1. The Hopi, the Paiute, the Navajo and other Native American tribes have all been in the area for at least seven centuries. However, much of what we know today about the Grand Canyon was recorded by John Wesley Powell. In eighteen sixty-nine, he became the first white American to explore much of the canyon.
2. John Wesley Powell and his group traveled in four boats. They knew very little about getting over the rapid, rocky waters of the Colorado River. In many areas of fast-flowing water, a boat could be turned over by a wave as high as a house.
3. Soon after starting, Powell's group lost some of its food and equipment. Then three members of the group left. As they walked up and out of the canyon, they were killed by Indians. The rest of the group was lucky to survive. Starving and tired, they reached the end of the canyon.
4. They had traveled on the Colorado River for more than three months. John Wesley Powell's reports and maps from the trip made him famous. They also greatly increased interest in the Grand Canyon. But visitors did not begin to go to there in large numbers until nineteen-oh-one. That was when a railroadreached the area.
5. Today, the Grand Canyon is known as one of the seven wonders of the natural world. About five million people visit the canyon each year. Most visitors walk along paths part way down into the canyon. It takes several hours to walk to the bottom.
6. It takes two times as long to get back up. Some visitors ride mules to the bottom and back. The mules are strong animals that look like horses. They are known for their ability to walk slowly and safely on the paths.
7. America's National Park Service is responsible for protecting the Grand Canyon from the effects of so many visitors. All waste material must be carried out of the canyon. All rocks, historical objects, plants, and wildlife must be left untouched. As the National Park Service tells visitors: "Take only photographs. Leave only footprints. "
8. There are several other ways to visit the Grand Canyon. Hundreds of thousands of people see the canyon by air each year. They pay a helicopter or airplane pilot to fly them above and around the canyon.
9. About twenty thousand people a year see the Grand Canyon from the Colorado River itself. They ride boats over the rapid, rocky water. These trips last from one week to three weeks.
10. Visitors can see the Grand Canyon in still another way. A huge glass walkway, called the Skywalk, extends twenty-one meters from the edge of the Grand Canyon. The Skywalk is suspended more than one thousand two hundred meters above the bottom of the canyon.
11. It is shaped like a giant horseshoe. Visitors pay twenty-five dollars each to walk beyond the canyon walls, surrounded by the canyon, while standing at the edge of the glass bridge.
12. The Hualapai Indian Tribe built the Skywalk at a cost of more than forty million dollars. The tribe owns almost four hundred thousand hectares of land in the canyon. The Hualapai built the Skywalk to gain money by getting more people to visit its reservation.
13. The tribe says the area, called Grand Canyon West, will include a large visitors' center, restaurants, and possibly hotels in the future.
14. Some people say the Skywalk is an engineering wonder. However, other people have criticized the Skywalk and future development. They say it harms a national treasure and reduces the enjoyment of nature in the Grand Canyon.
15. Many writers have tried to describe the wonder of the Grand Canyon. They use words like mysterious, overpowering, strange. Yet writers recognize that it is impossible to put human meaning in such a place. The Grand Canyon exists in its own space and time.
16. Some visitors say they feel so small when measured against the canyon's great size. One writer who has spent a lot of time in the Grand Canyon finds it a peaceful place. He says the almost overpowering silence and deepness of the Grand Canyon shakes people -- at least briefly -- out of their self-importance. He says it makes us remember our place in the natural world.
17. We close our program with music from a record called "Canyon Lullaby" written by Paul Winter. Mister Winter said it was his first attempt to translate the spirit of the canyon into sound.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
- About = aproximadamente
- above = sobre
- against = contra
- at least = pelo menos
- attempt = tentativa
- became = tornou-se
- beyond = além de
- bottom = fundo
- bridge = ponte
- built = construiu
- carried out = carregado para for a
- could be turned over = poderia ser tombado
- deepness = profundidade
- describe = descrever
- development = desenvolvimento
- each = cada
- edge = beira
- engineering = engenharia
- enjoyment = satisfação, divertimento
- feel = sentem-se
- footprints = pegadas
- get back up = subir de volta
- getting over = atravessar
- glass walkway = passarela de vidro
- harms = prejudica
- have criticized = tem criticado
- horseshoe = ferradura
- However = contudo
- huge = imenso(a)
- increased = aumentou
- It takes several hours = leva várias horas
- killed = mortos
- knew = sabiam
- land = terra
- last = duram
- left = saíram
- look like = parecem com
- Lullaby = cantiga
- meaning = significado
- must be = deve ser
- overpowering = avassalador
- owns = possui
- paths = trilhas
- peaceful = cheio de paz
- railroad = Estrada de ferro
- recorded by = registrado por
- reports = relatórios
- safely = seguramente
- shakes = balança, mexe com
- shaped = ter a forma de
- slowly = lentamente
- Soon after = logo após
- Starving = famintos
- still = ainda
- surrounded by = cercado por
- treasure = tesouro
- tribes = tribos
- trip = viagem
- untouched = intocado
- waste material = lixo, detritus
- wave = onda
- wildlife = vida selvagem
- wonders = maravilhas
- writers = escritores
- Yet = porém
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