20101008 Take a Trip to Table Mountain (2)

Take a Trip to Table Mountain

How you can get there

Not many mountains in the world are found in such close proximity to an urban area. Because Table Mountain is so easily accessible from Cape Town, thousands of tourists make their way to the mountain each day. Adventurous visitors can opt to climb up the mountain. The hike up takes a minimum of three hours to complete and should only be attempted by those who are physically fit. Due to the mountain's steep slopes, the climb presents many challenges, and every year fatal accidents occur when people become careless.

The most popular and safest way to ascent to the summit is via the Cableway. It first began operating in 1929 and has carried over 20 million tourists safely to the top. Each modern cable car holds up to 65 people and rotates 360 degrees as it climbs to the summit. This ensures visitors a panoramic view. Riding the Cableway is much quicker than climbing. Instead of a three-hour hike, the Cableway takes less than ten minutes!

proximity n. 鄰近/靠近

=> the state of being close

eg: Proximity to medical facilities is crucial for elderly people.

=> 靠近醫療院所對老年人來說是很重要的。

eg: One of the strengths of the shopping mall is its proximity to the subway.

=> 這家購物中心的優點之一是它靠近地下鐵。

eg: All of Susan's family members live in close proximity to each other.

=> Susan的家人彼此都住得非常近。

ascend v. 攀登/登高 <--> descend 下來/下降

=> move in a up direction

eg: The mountaineers slowly ascended toward the top of the mountain because of the bad weather.

=> 由於天候不佳，這些登山客緩慢地向山頂攀登。

descend 下來/下降

eg: The plane descended to 5000 feet to prepare for landing.

=> 飛機下降到5000英尺準備要降落。

en- 使..如何

ensure v. 確保/保證

=> make something certain to happen

eg: Safety procedures are designed to ensure the safety of passengers.

=> 這些安全程序的設計是要確保乘客的安全。

eg: The contract was signed to ensure both parties fulfill their obligations.

=> 合同的簽訂就是要確保雙方都能完成他們的責任

fatal adj. 致命的/生死攸關的

=> cause death

opt v. 選擇

rotate v. 旋轉

panoramic adj 全景的/活動畫景的

=> a view you can look in every direction

//== Chat room ==..

mountain climbing 登山

=> 登喜馬拉雅山或是百岳的大山才可以稱做mountain climbing

=> 專業的mountaineer才會去mountain climbing

=> 一般人去hiking

mountaineers n. 專業的登山家

hiking

hiking in the mountains

=> 去爬陽明山就算是一種hiking in the mountain，或是climb a mountain

=> 但是這樣不能稱作是mountaining climbing

climb a mountain

//== Grammar on the Go ==//

Not many mountains in the world are found in such close proximity to an urban area.

=> There aren't many mountains in the world that are close to urban areas.

Not many things are found...

eg: Not many vendors are found to be honest, so if you want to buy a souvenir here, you need to be careful.

eg: Mr. Wang wants to hire hew workers because not many of his employees are found to be dependable.

not many things are known

eg: Not many cats are known to like water except for big cats like tigers and jaguars.

eg: In this remote mountain village, not many people are known to have an education beyond primary school.