閱讀理解
Exploring a Range of Motions
By MELENA RYZIK
Published:March 29,2007
“FIRST time for fear, second time for fun” is the unofficial motto of this trapeze(吊秋千)and acrobatics(雜技)academy.The brightly colored studio may be short of amenities(no locker room or towels), but it's a place for newcomers who want to overcome their addiction to gravity in small group classes.
First, there's “ground school” where we learned the proper jumping-off stance(姿勢(shì))(hips forward, chest up, one arm extended)and “the trick”:hanging, knees around the bar.
After a mere 10 minutes of practice on the floor and a low-hanging trapeze, you fasten a rope to your waist and climb a ladder to a platform 18 feet high.Two instructors wait there to walk you through steps.Before you realize you're ready, they call out “Hep!(行進(jìn)時(shí)為使步伐一致的吆喝聲)”and you jump.Twenty minutes after class started, I was, to my own surprise, flying through the air upside down and backward.
Wow! Or “Whoooooo!” as Zoe Muntaner put it her first time.As an experienced skydiver, she also felt shaky.“It's exactly the same fear,” she said.
The few students got plenty of practice through turns.Randy Kohn, an instructor, told us when to bend our knees and release our arms.At first, the hour-long class seemed more mentally than physically challenging; the only thing that hurt were my palms, though later my upper body ached.But apparently, swinging works your trapezoids(小多角骨), legs and core.“You always have to stay tight for everything, otherwise none of the tricks will work,” Mr.Hedglin said.
Flying may build strength.But it's the rush that will bring me back.
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