Bungee jumping: Stretching the limits of fear
[ 2007-03-14 09:11 ]
VOICE ONE:
I’m Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Shirley Griffith with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special
English. Imagine standing at the edge of a tall bridge. Hundreds of meters below
you, river water rushes by. You take a deep breath and jump off the bridge, head
first into thin air. As a reaction to such excitement and fear, the hormone
adrenaline floods through your body.
There is nothing but a long rubber rope attached to your ankles, holding on
to your very life. Some people call it crazy. Others say it is exciting.
Whatever you may think, bungee
jumping has become a popular extreme
sport all over the world.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
Bungee jumping is not a new activity. Men on Pentecost Island in the South
Pacific have been doing land jumping for hundreds of years. The men tie long
vines from plants around their ankles. They spend days building tall towers out
of vines and logs. Then they jump off these structures. It takes a great deal of
skill to jump correctly and safely. Land diving for them is an important
cultural activity.
According to their beliefs, the first land diver was a woman. She decided to
run away from her abusive husband. So, she climbed up a tall tree and tied some
vines around her feet. Her husband chased after her up the tree. He reached out
to grab her, but the woman jumped and the man followed. The vines saved her
life, but her husband died.
VOICE TWO:
Land diving has become a way in which these island men show their bravery in
front of the women. People of the village sing loud songs to show their support
for the brave divers. This tradition is also a way for the men to voice their
troubles in public. For example, a man can discuss his marriage problems before
he jumps. The villagers – including his wife - must stand and listen.
VOICE ONE:
This ancient custom caught the interest of some students at Oxford University
in England. In the late 1970s, they formed a group called the Dangerous Sports
Club. They liked to invent risky and sometimes crazy activities. They were some
of the first people to test several of what are now called extreme sports. They
are said to have invented modern bungee jumping.
In the spring of 1979, members of the group jumped off the Clifton Suspension
Bridge in Bristol, England. They were attached to the bridge by a bungee cord, a
long elastic rope that stretches. They were dressed in black and white clothing
and held bottles of Champagne wine. The press quickly reported on their wild
activities. The group soon received even more attention when they organized a
bungee jump off the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California.
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
A man named A.J. Hackett of New Zealand later heard about this group. He
decided to make the sport into a business. Mr. Hackett worked with his friend
Henry van Asch who was an expert at skiing. They started developing bungee ropes
and materials. Scientists at Auckland University helped them. The two men knew
that people would find bungee jumping exciting and fun. And they knew people
would pay money for the experience.
To show the world about bungee jumping they held a major jump in 1987
off of the famous Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. They later got permission to
open the first bungee jumping operation on the Kawarau Bridge in Queenstown, New
Zealand.
Many people paid seventy-five dollars to jump off the bridge with a bungee
cord attached to their ankles. Mr. Hackett worked hard to make sure the public
knew how safe his materials were. He developed a method to guarantee safety
called the “Bungee Code of Practice.”
VOICE ONE:
Bungee jumping might seem frightening. But it is a very safe activity if you
go to a well-established bungee jump company. People who work for bungee
operators usually have a great deal of training and experience. They use very
strong and carefully made rubber ropes. They choose a rope based on the jumper’s
body weight. This is so they can manage how much the rope stretches when the
person falls.
The rope attaches through a harness device tied around the jumper’s ankles.
Often, operators use a body harness as well. This is so that you have twice the
protection in case one harness breaks. Good bungee operators make sure all
equipment is in excellent condition. They should also do several checks to make
sure all ropes, harnesses and ties are correctly attached.
VOICE TWO:
It is important to remember that this sport is not safe for everyone. People
who have high blood pressure or a heart condition should not try jumping. People
with back or knee injuries or who suffer from epilepsy should also avoid this
sport. And remember, if you do not feel like experiencing it yourself, you can
always watch other people jump.
VOICE ONE:
Now you have jumped, bounced up and down several times on the rubber rope,
and are hanging by your ankles in the middle of the air. You may be wondering
what you are supposed to do now. Do not worry. The operators have different
choices for getting you back to land right side up again. Often times, a bungee
guide on a rope will attach to your rope and help you back up to the structure
you jumped from. One extreme sports company gives a warning on its Web site. It
warns that bungee jumping might lead to big smiles and deep feelings of
happiness and excitement.
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
Since its beginnings in New Zealand, commercial bungee
jumping has spread to countries everywhere. One of the highest bungee jumps in
the world from a structure is near Locarno, Switzerland over the Verzasca Dam.
The drop measures two hundred and twenty meters. In fact, you can see the
character James Bond jump off this very bridge in the nineteen ninety-five movie
“GoldenEye.” Or, there is the two hundred and sixteen meter jump from the
Bloukrans Bridge in South Africa. This is the highest single arch bridge in the
world.
VOICE ONE:
Of course, not every place has a body of water with a bridge from which you
can jump. Some amusement parks offer bungee jumping from crane machinery. In the
Andes Mountains of Peru, you can visit Action Valley outside the city of Cusco.
Visitors can jump from a metal box that hangs from cables high up in the air.
Most of these companies can sell you video recordings or photographs of your
jump. This way you can prove to your family back home that you were brave enough
to bungee.
VOICE TWO:
Now, extreme sports companies are finding ways to make bungee jumping even
more frightening. Some offer bungee jumps at night, or jumps where you fall off
a structure backwards. There are also bungee jumps from flying helicopters and
hot air balloons. You can also try bungee jumping for two. Some companies can
harness two people together so you and a friend can experience twice the
excitement. A.J. Hackett’s company even offers a sky jump off the tallest
building in Macau. Just how far would you go to experience the fast rush of
bungee fear?
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
Hosiah Mudzingwa helps run a bungee operation on the Victoria Falls bridge
between Zimbabwe and Zambia in Africa. He has been jumping from this one hundred
and eleven meter drop for many years. From the steel bridge you can see the
giant waters of Victoria Falls, one of the largest waterfalls in the world. Mr.
Mudzingwa explains that every human being wants to feel the rush of adrenaline.
He says when you bungee jump, you leave all stress and bad thinking behind. He
says you come back up with a new mind.
VOICE TWO:
But what does a person who is new to bungee jumping think
about this sport? Tim Rooney recently traveled to Victoria Falls. He only had
twenty-four hours to spend in Zimbabwe. But he made sure he found time to jump
off this famous bridge towards the powerful Zambezi River. Here is what he had
to say about the experience.
(SOUND)
TIM ROONEY: “Hi, I’m Tim Rooney from Washington DC. Jumping off the bridge
was one of the most spectacular, poetic moments of my life.
"The idea hadn’t really occurred to me until we got to the falls and we saw
the view. I decided what better way to get to know this view than to jump into
it.
"I think that the jump had more of a scary impact on my girlfriend who had to
watch the whole thing. To an observer, a bungee jump looks like a terribly
violent process. But the actual experience of it is one of floating. You jump
and you don’t have any sensation of being tugged or falling or anything. You
just are floating up and down. It is one of the most calm, wonderful things I
have ever done. I recommend everybody do it.”
VOICE ONE:
This program was written and produced by Dana Demange. I’m Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Shirley Griffith. You can read and listen to this program on our Web
site, voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for Explorations in VOA
Special English.
bungee jumping :
蹦極
extreme sport : 極限運(yùn)動(dòng)
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