双语：乘105个氦气球飞跃地平线(图)

俄勒冈州的肯特·库奇带着一些轻便食物和一套降落伞安坐在他的躺椅上

　　Last weekend, Kent Couch from Oregon settled down in his lawn chair with some snacks - and a parachute(降落伞). Attached to his lawn chair were 105 large helium balloons(氦气球).

　　Destination: Idaho.

　　With instruments to measure his altitude and speed, a global positioning system device, and about four plastic bags holding five gallons of water each to act as ballast(压舱物) - he could turn a spigot, release water and rise - Couch headed into the Oregon sky.

　　Nearly nine hours later, the 47-year-old gas station owner came back to earth in a farmer's field, short of Idaho but about 193 miles from home.

　　“When you're a little kid and you're holding a helium balloon, it has to cross your mind,”Couch said.“When you're laying in the grass on a summer day, and you see the clouds, you wish you could jump on them,”he said.“This is as close as you can come to jumping on them. It's just like that.”

　　上周，来自俄勒冈州的肯特·库奇带着一些轻便食物和一套降落伞安坐在他的躺椅上，而连接着躺椅的是105个氦气球。

　　库奇的目的地是：爱达荷州。

　　他携带着高度和速度测量仪、全球定位仪，依靠4个各装5加仑水的塑料袋为压舱物，通过控制龙头、放水减轻重量而不断升高的方式飞上了俄勒冈州的天空。

　　在空中飞行近9小时后，这个47岁的加油站老板降落在一处农田上。虽然还没有到达爱达荷州，但也已经飞行了193哩。

　　库奇说：“你儿时玩氦气球时，会想让气球带你上天。夏日，你躺在草地上望着白云时，会想跳到云端，我的尝试跟跳上云端差不多。”