《中英對照讀新聞》Tallest , Fastest Roller Coaster on Earth debuts 全球最高、最快的雲霄飛車登場

◎ 陳成良

The idea of paying nearly 1,700 dollars to be catapulted up a vertical incline the height of a 45-story building at 130 miles per hour comes naturally to the likes of Jeremy Delong.

付近一千七百美元，只為以時速一百三十英里，彈射到相當於四十五層樓高垂直面上的念頭，對於傑洛米．迪隆這種人來說再自然不過了。

“Worth every cent ,” the 22-year-old naval serviceman from Ohio concluded as he disembarked from the maiden run Thursday of “Kingda Ka” -- the world's newest, tallest and fastest roller coaster.

Installed at the Six Flags Theme Park near Trenton, New Jersey , the monster ride uses a hydraulic launch system to slingshot riders horizontally from 0 to 205 kilometers per hour in 3.5 sickening seconds.

設在新澤西州翠登附近的六旗主題公園，這列怪獸般的雲霄飛車使用水壓發射系統，在令人不舒服的三點五秒內，將乘客從靜止水平加速到時速二百零五公里。

The momentum flings the 18-seater train into a 90 degree climb to a height of 139 meters , followed by a vertical plunge through a three-quarter spiral and a final jaunt over a 39-meter high “camel hump.”

這股動力將十八個座位的列車，以九十度爬升角，衝上一百三十九公尺，經過翻轉四分之三，再垂直陡降，最後慢速通過三十九公尺高的「駝峰」。

With the entire ride lasting under a minute , the thrill cost Delong 33 dollars per second , after he bid 1,692 dollars on the Internet auction house eBay for the right to be on the first run.

整個旅程過程不到一分鐘，這項超速快感每秒花費迪隆三十三美元。迪隆之前以一千六百九十二美元在拍賣網站eBay標得搭乘處女航的權利。

新聞辭典

debut：這是英語系國家常用的法文單字，是首次出現或是首映（premiere） 的意思。debut 當名詞時可以這樣用，“Did you see the debut of the Spiderman?”（你看了蜘蛛人的首映嗎？）另外它也常以make one's debut 的形式出現。

like：這裡為名詞，通常以複數形態出現，意為相似之人；相似之物。例句: I've never seen the likes of this before.（從前我從未見過和這相同的東西。）

disembark ：不及物動詞，下船，登岸；離開。通常後接介系詞 from。

fling：動詞，猛投、拋擲。過去式為 flung，例句: He flung a stone at me.（他向我丟石頭。）