美国学生世界地理教材 第181期:对面脚踩之地(2)

 India is the country that Columbus was trying to reach by going the other way around the World. 印度是哥伦布试图朝另一方向作环球旅行而期望能到达的国家。

When he bumped¹ into America he thought he had reached India, so he called the people he found here Indians. 当他无意之中到达美洲时，他以为已经到了印度，因此他称当地人为印度人。

He did not find out until later that America was not India at all, but a new and unknown land, 直到后来他才发现，美洲根本不是印度，而是一个新的未知的大陆，

and that the people were really not Indians at all, but Red Men. 当地人也完全不是印度人，而是红种人。

India is shut off from the rest of Asia on the north by the highest wall of mountains in the World; they are called the Himalayas, Him-al-ay-as. 印度北边有世界上最高的山脉，将印度与亚洲其他地区隔离开。这条山脉叫喜马拉雅山脉，

The highest mountain on the face of the globe is in this range; it is called Mount² Everest, 地球表面最高峰就在这条山脉里，被称为“埃佛勒斯”，

after an English engineer named Everest, who measured its height. 是因为一位名叫埃佛勒斯的英国工程师测量了它的高度。

No one has ever been to the top, yet we know exactly how high it is. 迄今为止还没有人登上山顶，可是我们知道它的确切高度。

An engineer can find out such things. He can tell exactly how high a tree, a church-steeple, or a mountain is without leaving the ground. 一名工程师——不用离开地面就能准确说出一棵树、一座教堂尖塔、或一座山的高度。

This mountain is twenty-nine thousand and two feet high—more than five miles high. 这座山峰有29,200英尺高——超过5英里高。

The top and sides of Mount Everest are covered with snow and ice which never melts³ away and will always be there until the crack⁴ of doom⁵. 埃佛勒斯的山顶及四周都被冰雪覆盖了，这些冰雹永远不会融化，一直留在那儿，直到世界末日。

Men have tried and tried again to climb to the top and many have lost their lives in attempting the climb, but no one has ever been able to get there. 人类一次又一次尝试登上埃佛勒斯峰，很多人在登山时丧生，到目前为止还没有一个人能够登上山顶。

The top reaches so high up into the sky that there is very little air up there, and men have to take along canned air to breathe. 山顶极高，上面空气稀薄，登山者得依靠随身携带的氧气罐来呼吸。

If they attempt to climb without canned air, they are able to take but a single step and then must stop to breathe many times, 如果不带氧气罐爬山，每走一步就要停下来呼吸很多次，

like a dog panting⁷ for breath⁶, and every few steps they must rest awhile before going on. 像狗一样气喘吁吁，每走几步就要停下来休息一会儿才能继续前进。

1 bumped   

凸起的，凸状的

参考例句：

• In the dark I bumped into a chair. 我在黑暗中撞上了一把椅子。
• I bumped against an old friend in town today. 我今天在城里偶然碰见了一个老朋友。

2 mount   

n.山峰，乘用马，框，衬纸；vi.增长，骑上（马）；vt.提升，爬上，装备

参考例句：

• Their debts continued to mount up.他们的债务不断增加。
• She is the first woman who steps on the top of Mount Jolmo Lungma.她是第一个登上珠穆朗玛峰的女人。

3 melts   

（使）融[溶，熔]化( melt的第三人称单数 )； 溶解； （使）消散，消失； （使）软化，变得温柔

参考例句：

• The morning fog usually melts away as the sun rises. 晨雾通常在太阳升起时消失。
• It is difficult to tell where the blue melts into the green. 很难说蓝色是在什么地方变成绿色了。

4 crack   

vi.发破裂声；噼啪地响；vt./vi.（使）开裂；破裂；n.裂缝，缝隙；爆裂声，破裂声，劈啪声

参考例句：

• There's a crack in this cup.这个杯子上有个裂缝。
• There's a crack on the underneath of the bowl.碗底有一道裂缝。

5 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。

6 breath   

n.呼吸，气息，微风，迹象，精神，一种说话的声音

参考例句：

• I'm just going out for a breath of fresh air.我正要出去呼吸新鲜空气。
• While climbing up the stairs the old man always loses his breath.那老人上楼时总是气喘吁吁的。

7 panting   

(发动机等的)喷气声

参考例句：

• She finished the race panting heavily. 她跑完比赛气喘吁吁的。
• After the long race, the runner was panting for breath. 长跑之后，那个运动员正在喘气。