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Car roof tents are the latest thing 「車頂帳」景點露營正夯

Cars with roof top tents are parked in a Hualien County parking lot in this photo taken on Feb. 17, 2009.這張攝於二月十七日的照片中，花蓮縣某停車場內停放了架著「車頂帳」的車輛。照片：台北時報 PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES

Travelers to Hualien County’s Chihsingtan Scenic Area and other scenic spots along the east coast during Lunar New Year may have noticed a new trend — car roof top camping. The roof top tents represent a new way of experiencing Taiwan’s tourist attractions.

Yu Tong-hua, a lover of the great outdoors from Taichung, says that he and his friends decided to attach roof tents to their cars and SUVs because it is impossible to find anywhere to stay in the Hualien area over extended holiday periods. With their car roof tents, they don’t have to worry about finding a place to stay during holidays. This convenience has spread across Taiwan in recent years.

All of the equipment for a car roof tent is kept in a rack on top of the car and one person can set the tent up or pull it down within 15 minutes. This convenience allows people to save a lot of time and trouble as long as the car is on a flat surface.

A tent can fit between three to six people, so for a car roof tent camping trip of 20 people, only four cars are needed.

This new form of travel is currently very popular in the western cities and counties of Taiwan with the majority of campers using their tents for trips to the eastern parts of the country.

Yu says that at first glance, people find it hard to believe that car roof tents are sturdy enough until they try them out for themselves. Even if six people sleep in the tent, they are still sturdier than an average tent because of the weight of the vehicle and the tent’s aluminum racks. Roof top campers who pitched their tents in near gale force winds in the Northeast Coast National Scenic Area didn’t have any trouble and were completely safe.

Apart from being sturdier than average tents, the bottoms of car roof tents can be fitted with a board and a thick, soft mattress attached to them. This makes sleeping in car roof tents much more comfortable than normal tents and is another reason why their popularity continues to grow.

(Liberty Times, translated by drew cameron)

今年從春節假期迄今，到花蓮縣七星潭風景區及東海岸各景點的遊客，常可見「車頂帳」露營，形成風景據點的休閒旅遊新模式。

家住台中的大自然玩家余東樺指出，花蓮地區每逢連續假期一房難求，他和�?R好休閒旅遊的朋友們乾脆在轎車或休旅車架上「車頂帳」，絲毫不受假期訂不到房的影響，這股風氣近年來也開始在各縣市流行。

「車頂帳」所有的裝備都在車頂的篷架中，一個人在十五分鐘內就完成收放作業，方便又省時、省事，只要將車子停在平地上即可。

每部車頂帳依大小，可以睡上三到六人，以二十人為例，只要四部車即可成行。

目前這種旅遊新方式在西部縣市相當盛行，主要的旅遊地區以東部為主。

余東樺說，有人乍看下會質疑「車頂帳」不夠牢固，但經過實地測試發現，即使睡六個人，以車身加上鋁架支撐，仍較一般帳篷堅固，曾有人在東北角風景區遇到七級的陣風仍安然無恙。

與一般帳篷相較，除了較為牢固外，帳篷的底部因緊貼車頂，可以裝上夾板及厚軟墊，睡起來的感覺較帳篷舒服�?A也讓�?S營族紛紛投入車頂帳愛用的行列。（自由時報）

TODAY’S WORDS 今日單字 1. trend n. 趨勢 (qü1 shi4) 例: Sally always keeps up to date with the latest trends. (莎莉總是走在時代的尖端。) 2. convenience n. 方便 (fang1 bian4) 例: If you want to live close to a train station, you will have to pay for the convenience. (如果你想住在火車站附近，那麼你會為交通的便捷性多付點房租。) 3. glance v.i./v.t. 乍看 (zha4 kan4)，掃視 (sao3 shi4) 例: I glanced at the menu on my way into the restaurant. (我走進餐廳時稍微瞄了一下菜單。) 4. mattress n. 床墊 (chuang2 dian4) 例: Tyler wants to get a king-size mattress. (泰勒想買一張雙人特大床墊。)

SAY WHAT? 說說看 the great outdoors 自然美景 The great outdoors refers to areas of natural beauty, such as forests, national parks and mountains. Examples: “Although he grew up in the city, Pablo never felt truly happy unless he was in the great outdoors,” or “I’m looking forward to my vacation. There’s nothing better than spending some time in the great outdoors.” 「the great outdoors」指的就是擁有自然之美的地方，例如森林、國家公園和群山。 例如：「雖然派百洛在城裡長大，但他唯有置身大自然時才體會到真正的快樂」，或是「我好期待我的假期，沒什麼比徜徉在自然美景中更快樂的事了」。

OUT LOUD 對話練習 David: I can’t wait for the camping trip! Ray: Me neither. It’s going to be awesome. David: So do you think everything’s ready? Ray: I think so. I’ve got the tent, the sleeping bags and the fishing equipment. David: Sounds good to me. Now we just have to hope that the weather stays warm. Ray: That’s right. Good weather would put the icing on the cake! 大衛：我等不及要去露營了！ 雷：我也是，一定會很好玩的！ 大衛：你都準備好了嗎？ 雷：應該是吧，我準備了帳篷、睡袋和釣具。 大衛：聽起來不賴。現在我們只能祈禱天氣持續溫暖了。 雷：沒錯，好天氣會讓這趟露營好上加好！ put the icing on the cake　錦上添花 Something that puts the icing on the cake makes a good situation even better. For example: “Mark really put the icing on the cake when he won his second writing award.” 說某事「put the icing on the cake」，就表示它讓一個原本就不錯的情況又更好。例如：「第二次贏得寫作獎讓馬克錦上添花」。

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