VOA常速英语:Grand Canyon Lives Up to its Name

The Grand Canyon in the southwestern state of Arizona is a stunning creation. National parks traveler Mikah Meyer can see why.
亚利桑那州西南部大峡谷的景色堪称鬼斧神工。国家公园旅行者米卡·迈耶对此深有同感。

“It’s grand! That’s the right word to use for it because whether standing at the rim and overlooking it or being down on the river,you just get a sense of how massive the Grand Canyon is."
“太壮阔了！壮阔这个词用在这里真是再合适不过，因为无论是站在边缘上俯瞰这片景色，还是亲临河上，你都会惊叹于大峡谷的壮丽。”

Shaped by millions of years of erosion, the distinctly colored canyon is 446 kilometers long and averages about 1,220 meters deep —the length of 11 football fields.
亚利桑那州大峡谷经过了数百万年的冲蚀才形成了今天的样子，如今的峡谷色彩斑斓，全长446千米，平均深度约1220米——相当于11个足球场的长度。

“What’s so unique is that you have all these layers of the earth that were once underground that have been uplifted and then eroded away so scientists can see millions and millions and millions of years of earth’s crust history.”
“大峡谷之所以如此独特，主要是因为这些曾经深埋地下的地球表层，如今全都拔地而起，然后不断被冲蚀，这样一来科学家们就能够看到地壳在过去数亿年间的发展历史。”

Scientists and visitors both can explore the massive canyons by foot … and by raft.
科学家和游客们都可以通过徒步或者乘坐橡皮艇来探索这片壮阔的大峡谷。

“Here we go!” Which is what Mikah did on an eight-day, 362 kilometer rafting trip on the Colorado River.
“我们出发了！”米卡也是这么做的，他在科罗拉多河上进行了一场历时8天，全长362公里的漂流之旅。

“Come along on the rapids here.”
“一起来感受一下激流吧。”

One of his favorite experiences was a trip to the Little Colorado River, a tributary just off the main river.
米卡最难忘的经历之一是自己去小科罗拉多河旅行那次，小科罗拉多河是主流科罗拉多河分离出来的一条支流。

“What made this Little Colorado so special is that it was this almost baby blue, light blue-white color,and you see the moment where it converges with this dark gray Colorado River, and these two vastly different colors coming together.”
“小科罗拉多之所以如此特别，是因为河水几乎都是淡蓝色，你会看到它与深灰色的科罗拉多河汇合的时刻，这两种截然不同的颜色就这样汇聚到了一起。”

Mikah and his fellow travellers enjoy the creeks, “Lay flat! Lay flat!”
米卡和旅伴享受着峡谷中的小河，“躺平了，躺平了！”

the waterfalls, and places where the water is still, and where one can see naturally forming springs.
瀑布、水面平静还有能看到自然形成的泉水的地方。

“Rapid!”But the highlight for Mikah was navigating the whitewater rapids that the river is famous for.
“加速！”但对米卡来说，最精彩的部分还是在急流中航行，这也是这条河最有名的项目。

“All ready to go for Lava Falls in the front of the boat.”
“我们现在准备去前面的熔岩瀑布。”

Visitors also learn about the river’s rich history.
游客们也了解了这条河的丰富历史。

“To the right, you will see many historic native American food storage granaries.”
“往右边看，那里有很多美国历史上非常有名的原住民储存食物的粮仓。”

And check out the wild life, like the endangered California condor.
还可以看到野生动物，比如濒临灭绝的加州秃鹰。

“They brought them to the Grand Canyon to try to provide a habitat that they thought would help them thrive and thus far it’s been doing pretty well.”
“人们把秃鹰带到大峡谷来，希望能给它们提供一个栖息地，帮助它们茁壮成长，而且至今为止一切都很顺利。”

In the evenings, Mikah and his group camped on the shore,a perfect way to end each day in one of the world’s most beautiful — and natural — playgrounds.
到了晚上，米卡和旅伴们一起在岸边露营，以这种方式结束在这个世界上最壮丽的自然游乐场上一天的观光，简直完美。

“Everybody give me your wave.”
“大家一起来挥挥手。”

“The world could have gone to nuclear war for all we would have known.It was just this amazing moment to truly be in nature, truly be void of the distractions of the world and enjoy that splendor of nature,enjoy the people you’re around in a way that is so rare today.”
“由于一些已知的原因，这个世界本会发动核战争。但此刻我们身处自然之中，远离世界的纷扰，尽情享受自然的美妙，享受用不同寻常的方式和周围的人相处的时光，这才是最让人惊喜的。”Julie Taboh, VOA news, Washington.
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