Do you love flying through the air at top speeds, riding upside down, throwing your hands in the air and screaming at the top of your lungs?
你喜欢在空中以最快速度飞行吗?你喜欢在空中倒立,把你的双手抛向空中,大声尖叫吗?
Then this wild ride is for you -- the roller coaster!
那么这种刺激的旅程就是为你准备的--过山车!
These massive machines come in many different sizes and speeds.
这些巨大设备的尺寸和速度各不相同。
From China to Pennsylvania, Germany, Florida, the list goes on.
从中国到宾夕法尼亚州、德国、佛罗里达州,名单还在继续。
For centuries, people have been seeking the thrill and adventure of this extreme experience.
几个世纪以来,人们一直在寻求这种极端体验的刺激和冒险。
In the 18th century, back in Russia is when it all started.
而一切的起源,要追溯到18世纪的俄罗斯。
People of the upper class built giant slides made of snow to sled down, just for fun.
当时,上层阶级的人用雪建造了巨大的滑梯,只是为了好玩。
France soon joined in on the fun in 1804, and built the first real roller coaster with sloped tracks and carts for people to ride.
很快,在1804年时,法国也加入其中,并建造了第一个真正的过山车,有倾斜的轨道和手推车供人们乘坐。
In the United States, it wasn't a human that took a ride on the first roller coaster -- it was coal!
而在美国,乘坐第一辆过山车的不是人类,而是煤!
Miners needed the fastest way to transport coal out of the mountain, so they made a downhill track.
矿工们需要用最快的方式把煤运出山,所以他们开辟了一条下坡的道路。
Soon after, roller coasters started popping up all over the world! They got longer, faster and taller.
不久之后,过山车开始在世界各地陆续出现!并且变得更长、更快、更高。
You can find an 8,000-foot-long roller coaster in Japan. And over a 400-foot-tall coaster in New Jersey, USA.
在日本,你可以找到一个长度达到8000英尺的过山车。而美国新泽西州则有一个高度达到400英尺的过山车。
Roller coasters are built with safety and physics in mind! The faster the roller coaster, the more secure you are in your seat.
过山车是在安全和物理的基础上建造的!过山车速度越快,你在座位上就越安全。
So, head out to your closest amusement park, jump in a rollercoaster and buckle up for a zero-gravity experience!
所以,快去离你最近的游乐园,跳上过山车,系好安全带,享受失重的感觉吧!