An island paradise that will adopt you

　　On this fascinatin（very good）South Pacific island,with all 62 residents(people living in one place)related,everyone shares the same surname(姓氏相同,have the same family name)and can trace their lineage（追溯至同一个祖先）back to one British man.

　　Located halfway between the better-known South Pacific sailing ports（更知名的南太平洋的航海港口）of Bora Bora and Niue,the Palmerston Atoll is so remote（very distant，very far）that until 1969 its position on maps was based on Captain Cook's charts from 1774.In fact,Palmerston is the only Cook Island that the prolific（productive）Pacific explorer（a man who like exploring new places）actually set foot on,though the clump of 15 islands（群岛）are named for him.

　　Today,Palmerston is a postcard-perfect paradise(寄明信片绝佳的天堂之地，a wonderful place)with no bank,store or road–islanders(people living on the island)have to travel 800km south to the largest island,Rarotonga,to find these modern day conveniences(modern facilities,or modern cultures).But what makes this tiny Cook Islands more than just a pretty place are the quirks(chances，sth special)that footnote(show,注明)its culture:the island has the highest number of freezers per capita（per person）in the Southern Hemisphere;locals play volleyball every afternoon except Sunday;and all 62 of its residents are related–everyone on Palmerston shares the same surname and trace their lineage back to one man:William Marsters.

　　（Personal experience）We saw the foam(泡沫)before we heard the breaking waves（层层浪花）.My husband Rob and I squinted(眯着眼睛看)through the morning sun,trying to pick out the low-lying shoreline（低洼海岸线）of the Palmerston Atoll on the horizon（地平线）.Rob did a little dance in anticipation of（expect，预料）spearing（a weapon for fishing or war,矛）a fish for dinner.I was more excited about delving(explore,探索)into this bizarre community（a big community）I’d heard so much about.

　　Our cruising guidebook（a book guiding people for trips or travels，旅游杂记）had warned us about the“extreme hospitality”(great friendliness)of Palmerston.No foreigner is allowed to set foot on shore without first being adopted into a local family.(所有外国人必须先到当地人家里做客后才可以到海岸上。)Visitors are encouraged to reciprocate（return back,作出回馈）the islanders'hospitality with donations（捐献,give free of charge）of clothes,pens and other staples(订书机).Apparently（obviously）,we'd now been adopted.

　　We stayed on Palmerston another three days.On the last evening,after volleyball and before dark,Simon sat in our cockpit sipping（吮吸drink）a cocktail and giving Rob fishing tips.Spear in hand,Rob hopped(jump)over the side,determined(decide)to finally snag(trouble)one of Palmerston's famous parrotfish.A few minutes later,he surfaced(v,漏出表面)with a blue-green beauty,as long as his arm and fat as a football.Simon nodded in satisfaction（feel happy and nodded满意地点头）,toasting（举杯庆祝,drink a toast to）Rob's success.

　　We feasted(a big dinner)that night with our adopted Marsters family,thanking them for their hospitality by sharing fish and more gifts.But without a doubt(undoubtedly，毫无疑问),Rob and I gained（get）more from that quirky atoll（环状珊瑚岛）than we could ever give back.

　　Jennifer张：中南大学外国语言学及应用语言学专业硕士，拥有18年英语教学经历，8年雅思托福教学经验。对于提升学员的英语兴趣，英语听说读写能力，以及考试技巧等多方面有非常丰富的经验，课堂语言鲜明生动而不失逻辑性，能随时将生活中的例子引用在课堂中，使得气氛生动并充满幽默和激情。