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《97°的惊喜》
97 Degrees and Falling Fast
When I took a seat in the back of the car, I began to think deeply. I knew that in just a while, I would be falling at exactly 58 miles per hour from several hundred feet in the air. I couldn’t think about anything else. My dad kept trying to convince me, “Nothing’s going to happen,” and I knew that, but the ‘What if?’ kept popping into my head. I wondered what would happen if my harness ) came unfastened, and shivered. I commanded my wild imagination to be silent ), and I tried to get lost in my music. But I couldn’t. The thoughts were there and they were destroying my consciousness. I was being attacked with ‘What ifs’ and ‘Maybes’. Just thinking about the coaster made my stomach tie itself in knots ).
Then, as we approached the park, I saw the coasters rising above the horizon. The Fahrenheit ) loomed ) above us as we entered the park; it seemed to laugh at my terror. I witnessed a group of people plummet ) down the first drop, and I could hear them scream and wail ) in horror. My stomach dropped, for I knew that I would be in their position in a small amount of time. We went to rent a locker, and all the while I was staring wide-eyed at the tremendous, bright-orange beast, the Fahrenheit, my heart pumping.
After we rented a locker, my dad and I started toward the line for the Fahrenheit. Watching everyone descend the 97° first drop every 2 minutes wasn’t exactly helping my terrified state-of-mind. People were piling in ) behind us to ride the Fahrenheit, and there was no turning back now. I came to the conclusion that I was just going to have to ignore my survival instinct and do precisely what I had wanted to avoid. The line moved slowly forward, and I crept closer to my inevitable fate. Thoughts were still racing through my head, telling me that I’m crazy, telling me that everything’s going to be fine, remembering the last time …
The line was shorter now, probably only a 10-minute wait. I was still being tormented by the screams and shrieks of the passengers of the Fahrenheit. The line was growing smaller and smaller, and my heart was pumping faster and faster. We were inching slowly towards the dreadful coaster, until finally, we were next. We got in line for the front seat, despite my pleas ), and waited silently for the train to pull up. An employee unlatched ) the gate in front of us, and my dad and I sat down in the very first car. I pulled my harness over my head where it came to rest on my shoulders. I didn’t want to fall out of the car, so I made sure the harness was as tight as possible.
Then an automated voice sounded over the loudspeaker and said something like, “Please keep all arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times, and enjoy your ride on the Fahrenheit.” A few moments later, our train began to move. As we began the ride, I waved my mom goodbye, just in case. We ascended the first drop, which was 90°, perpendicular ) to the ground. My stomach was turning over ) and rolling up, and my heart was beating faster than ever. It was too late to turn back, and I knew that. We slowly crawled up the track, the anticipation nauseating ) me. We reached the peak of the Fahrenheit and advanced over the edge, while my heart throbbed ) in my chest. All at once, the train plummeted over the 121-foot high drop at 58 miles per hour. The feelings and forces that I experienced at that moment in time were like absolutely nothing I’ve ever felt before. The adrenaline ) flew through my veins ), and it felt incredible. I felt the wind in my face, flowing through my hair. I felt like I was flying, like I was free. My body was being thrown around like a rag doll, through twists and turns and loops and rolls, and I couldn’t even really tell which way was up. All I could see before me was the bright-orange blur ) that was the track of the roller coaster. Throughout the entire ride, I experienced points where the g-forces ) on my body made me four times heavier, or totally weightless. It was impressive, like nothing I’d ever done before. Finally, we came to a halt at the end of the coaster.
I lifted my harness and stepped off, onto solid ground. My hands were shaking with thrill and excitement, and I felt great. I was actually disappointed that it was over, but I felt relieved, as if a weight was lifted from my shoulders. I was very proud of myself, for I knew that I had conquered my irrational fear of roller coasters. I was brave enough to look my greatest fear straight in the eye, and I overcame it. As soon as I stepped off, I started toward the next roller coaster, my head held up high.
