美国国家公共电台 NPR Surfers Head Inland To Compete On Machine-Made California Waves

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Surfers head inland this weekend to compete in the first ever World Surf League team competition. Inland? What are they thinking? From member station KVPR, Laura Tsutsui brings us this from Lemoore, Calif.

LAURA TSUTSUI, BYLINE¹: Eleven-time World Surf League champion Kelly Slater has built what he calls the perfect wave in the middle of the Golden State. At Slater's Surf Ranch², you almost feel like you're at the beach, except these waves are made by a machine. And they've been engineered to be perfect for surfing every time. The facility features a man-made lake that's as long as seven football fields and patented wave-making technology developed by a team of engineers and surfers.

For the first time this weekend the, ranch is open to the public to watch some of the best surfers in the world ride these perfect waves. Lemoore is known for its hot climate and agriculture. Kelly Slater says he built the Surf Ranch simply because the planning stars aligned³.

KELLY SLATER: We were just looking for a place that had ample land and water and the right permitting and access to the amount of energy we needed to run the wave.

TSUTSUI: He also says having this wave pool will even the playing field for surfers.

SLATER: In terms of luck and the ocean, you know, you're dealing⁴ with Mother Nature, and this person or that person might get that good wave. This eliminates that, so it comes down to more of a performance thing.

TSUTSUI: Up until now, the Surf Ranch has been hidden behind a fence with glimpses coming only from social media. But once you get inside, it looks like a resort. Cabanas line three sides of the lake. The waves are created when a 200-ton massive shovel⁵ of metal shaped like the hull⁶ of a ship pushes through the water over a fake reef designed right into the lake. Kolohe Andino, who ranked seventh in the world last year, is surfing for Team USA this weekend. He says to ride these waves feels incredible.

KOLOHE ANDINO: Yeah. It's just super, like, different because you're just in the middle of the desert. You're driving out here. It's just like, whoa, this is so weird⁷. And then you get here, and it's like paradise for a surfer. There's perfect waves and obviously a really nice set up.

TSUTSUI: This event is the first time the World Surf League has ever held a co-ed team competition. There are five teams - USA, Brazil, Australia and then Europe and world - made up of two women and three men each. The competition begins today and will wrap up on Sunday. For NPR News, I'm Laura Tsutsui in Lemoore, Calif.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

3 aligned   

adj.对齐的，均衡的

参考例句：

• Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 shovel   

n.铁锨，铲子，一铲之量；v.铲，铲出

参考例句：

• He was working with a pick and shovel.他在用镐和铲干活。
• He seized a shovel and set to.他拿起一把铲就干上了。

6 hull   

n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳

参考例句：

• The outer surface of ship's hull is very hard.船体的外表面非常坚硬。
• The boat's hull has been staved in by the tremendous seas.小船壳让巨浪打穿了。

7 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。