Monkey bars猴架

Luke D. Fannin

When Sebastian Hinton was a child， his father， a Princeton mathematician，built a cubic3 bamboo frame4 in the familys backyard to teach Hinton and otherchildren to visualize5 space in three dimensions6 as they moved through it. Butthe kids were more drawn to climbing and swinging on the bars.

Recalling this experience years later， Hinton designed a cubic metalplayground frame based on his fathers design. It looked like a kind of forest topthrough which the children may play in a manner somewhat similar to that ofmonkeys. On October 23， 1923， Hinton got a patent7 for his “jungle gym”， andthe monkey bars were born.

Today， Hintons invention continues to raise a debate8 about childrenshealth， in part because monkey bars result in more injuries9 than any otherthings in the playground.

Hinton thought climbing was the human ancestors10 natural method ofpractice and was therefore ideally suited for children.

Many scientists also believed that risky play is very important for healthygrowth and development in children. Such experts join Hinton in praising thebenefits of play-climbing.

當塞巴斯蒂安·欣顿还是个孩子时，他的父亲，普林斯顿大学的一名数学家，在家中后院建造了一个立体的竹架，教欣顿和其他孩子在其中穿行时，如何将空间想象成三维的。但孩子们更喜欢在竹杆上攀爬和摇荡。

几年后，欣顿回忆起这段经历，他在父亲设计的基础上设计了一种立体金属游戏场框架。它看起来有点像森林的顶部，孩子们可以通过它以某种类似于猴子玩耍的方式玩耍。1923 年10 月23 日，欣顿的“丛林健身房”获得了专利，猴架由此诞生。

如今，欣顿的发明继续引发关于儿童健康的辩论，部分原因是猴架比游乐场里其他任何东西造成的受伤事件都多。

欣顿认为攀爬是人类祖先的自然练习方法，因此非常适合儿童。

许多科学家也认为，冒险游戏对儿童的健康成长和发育至关重要。这类专家与欣顿一道称赞了玩耍攀爬的好处。

Notes

1. mathematician 数学家

2. mainstay 支柱；主要的依靠

3. cubic 立方的；立方体的

4. frame 框架；构架；支架

5. visualize 想象；使形象化

6. dimension  空间的，维度

7. patent  专利；权

8. debate  讨论；辩论

9. injury  伤；损害

10. ancestor 祖先