我在汽车后排找了个座位坐下，就开始沉思了。我知道再过那么一会儿，自己就将从几百英尺(编注：一英尺约0.3米)的高空刚好以58英里(编注：约93公里)的时速下落。我没法儿想其他任何事情。爸爸一直试着让我相信“什么事儿都不会发生的”，这我知道，可是“万一？”这样的想法不停地从我脑子里冒出来。我想知道要是我的安全压杠松开了会发生什么，这让我打了个哆嗦。我命令自己那漫无边际的想象消停下来，我也努力让自己沉浸在音乐中。但我做不到。那些念头就在那里，在摧毁着我的意识。我正被一个又一个“万一”和“也许”的想法攻击。只是一想到那个过山车都让我感觉胃里一阵紧张。
接着，当我们快到公园时，我看见一个个过山车从地平线上升起。当我们走进公园时，“飞轮海”在我们头顶赫然耸现，似乎在嘲笑我内心的恐惧。我亲眼看见一群人从第一处俯冲那里陡直下落，我还能听到他们恐惧地尖叫、哀号。我的胃里一沉，因为我知道再过一小会儿我就会和他们一般处境了。我们去租了一个储物柜，自始自终我都睁大眼睛盯着那个巨大的、鲜橙色的怪兽——“飞轮海”过山车，我的心脏怦怦跳个不停。
我们租好储物柜后，爸爸和我就开始排队等候乘坐“飞轮海”了。每两分钟我就会看着有人从97°的第一处俯冲那里滑下，这对我惊恐不安的精神状态可并没有任何帮助。排在我们身后等候乘坐“飞轮海”的人蜂拥而至，现在已经不能反悔了。我得出结论：我将必须就那么无视自己的求生本能，去做正是我原本想要逃避的那件事情。队伍缓缓向前移动，我也向我那无法逃避的命运慢慢靠近。我脑中依然有一个个念头闪过，告诉我我疯了，告诉我一切都会没事的，记得上次……
队伍现在短一些了，可能只要再等十分钟就轮到我们了。我仍然被“飞轮海”上的乘客高高低低的尖叫声折磨着。前面的队伍越来越短，我的心也跳得越来越快。我们一步一步缓慢地朝那可怕的过山车挪动，终于，下一个就是我们了。虽然我百般恳求，我们还是排在了前排座位的队伍里，静静地等着过山车停靠。一名工作人员打开了我们面前的门，爸爸和我坐在了最前面的那辆车上。我将安全压杠从头顶拉下来，让它落在我的双肩上。我可不想从车里掉出去，所以我要确保安全压杠尽可能地紧一些。
接着喇叭里播放了一条自动语音，大概是说，“行进过程中请始终将手臂和双腿置于车内，祝大家此次‘飞轮海’之旅愉快。”过了一会儿，我们的车开始滑动了。在我们启程之际，我和妈妈挥手告别，以防万一。我们开始朝着第一处俯冲爬升，它有90°，和地面垂直。我的胃里上下翻滚、揪成一团，心脏也跳得比以往任何时候都要快。想要反悔已经太迟了，这我知道。我们慢慢沿着轨道向上爬升，对恐惧的预期让我感到恶心。我们到达了“飞轮海”的最高点，沿着第一处俯冲轨道的边缘前进，此时我的心脏在胸膛里阵阵抽痛。突然，过山车以58英里的时速从一个121英尺高的俯冲轨道冲了下去。那一刻我经历的那种感受和力量和我以往曾经感受过的任何事物都完全不同。肾上腺素流遍我全身的血管，那种感觉不可思议。我感觉风吹在我的脸上，从我的发间穿流而过。我感觉自己好像在飞一样，好像无拘无束。我的身体像一个布娃娃那样被扔来扔去，经历着一次又一次的翻滚、转弯和回环，我甚至都真的都无法判断哪个方向是朝上的。我眼前所能看到的只有鲜橙色的模糊东西——那是过山车的轨道。在整个行驶过程中，我有好几次体验到作用于我身体的G力让我重了三倍或是完全失重的感觉。这令我难忘不已，和我以前做过的任何一件事情都不同。终于，过山车到达终点，我们停了下来。
我抬起安全压杠，走了下来，踩在了坚实的地面上。我的双手兴奋激动得颤抖着，我感觉棒极了。事实上，我对此次过山车之旅的结束还感到有点失望，但我同时又感觉松了一口气，就好像一个重物从我的双肩卸了下来。我为自己感到非常骄傲，因为我知道自己克服了对过山车无端的恐惧。我很勇敢，勇敢到可以直视自己最大的恐惧，还克服了它。一走下“飞轮海”，高高昂起头的我就开始朝下一个过山车走去。
文章摘自：《新东方英语·中学生》杂志2016年10月号
