伦敦大河船赛
Each year, one Saturday in September, many people line the Thames throughLondon, to watch one of the city’s most unusual events1—the“Great River Race”.Many big cities have one “marathon2”race every year. London has two—one ondry land, the other on water.
The Great River Race is not a marathon. It is too short, and it is a boat race.It starts at Richmond, in the western parts outside London. People have to row3their boats 22 miles, as far as the London docks4, in the east.
The race is a new event in London. The first race took place in 1988. Theidea was born in 1987, when members of a very old organization5 rowed fromHampton Court to the Tower of London.
In 1988, they rowed other “traditional6 boats”to a race. Boats that want totake part must all be of traditional design7. What’s more, each boat has to carryone or more than one persons.
Over the years, the race has become a very colourful8 event with all kinds ofboats. While most are usual rowing boats, there are also Viking longships9, andother unusual boats. In 1995, for example, the race was won10 by a Chinese dragonboat, in a record time of 2 hours, 6 minutes and 31 seconds!
As the years go by, the number of boats keeps growing. From 72 boats in1988, the number grew to 295 in 1997, and it will probably be even larger thisyear. Last year, there were teams from all over the U.K, and also from America,Canada, and five European countries.
每年9 月的一个星期六,许多人沿着泰晤士河穿过伦敦,为了观看这个城市最与众不同的活动之一———“大河船赛”。许多大城市每年举办一次“马拉松”比赛;而伦敦有两次,一次在陆地上,一次在水上。
大河船赛不是马拉松;它的距离太短了,而且它是一场划船比赛。从伦敦西部的里士满开始,人们必须划22 英里的船,最远到东边的伦敦码头。
这项比赛是伦敦的一项新赛事。第一届比赛于1988 年举行。这个想法诞生于1987 年,当时一个非常古老组织的成员从汉普顿宫划船到达伦敦塔。
1988 年,他们划着其他“传统船只”参加比赛。参赛的船只必须是传统设计样式。更重要的是,每艘船必须搭载一个或一个以上的人。
多年来,这项比赛已经成为一个非常丰富多彩的趣味活动,参加的有各种各样的船。虽然大多数是普通的划艇,但也有维京长船和其他特别的船。例如,在1995 年,一艘中国龙舟以2 小时6 分31 秒的纪录赢得了比赛!
随着时间的流逝,参赛船只的数量不断增加。从1988 年的72 艘增加到1997 年的295 艘,今年可能会更多。去年,参赛队伍来自英国各地,还有美国、加拿大和五个欧洲国家。