To Plank or Not to Plank|哪里都能躺，全球一起疯仆街！

by Marcus Maurice

Planking is all fun and games until someone falls off a roof.

The Internet has been the originator of many pointless crazes. This includes the Dancing Baby from the 1990s TV show Ally McBeal, the humorous misspellings of LOLcats, and Rickrollinghen someone links Rick Astley's one hit wonder, Never Gonna Give You Up, to something else for a laugh. _(1)_ senseless fad the Internet has produced is called planking, where a person imitates a wooden plank with their bodies. People from all over the world have now started lying face down on the ground, on top of cars, or on any other _(2)_ place they can find to plank. Also, taking pictures is a vital component because it lets people _(3)_ their planking skills to their friends.

When you look at pictures of people planking, it's easy to see that they are having a wonderful time. _(4)_, some good times come to abrupt ends. In May of 2011, a man _(5)_ on his seventh floor balcony when he rolled off the railing and fell to the ground. The paramedics arrived, but it was too late. This man from Australia was the first recorded death from planking.

This tragic _(6)_ hasn't slowed planking down at all. _(7)_, a lot of people heard about it and started planking. Now everyone, from famous DJs to movie stars, is posting planking pictures on Twitter. While planking is ridiculous, it is also humorous. Just be careful if you decide to plank.

1.  (A) The latter  (B) The former  (C) The above   (D) The latest

2.  (A) unfolded    (B) unexpected  (C) unsolved    (D) undoubted

3.  (A) go after    (B) take over   (C) show off    (D) put aside

4.  (A) Deliberately    (B) Unfortunately   (C) Efficiently (D) Immediately

5.  (A) planked (B) has planked (C) has been planking   (D) was planking

6.  (A) violence    (B) disease (C) incident    (D) mission

7.  (A) On the contrary (B) By no means (C) In comparison   (D) By the same token

哪里都能躺，全球一起疯仆街！

仆街既有趣又有挑战性，但小心玩过头会乐极生悲。

　　网络是许多毫无意义风潮的发源地。这包括 1990 年代影集《艾莉的异想世界》中的跳舞宝宝，和故意拼错字的大笑猫图片（注一），还有 Rickrolling 这个恶作剧，故意把歌手瑞客．艾思利的名曲《永不放弃你》的音乐录像带和其他东西的网址连结在一起（注二），为的是搏君一笑。同样是无厘头的最新网络流行风潮是仆街，也就是人们用身体来模仿木板的动作。全世界的人现在都流行面朝下，躺在车顶或其他任何料想不到、只要可以仆街的地方。此外，把仆街的模样拍下来也是这股风潮很重要的一环，因为这可以让大家向朋友炫耀自己的仆街技巧。

　　当你看别人仆街的照片时，你很容易发现他们乐在其中。不过不幸的是，快乐的时光也会嘎然而止。在 2011 年 5 月，1名男子在自家的 7 楼阳台上仆街时，从栏杆上翻落坠楼。医护人员抵达抢救，但为时已晚。这位澳洲男子是纪录中第 1 位因仆街而死亡的案例。

　　这场悲剧事件并没有让仆街风潮有丝毫退烧的迹象。相反地，许多人听到这个消息却还是开始玩仆街。现在从知名 DJ 到电影明星，每个人都在推特上放自己仆街的照片。虽然仆街这游戏很可笑，但还是有它的幽默在。只是当你决定要仆街时，绝对要小心自身的安全。

答案：1. (D)  2. (B)  3. (C)  4. (B)  5. (D)

6. (C)  7. (A)

注一：LOL是 laugh out loud 的缩写。LOLcats 用好玩的猫照片配上文法不通、错字连篇却令人喷饭的图说，创造出独树一格的幽默。

注二：RickRolling是一种『挂羊头卖狗肉』的网络恶作剧。某人提供 1条网上连结（hyperlink），并指该连结与原讨论标题有关，但连结却把点击者送往外国歌手 Rick Astley 于 1987 年所主唱的《Never Gonna Give You Up》的 MV。当某人点进上述的连结中，英语便会说他们被 Rickrolled（被瑞克摇摆了）。