新視野大學英語視聽說教程第四冊 Unit 1 U.S. Roller Coaster

The world’s first 4D roller coaster, “X”, took on its first passengers last week at the Six Flags Magic Mountain theme park, just outside Los Angeles.

After climbing on board and properly securing their safety harnesses, “X” riders are first to a height of over 66meters. At the top, the passenger train is released and builds up enough speed to race and plummet around the track at speeds of over 130km an hour.

The rider takes the daring passengers down an incredible 66m dive and over the top of a 62m loop, in cars that spin independently of the roller coaster train. This unique design allows riders to spin360degree, both forwards and backwards, through the entire ride.

Passengers hurtle through this ride often moving in many different directions at the same time ad the cars somersault back and forth and the roller coaster twists, loops, and dives.

The complicated series of maneuvers includes two raven turn, one front flip, one twisting front flip, and two back flips.

Since passengers aren’t always facing the right direction to see what’s coming up next, the element of surprise is high. For “X” riders, this adds to the thrill of the ride.

The track of this newest roller coaster runs a total length of a little over1, 100meters. The passenger trains measure 6meters wide and 21meters long, large enough to carry 28 passengers at a time. At full capacity, the trains can take 1,600passengers for the ride of their lives each hour.

The entire ride lasts for only a total about 2minutes, but you can tell from the exhilarated faces of passengers returning to the boarding dock that they were two of the most thrilling minutes of heir lives.