Bungee jumping originated with an ancient adult initiation ceremony on the Pentecost Islands in Vanuatu, young men jumped off high platform with vines (葡萄藤) attached to their feet as a test of their courage and passage into manhood.
(inspire) by this, three men in England staged the first modern bungee jumps off a bridge in Bristol in 1979. This led to a number of people (make) bungee jumps for TV shows or as a way (show) off their skills, often off (extreme) famous structures such as the Eiffel Tower. One of these men, Alan John Hackett, opened up the first (commerce) bungee jumping site at the Kawarau Gorge Suspension Bridge in New Zealand.
Since then Hackett (open) up a large number of other bungee jumping (site) around the world and is perhaps the single person most responsible making bungee jumping a safe and popular adventure sport. Through Hackett's efforts, New Zealand has now become a center for adventure sports tourism, and people still travel from around the world to bungee jump at Kawarau Gorge.
