文登英语写作素材连载(十二)

    The Attraction of Dangerous Activities

    In the past, people often faced many dangers in their daily lives. They had to cope with not only natural disasters and frequent outbreaks of disease, but also dangerous animals and warfare. The need to hunt and to protect their territory from other people required them to be skilled in the use of weapons. In addition, any travel also involved great risk as there were few roads and bridges. Nowadays, people do not have to live with such dangers on a daily basis, and yet many people choose to involve themselves in risky activities such as dangerous sports. I believe the following reasons can explain the attraction of such activities.
    One reason people are attracted to risky activities is that hey crave excitement. The thrill of mountain climbing or bungee jumping can satisfy their need to break out of their routine. Without the excitement of such sports, they may feel bored with their lives. Another reason people like such activities is that these activities often require a certain amount of skill. Learning to drive a racecar or hang-glide may satisfy the desire to excel and give the participant a feeling of accomplishment and personal confidence in his abilities. A final reason that people may choose to engage in risky activities is that they want to stand out from the crowd. By developing a skill that others don’t have, they can feel unique.
    For all of these reasons, I believe that risky activities will continue to be popular with some people. In fact, it seems that as soon as one activity becomes safer or commonplace, thrill seekers come up with a new way to challenge their skills and courage.

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    危险活动的吸引力

    以前的人们在日常生活中常面临许多危险，他们不仅要应付天灾和经常爆发的疾病，也要应付危险的动物和战争。由于必须打猎以及保护自己的领土免于他人的入侵，他们必须非常精通武器的使用。此外，因为道路和桥梁很少，任何旅行的危险性都很高。现在的人们不必每天生活在这样的危险当中，但仍然有许多人选择从事一些危险的活动，比如有危险性的运动。我认为下列的原因能够解释这些危险的活动为何会有吸引力。
    人们会受到危险活动的吸引的原因之一是渴望刺激。登山或蹦极的那种刺激感可以满足人们想要逃离常规的需求。如果没有这些运动带来的刺激，他们可能会对生活感到厌烦。人们喜欢这种活动的另一个原因是，这些活动通常需要相当程度的技术。学习驾驶赛车或滑翔也许能满足他们想要高人一等的渴望，使自己有成就感，并对自己的能力有信心。人们会选择从事危险活动，其最后一个原因在于，他们想要在人群中脱颖而出。借着培养别人所没有的技术，他们会觉得自己是独一无二的。
    基于以上这些理由，我认为危险的活动会继续受到一些人的喜爱。事实上，某种活动似乎只要一变得比较安全或普通时，寻求刺激的人就会再想出一种新的方法来挑战自己的技术和勇气。