「翰林技術高中三年級上學期 Lesson 2: Let’s Walk on Air」- Reading

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Have you ever felt like you were walking on air, maybe after you heard some really good news? How about literally, though? That's a feeling you might experience if you visit the Grand Canyon in Arizona, one of America's most spectacular and popular tourist sights. This deep gorge along the Colorado River has long been known as a breathtaking natural wonder. Since 2007, there has been a new opportunity to catch the views over the gorge—the Grand Canyon Skywalk.

The Skywalk is a man-made marvel. It is a horseshoe-shaped bridge with a walkway made of glass. It extends out from the side of the Grand Canyon. If you stroll out to the middle of it, you are about 21 meters from the edge of the canyon. From there, five kilometers of empty space stretches across to the other rim. Under the glass floor you will see six hundred meters of air between you and the bottom of the Grand Canyon. It's just like looking down from a hundred meters above the top of Taipei 101.

This impressive bridge was built with the cooperation of the Hualapai Nation, a native American tribe. They live on a reservation where part of the Grand Canyon is located. At first, the Skywalk project was not welcomed by all the Hualapai, some of whom opposed its construction on sacred ground. Eventually, they were persuaded to accept it, and now the site is owned by the tribe. Their lives have been improved by the tourist dollars it brings in. The number of tourists has risen every year, and the site received its ten millionth visitor in January 2020.

The Skywalk is one of a kind among tourist attractions. What else can compare with a 360-degree view of one of the most awesome natural wonders in the world? The glass is so clear that you feel as if you are walking on a cloud. Former astronaut Buzz Aldrin was among the first to go onto the walkway during the opening ceremony on March 20, 2007. He called the Skywalk "a vision of hope for the future." If the Grand Canyon Skywalk can impress a man who has walked on the moon, it is surely worth a visit.

你是否曾經有高興到飄飄然的感覺，或許在你聽到一些超級好消息之後？如果就是照字面上的意思呢？要是你造訪亞利桑納州的大峽谷，這個美國最壯觀、最熱門的觀光景點，那種感覺你可能就能體會。這個沿著科羅拉多河的縱深峽谷，長久以來，一直以令人嘆為觀止的自然奇景著稱。從 2007 年起，已經有個新的機會可以來俯瞰大峽谷的景觀－－大峽谷天空步道。

天空步道是人造的奇景。它是一個鋪著玻璃步道的馬蹄型橋樑。從大峽谷的一端延伸出去。如果你往外走到步道中間，距離大峽谷的邊緣約 21 公尺。從這裡延伸到另外一頭有長達五公里一無所有的空間。玻璃地板下，你會看到自己在跟谷底相距六百公尺的空中。就像從台北 101 上方一百公尺處往下眺望一樣。

這座令人印象深刻的橋是在跟一個美國原住民部落瓦拉派印第安國的合作下完成的。瓦拉派印第安人居住的保留區跟部分的大峽谷重疊。一開始不是所有瓦拉派印第安國的族人都贊成天空步道的計畫，其中有些人反對將步道蓋在他們的聖地上。最後他們被說服接受了，現在這個景點歸該部落所有。他們的生活已因步道帶來的觀光財而獲得改善。觀光客人數年年增加，在 2020 年 1 月迎來了第一千萬名遊客。

天空步道在觀光景點裡稱得上是獨一無二的。還有什麼比得上用 360 度的視野來觀賞世界上最令人讚嘆的自然奇景之一呢？步道的玻璃是如此透明，讓人彷彿漫步在雲端。2007 年 3 月 20 日的開幕典禮上，前任太空人 Buzz Aldrin 是第一批踏上這條步道的人之一。他把該步道稱為「未來希望的憧憬」。如果大峽谷天空步道能讓一個曾經踏上月球的人印象深刻，那絕對值得一遊。