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Bungee -- Just for the Thrill
蹦极—玩得就是心跳
Would you pay lots of money to fall off a 120-foot high platform,
你愿意花重金，仅在腰部和脚踝上挂着弹性绳索，
held only by an elastic cord around your waist or ankles?
就从120英尺的高台上跳下去吗？
It may sound crazy, but lots of people do it.
这虽听起来很疯狂，但很多人都在玩。
Bungee Jumping, as it is called, is gaining as much popularity
蹦极跳，随着它的流行，
as it is gaining controversy and criticism.
也得到了褒贬不一的评价。
Bungee has quite an old origin.
蹦极起源甚久。
The idea of this way of jumping comes from the ancient ritual "Gkol"
蹦极跳起源于古老的"Gkol"仪式，
performed in the Pentecost Island in the Pacific Archipelago of Vanuatu.
这种仪式最早是在太平洋群岛的瓦努阿图的五旬节岛上开展的。
The legend says that in the village Bunlap a man had a quarrel with his wife,
据说Bunlap村落有个男人和妻子吵架后，
and she ran away and climbed a tree where she wrapped her ankles with vines.
他妻子为逃避丈夫爬上了树，用蔓藤牢牢绑住脚踝。
When he came up to her, the woman jumped from the tree
当那个男人靠近她时，她跳下了树。
and so did her husband not knowing what his wife had done.
男人不知道妻子在干什么，也跟着跳了下去。
So he died but the woman survived.
结果男人命丧黄泉，他妻子却活了下来。
The men of Bunlap were very impressed by this performance，
Bunlap部落的男人对此印象深刻，
and they began to practice such jumps in case they got in similar situation.
于是，在遇到相同的境遇时，他们也开始这样跳下去。
This practice transformed into a ritual for rich yam harvest and also for proving manhood.
这个习俗后来转化成了庆祝丰收和证明男子气概的仪式。
Bungee jumping as a sport started in New Zealand, probably in the 1970s.
大约在20世纪70年代，蹦极才在新西兰开始成为一种运动。
People attached thick elastic cords, called bungees, to their bodies.
人们绑在身上一种叫做"橡皮绳“的结实弹性绳索，
Then they jump off bridges or high buildings,
然后就从大桥或者高楼上跳下。
falling fast through the air until the cord caught them,
他们在空中急速下落，直到绳索开始反弹，
and then bounced back up and down a few times until coming to a stop.
然后上下反弹多次直到停止。
