Flee the big city(2021.8.14.)
On England's canals, boaters embrace the peace and pace of a floating life
在英格兰的运河上，划船者享受着平静的、慢节奏的漂流生活
On a damp June afternoon, a floating home bobbed gently on the Oxford Canal, where it was moored just outside the village of Little Bourton. Rachel Bruce and her husband, Chris Hall, have called this idyllic spot northwest of London home for a few days.
在六月，一个潮湿的下午，一个漂浮着的“家”在牛津运河上轻轻晃动着，它停泊的地方就在小伯顿村外。瑞秋·布鲁斯和她的丈夫克里斯·霍尔把伦敦西北部的这个田园诗般的地方当作自己的家已经有一段日子了。
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But it was time to discover their next patch. So the mooring pins were freed, and Bruce, 31, steered away from the bank. A group of five ducklings skimmed the water in a V-shape. Kayakers hurried along, quickly bypassing their boat. The vivid yellow of buttercups peeked through the high grass on the towpath.
但现在，是时候去探索他们的下一站了。于是，31 岁的布鲁斯拔掉了用于泊船的钉子，驶离了岸边。五只小鸭子排成 V 字形，从水面上掠过。划着皮划艇的人们行迹匆匆，迅速绕过他们的船。河边的纤道旁，鲜艳的黄色毛茛透过高高的草丛探出头来。
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"We're just feeling like we've made a very good life decision at the moment," Bruce said about the couple's choice a few weeks ago to give up their stationary lives to begin a slow traverse of England's canal network.
这对夫妇几周前选择放弃他们的定居生活，开始缓慢地横渡英格兰的运河网络。关于这一决定，布鲁斯表示，“我们觉得，到目前为止，我们做了一个非常好的人生决定。”
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In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, more people around the globe are reevaluating their living situations. And in Britain, more people are choosing to call these canals — and the narrow boats used to navigate them — home.
在新冠病毒流行之后，全球各地更多的人正在重新审视他们的生活状况。在英国，更多的人选择把这些运河——以及用来航行的窄船——当作自己的家。
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Since the 1960s, the canals have become popular for leisure cruising. And for many people, the appeal of turning weekend jaunts or weeklong trips into a permanently mobile lifestyle is becoming increasingly irresistible.
自 20 世纪 60 年代以来，在运河上悠闲泛舟观光变得流行起来。把周末的短途旅行或者为期一周的旅行转变成永久漂泊的生活方式，这对许多人都充满了吸引力。
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For Bruce and Hall, the stresses of work, a mental health struggle and deaths in the family in the last year made them feel the need for change. "All of the circumstances of last year just gave us that final push over the edge," said Hall, 32. "It kind of just felt like doing this is taking back control a little bit."
对于布鲁斯和霍尔来说，去年一年里，工作压力、心理健康斗争和家人的去世让他们感到是时候需要做出改变了。32 岁的霍尔说：“去年的所有情况成了最后一击，把我们推向了崩溃。我觉得这样仿佛能夺回一点对生活的掌控权。”
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主编：桃子、Seika
品控：桃子
审核：Felicity
重点词汇
embrace
/ɪmˈbreɪs/
v. 欣然接受，乐意采纳；拥抱
搭配短语：embrace change（接受变化，拥抱变化）
floating
/ˈfloʊ.t̬ɪŋ/
adj. 流动的，浮动的
相关词汇：float（v. 漂浮）
例句：She relaxed, floating gently in the water.
搭配短语：a floating bridge
搭配短语：a large floating population
bob
/bɑːb/
v.（尤指在水面上）轻轻地快速上下晃动
词性拓展：bob（n.（女式）齐耳短发，波波头）
例句：Tiny boats bobbed up and down in the harbour.
moor
/mʊr/
v.（使）停泊
例句：Two or three fishing boats were moored alongside the wharf.
idyllic
/aɪˈdɪl.ɪk/
adj. 田园诗般的
相关词汇：idyll（n.（尤指乡下）愉快恬淡的生活）
例句：Every year thousands of people flee the big cities in search of the rural idyll.
patch
/pætʃ/
n. 小块土地；补丁
例句：I have a jacket with leather patches at the elbows. （补丁）
搭配短语：a strawberry patch（小块土地）
steer
/stɪr/
v. 驾驶（交通工具）
搭配短语：to steer a bicycle
例句：He steered into the parking area.
skim
/skɪm/
v. 掠过
词义辨析：skim, float
float 指的是“漂浮在水面上”，skim 指的则是“从水面上轻轻掠过”。
搭配短语：swallows skimming the surface of the lake
kayaker
/ˈkaɪ.ækɚ/
n. 划皮艇的人
相关词汇：kayak（n. 皮划艇）
hurry along
赶快向前移动
相关短语：hurry sth. along （催促……）
搭配短语：to hurry dinner along a bit
近义短语：hurry up
bypass
/ˈbaɪ.pæs/
v. 绕过
词根词缀：by-（表示“附近”）
相关词汇：bystander（n. 旁观者）
相关词汇：pass（v. 路过，经过）
例句：They bypassed the hotel and headed for the nearby bar.
peek
/piːk/
v. 微露出，探出；窥视，偷看
例句：He peeked through the crack in the door to see who was inside.（窥视，偷看）
towpath
/ˈtoʊ.pæθ/
n.（旧时河流或运河边马拉船只时走的）纤道
stationary
/ˈsteɪ.ʃə.ner.i/
adj. 静止的，不变的
搭配短语：a stationary car
traverse
/trəˈvɝːs/
n. 穿越，横渡
相关词汇：travel（v. 旅行）
词性拓展：traverse（v. 穿过，横渡）
英文释义：to cross an area of land or water
例句：They traversed the continent from north to south.
搭配短语：his traverse of America from north to south
in the wake of
随着……而来
例句：There were heavy losses of property in the wake of the flood.
reevaluate
/rɪ:ɪˈvæl.ju.eɪt/
v. 再评估
词根词缀：re-（表示“再，又”）
相关词汇：evaluate（v. 评估，评价）
英文释义：to consider sth. again in order to form a new opinion about it
cruising
/ˈkruː.zɪŋ/
n. 乘游船度假
相关词汇：cruise（v. 乘船航行）
例句：She wants to cruise the canals of France.
jaunt
/dʒɑːnt/
n.（短途）旅行，远足
mobile
/ˈmoʊ.bəl/
adj. 可流动的，可移动的
搭配短语：mobile phone
搭配短语：the 5th generation mobile network（第五代移动通信技术，5G）
irresistible
/ˌɪr.əˈzɪs.tə.bəl/
adj. 不可抗拒的，极其诱人的
相关词汇：resist（v. 抵御诱惑）
例句：I can never resist whisky heart chocolate.
词根词缀：ir-（表示“否定”）
搭配短语：an irresistible bargain
struggle
/ˈstrʌɡ.əl/
n.（身体或精神上的）斗争
词性拓展：struggle（v. 搏斗，抗争）
搭配短语：struggle with sb.（v. 搏斗）
例句：He struggled against cancer for two years（v. 抗争）
over the edge
（精神等）崩溃的状态
例句：His friends worried that the news might push him over the edge.
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