读者文摘:21世纪最大规模的寻宝事件之一(3)

Then there are the fatalities¹. Four people have died while searching, three of them in the summer of 2017:

然后就出现了死亡事故。四个人在寻宝时死掉了，其中三人的死亡发生在2017年夏天。

Jeff Murphy, who fell 500 feet while hiking in Yellowstone National Park;

杰夫·墨菲在黄石国家公园远足时从500英尺高处摔了下来。

Eric Ashby, who drowned while rafting the Arkansas River in Colorado;

埃里克·阿什比在科罗拉多的阿肯色河漂流时溺水身亡；

and Paris Wallace, whose body was discovered seven miles from his car in the New Mexico mountains.

还有帕里斯·华莱士，他的尸体是在新墨西哥山区离他的车7英里的地方被发现的。

It's a peculiar² plot twist, given that thousands have been searching for Fenn's treasure since 2011.

这是一个奇特的情节转折，因为自2011年以来，成千上万的人一直在寻找芬恩的宝藏。

Has the terrain³ gotten inexplicably⁴ more treacherous⁵, or have the searchers started taking bigger risks?

是地形莫名地变得更加危险，还是寻宝者开始冒更大的风险？

Fenn, who has been loath⁶ to give away additional clues—"It's all in the poem," he would tell inquisitive⁷ hunters—has recently started sharing more details.

芬恩一直都不愿泄露更多的线索-他会告诉好奇的搜寻者，“线索都在诗里面”-他最近开始分享更多细节。

After Ashby's drowning, he wrote in a blog post, "Please remember that I was about 80 when I made two trips from my vehicle to where I hid the treasure.

在阿什比溺水身亡后，他在一篇博客中写道，“请记住当我两次开车到我藏宝的地方时，我就差不多80岁了。

Please be cautious and don't take risks." More clues he has revealed: The treasure isn't in a mine—"I mean, they have snakes in 'em," he has said—or a tunnel.

请小心一些，不要冒险。”他揭露了更多线索：宝藏不在矿藏里面-“我的意思是，它们里面有蛇，”他说-或者在隧道里。

It's between 5,000 feet and 10,200 feet above sea level. It's not in Canada or Idaho or Utah or a graveyard⁸.

宝藏在海拔5000到10200英尺之间。它不在加拿大、爱达荷州、犹他州或墓地里。

"Where warm waters halt" is not a dam, and it's not "on top of any mountain though it may be close to the top."

“在温暖的海水停止的地方”指的不是一个水坝，宝藏没有在任何山的山顶，尽管它可能接近山顶。”

When I asked why the searchers didn't seem to be getting any closer, Fenn told me that "they don't seem to be focusing on the first clue."

当我问到，为什么搜寻者没有接近宝藏时，芬恩告诉我，“他们没有专注第一条线索。”

He of course didn't reveal what the first clue was. Why are Fenn's treasure hunters so into what seems like a ridiculous thing to do with their time?

当然，他没有揭露第一条线索是什么。为什么芬恩宝藏的搜寻者如此痴迷，在一件似乎是可笑的事情上浪费时间？

Many are quick to say that their lives have been enriched by their experiences.

很多人很快就说他们的生命因他们的经历而更加丰富。

Neitzel says that prior to learning of Fenn's treasure, he never took a walk that wasn't necessary, but in the past decade he has climbed mountains.

雷特泽尔表示，在知道芬恩的宝藏之前，他从不走没有必要的路，但是在过去的十年里，他去爬了山。

Kreis will tell you how she used to cower⁹ in her tent, terrified of grizzlies¹⁰ or other wild beasts, but now feels fearless.

克莱斯过去常常蜷缩在自己的帐篷里，害怕灰熊或者其他野兽，但是现在她无所畏惧。

"It's changed us," she says. "My sisters and daughters, we're brave Viking women. Nothing scares us anymore."

她说，“寻宝改变了我们。”我的姐妹和女儿们，我们是勇敢的女海盗。没有什么能吓到我们。”

For some, such as Bill Sullivan of Seattle, the mystery of Fenn's treasure chest is literally¹¹ all they have.

