sharply.对个人电脑的需求急剧增长。

8 phrase   

n.短语，词组；成语，习语

参考例句：

• The phrase was caught on and immediately became popular.这个短语被采用后很快就流行了。
• That's exactly the phrase I was looking for.这就是我一直找的那个短语。