全新版大学英语阅读教程4
Unit 1 In the Frozen Waters of Qomolangma,
I learned the Value of Humility
在结冰的珠穆朗玛峰,我学会了谦虚的价值
2007年7月15日,我游过一个开放的补丁的海洋在北极突出的北极冰雪融化的海冰。Three years later, I remember it as if it were yesterday. 三年后,我记得这件事仿佛就发生在昨天。I recall walking to the edge of the sea and thinking: I've never seen anything so frightening in my life. 我记得走到的边缘海和思考:我从未见过任何东西这么可怕的在我的生命中。There were giant chunks of ice in the water, which was –1.7C (29F) and utterly black.有巨大的冰块在水中,这些是-1.7摄氏度(29 F)和完全的黑色。
If things go pear-shaped now, I thought, how long would it take for my frozen body to sink the 4.2km to the seabed? 如果事情去梨形的现在,我想,要多久我冻僵的尸体沉到海底的4.2公里?And then I realised that was perhaps the single worst thought one could have before attempting a symbolic 1km swim wearing nothing but a pair of Speedos. 然后我意识到,也许是最严重认为可能会在尝试一个象征性的1公里的游泳只穿着一双紧身泳裤。I was shaken to the core, terrified.我很震惊的核心,吓坏了。
After thousands of hours of planning and training, the only way I could complete the swim that lured me to the northernmost point of the world was committing 100%. 在成千上万个小时的计划和培训,只有这样我才能完成游泳,诱使我最北端的世界是犯100%。Nothing is more powerful than a made-up mind. 没有比这更强大的杜撰的心灵。I disappeared inside my head and my blood simmered. 在我脑海里,我消失了,我的血冷静。After listening to some rousing music (everything from Verdi to P Diddy) to get myself into the right state of mind, I threw myself into the water and swam with as much speed and aggression as my body could muster.听了一些令人振奋的音乐(从威尔第P吹牛老爹)让我进入右的精神状态,我全身心地投入到水中,游与尽可能多的速度和攻击为我的身体能够鼓起勇气。
When I emerged 1km later from the icy water, I'll never forget looking down at my fingers. 当我出现1公里后从冰冷的海水,我将永远不会忘记低头看着我的手指。They had swollen to the size of sausages. 他们已膨胀到香肠的大小。The majority of the human body is water and when water freezes, it expands. 大多数人的身体是水和水结冰时扩大。The cells in my fingers had frozen, swollen and burst. 这些细胞在我的手指已经冻结了膨胀和破灭。I had never felt anything so excruciating. 我感到从未有过的任何痛苦。My nerve cells were so badly damaged it was four months before I could feel my hands again. 我的神经细胞被严重的损害它是四个月之前,我能感觉到我的手再一次。
I resolved never to do another cold water swim.我决定不再做另一个冰冷的水里游泳。
Then last year I learned about the melting of the glaciers in the Himalayas and Hindu Kush mountains. 然后,去年我了解了喜马拉雅山脉的冰川融化和兴都库什山脉。As nearly 2 billion people –approximately one in three people on the planet –rely on drinking or irrigation water from these glaciers, I decided it was time to emerge from retirement for another symbolic swim – this time in a glacial lake under the summit of Mount Everest. 将近20亿人——大约有三分之一的人在地球上依靠灌溉或是饮用的水从这些冰川,
我觉得是时候摆脱退休为另一个象征性的游泳——这次是在一个冰川湖在登上珠穆朗玛峰的顶峰。Considering the potential for instability in regions facing rapidly increasing populations twinned with decreasing natural resources, I returned to training.考虑到潜在的不稳定的地区迅速增长的人口面临减少自然资源的姊妹,我回到了训练。
What made this swim particularly difficult is that this year, of all years, local authorities mounted a large operation to remove the bodies of climbers who lost their lives on the mountain. 是什么让这个游泳特别困难的是,今年,所有的几年,地方当局发起了一个大型手术去除登山者的尸体在山上失去了他们的生命。So there I was –at 5.3km above sea level, attempting something no one has ever tried before while suffering a vicious case of altitude sickness – and frozen bodies are coming past me as I slowly shuffle higher and higher. 我就���那样——在海拔5.3公里,尝试一些以前没有人尝试过而痛苦的恶性案件高空病——和冷冻尸体即将过去的我,我慢慢越来越高。To say the least, it is unsettling being reminded of your mortality.至少可以说,这是令人不安的被提醒你的死亡率。
In late May, I reached Lake Pumori, adjacent to the Khumbu Glacier on Everest, and began to prepare mentally to launch myself into a swim. 5月下旬,我到达Pumori湖,毗邻珠峰昆布冰川,开始做好心理准备推出自己变成一游。I cranked up P Diddy, glared across the water, fixed my mind on the opposite side of the lake and dived in. At 2C (36F), the water was slightly warmer than at the North Pole but, up in the heavens at the icy tip of the world, breathing is very difficult. 我调到P吹牛老爹,瞪着水面,固定我的头脑对面的湖和跳入河中。在2 C(36华氏度),水是气温略高于在北极,但都在结冰的顶端的世界,呼吸是非常困难的。Within seconds, I was in trouble –gasping, choking, then vomiting. 在几秒钟内,我正处在困境之中——呼吸,窒息,然后呕吐。Then I momentarily went under. 然后我暂时倒闭了。The first time I managed to recover easily by pushing myself off the bottom of the shallow lake, but when it happened again I was exhausted and overcome with panic. 我第一次设法恢复容易被逼着自己出底部的浅水湖,但当它再次发生了我筋疲力尽,满心恐慌。Some people say that drowning is the most peaceful death. 有些人说,溺水是最和平的死亡。Bollocks.胡言乱语。
After it happened a third time, I flapped myself to the edge of the lake. 之后发生了第三次,我拍动自己到湖边。My team mercifully lifted me out, moving my chilled body as quickly down the mountain as they could. 我