对于一些人来说，比如西雅图的沙利文，芬恩藏宝箱的秘密几乎就是他们的全部。

Sullivan, 60, is homeless and lives mostly out of his car. He'd like to have a roof over his head and dependable meals.

60岁的沙利文是个流浪汉，大部分时间都住在他的车外，他想有个栖身之所，吃顿像样的饭。

But that's not why he's focused on Fenn's elusive¹² jackpot. For him, it's about following in the footsteps of his ancestors.

但是这不是他专注于芬恩的难以寻找的大奖的原因。对他来说，寻宝是跟随先人的脚步。

"My grandfather prospected¹³ gold in Alaska a hundred years ago," Sullivan says.

沙利文说，“我祖父一百年前在阿拉斯加州寻找过金子。”

"He had a sled dog team and trapped beaver¹⁴. So that's in my blood."

“他有一个雪橇狗队和捕获的海狸。寻宝存在于我的血液里。”

1 fatalities   

n.恶性事故( fatality的名词复数 )；死亡；致命性；命运

参考例句：

• Several people were injured, but there were no fatalities. 有几个人受伤，但没有人死亡。
• The accident resulted in fatalities. 那宗意外道致多人死亡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

3 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

4 inexplicably   

adv.无法说明地，难以理解地，令人难以理解的是

参考例句：

• Inexplicably, Mary said she loved John. 真是不可思议，玛丽说她爱约翰。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inexplicably, she never turned up. 令人不解的是，她从未露面。 来自辞典例句

5 treacherous   

adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的

参考例句：

• The surface water made the road treacherous for drivers.路面的积水对驾车者构成危险。
• The frozen snow was treacherous to walk on.在冻雪上行走有潜在危险。

6 loath   

adj.不愿意的；勉强的

参考例句：

• The little girl was loath to leave her mother.那小女孩不愿离开她的母亲。
• They react on this one problem very slow and very loath.他们在这一问题上反应很慢，很不情愿。

7 inquisitive   

adj.求知欲强的，好奇的，好寻根究底的

参考例句：

• Children are usually inquisitive.小孩通常很好问。
• A pat answer is not going to satisfy an inquisitive audience.陈腔烂调的答案不能满足好奇的听众。

8 graveyard   

n.坟场

参考例句：

• All the town was drifting toward the graveyard.全镇的人都象流水似地向那坟场涌过去。
• Living next to a graveyard would give me the creeps.居住在墓地旁边会使我毛骨悚然。

9 cower   

v.畏缩，退缩，抖缩

参考例句：

• I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat.我决不会在任何一位大师面前发抖，也不会为任何恐吓所屈服。
• Will the Chinese cower before difficulties when they are not afraid even of death?中国人死都不怕，还怕困难吗？

10 grizzlies   

北美洲灰熊( grizzly的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Suns beat the Memphis Grizzlies 127-113 earlier Tuesday night. 在周二晚上早些时候，太阳以127：113击败孟菲斯灰熊。
• Whatever you do, do not blink.They're like grizzlies. 无论你做什么，别眨眼。他们跟熊有点相象。

11 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

12 elusive   

adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的

参考例句：

• Try to catch the elusive charm of the original in translation.翻译时设法把握住原文中难以捉摸的风韵。
• Interpol have searched all the corners of the earth for the elusive hijackers.国际刑警组织已在世界各地搜查在逃的飞机劫持者。

13 prospected   

vi.勘探（prospect的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The structural ceramics EDM processing is prospected and analysed with the mechanisms. 利用蚀除机理对加工过程进行了预测和分析。 来自互联网
• At last future developments of micron op let in microfluidic are prospected. 论文展望了微液滴的发展前景。 来自互联网

14 beaver   

n.海狸，河狸

参考例句：

• The hat is made of beaver.这顶帽子是海狸毛皮制的。
• A beaver is an animals with big front teeth.海狸是一种长着大门牙的动物。