美国国家公共电台 NPR Rocky Mountains Treasure Hunt Turns Fatal

 

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

A second person has now died in the wilds of New Mexico, apparently¹, while searching for an elusive² treasure chest hidden by an eccentric millionaire. It's known as the Forrest Fenn treasure, a chest filled with gold nuggets and precious gems³ possibly worth $2 million. Tens of thousands of people have searched the Rocky Mountains for the fortune. And as NPR's John Burnett reports, more and more are risking their lives.

JOHN BURNETT, BYLINE⁴: Whitewater rafters spotted⁵ the body floating in the Rio Grande between Espanola and Taos two weeks ago. New Mexico State Police believe it is that of 52-year-old Paris Wallace, an evangelical pastor⁶ from Colorado and an avid⁷ Fenn treasure hunter. His silver Tahoe was found parked on a rural road near a trailhead about 7 miles upstream.

He's the second outdoorsman believed to have perished in the quest for the famed Fenn treasure. In January 2016, a retired⁸ mechanic named Randy Bilyeu, also from Colorado, hiked into the rugged⁹ forest north of Santa Fe and never returned. After the second fatality¹⁰, the chief of the New Mexico State Police had had enough. This is putting lives at risk, Pete Kassetas told the AP. I would implore¹¹ that he stop this nonsense. He is Forest Fenn.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

FORREST FENN: No one knows where that treasure chest is but me. They can go get it. But I'm not going to tell them where it is. If I die tomorrow, the knowledge of that location goes in the coffin¹² with me.

BURNETT: That was from a story we aired on this program last year. Fenn is 86 years old, a former Santa Fe art dealer¹³ and prolific¹⁴ collector of Native American artifacts. On the occasion of the Colorado pastor's death, Fenn wrote this in an email to NPR. I would advise them - the searchers - to stop taking risks. The treasure is not hidden in a dangerous place. I hid it when I was about 80 years old. Some longtime Fenn treasure hunters agree with him.

DAL NEITZEL: I think folks watch a little bit too much reality TV. And they think they have to be Indiana Jones to go out and look for this thing.

BURNETT: Dal Neitzel writes a blog that is a chronicle and bulletin board for Fenn treasure seekers.

NEITZEL: What Forrest intended was to get kids off the couch and away from their video games and families out doing things together in the mountains.

BURNETT: The chest is 10-by-10 inches and weighs about 40 pounds. Fenn says he hid it in the vast and rugged Rocky Mountains somewhere between Santa Fe and the Canadian border at an elevation¹⁵ above 5,000 feet. Clues are found in a poem in his self-published book, "The Thrill Of The Chase."

Since Fenn hid the ornate box seven years ago, he estimates at least 100,000 people have gone looking for it. Neitzel says his blog gets 600 to 800 visits an hour. After the story I wrote about Forrest Fenn aired in March 2016, I'm still getting emails from people obsessed¹⁶ with locating the fortune or exposing it as a hoax¹⁷.

Cynthia Meachum, a retired high-tech¹⁸ worker in Albuquerque, claims she's taken more than a hundred hikes in the Carson National Forest of northern New Mexico exploring for the chest. For now, the state police is not advising searchers to stop looking for the treasure - only to be more careful. Meachum says, yeah, the great outdoors can be dangerous, including the mighty¹⁹ Rio Grande.

CYNTHIA MEACHUM: I mean this is every year. People die in the river, and none of them are searching for Forrest Fenn's treasure. I think it's ludicrous that the police chief thinks it's fair that he can dictate²⁰ what adventures we can and can't do.

BURNETT: Hoping to head off another tragedy, Fenn posted a note on Dal Neitzel's blog on Friday. His clues are hungrily read by searchers eager to find the cache of booty. The treasure chest is not underwater, nor is it near the Rio Grande, Forrest Fenn writes. It's not necessary to move large rocks or climb up or down a steep precipice²¹. He concludes, the search is supposed to be fun. John Burnett, NPR News.

1 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

2 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。

3 gems   

growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长

参考例句：

• a crown studded with gems 镶有宝石的皇冠
• The apt citations and poetic gems have adorned his speeches. 贴切的引语和珠玑般的诗句为他的演说词增添文采。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

6 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

7 avid   

adj.热心的；贪婪的；渴望的；劲头十足的

参考例句：

• He is rich,but he is still avid of more money.他很富有,但他还想贪图更多的钱。
• She was avid for praise from her coach.那女孩渴望得到教练的称赞。

8 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

9 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

10 fatality   

n.不幸，灾祸，天命

参考例句：

• She struggle against fatality in vain.她徒然奋斗反抗宿命。
• He began to have a growing sense of fatality.他开始有一种越来越强烈的宿命感。

11 implore   

vt.乞求，恳求，哀求

参考例句：

• I implore you to write. At least tell me you're alive.请给我音讯，让我知道你还活着。
• Please implore someone else's help in a crisis.危险时请向别人求助。

12 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

13 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

14 prolific   

adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的

参考例句：

• She is a prolific writer of novels and short stories.她是一位多产的作家，写了很多小说和短篇故事。
• The last few pages of the document are prolific of mistakes.这个文件的最后几页错误很多。

15 elevation   

n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高

参考例句：

• The house is at an elevation of 2,000 metres.那幢房子位于海拔两千米的高处。
• His elevation to the position of General Manager was announced yesterday.昨天宣布他晋升总经理职位。

16 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。

17 hoax   

v.欺骗，哄骗，愚弄；n.愚弄人，恶作剧

参考例句：

• They were the victims of a cruel hoax.他们是一个残忍恶作剧的受害者。
• They hoax him out of his money.他们骗去他的钱。

18 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

19 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

20 dictate   

v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令

参考例句：

• It took him a long time to dictate this letter.口述这封信花了他很长时间。
• What right have you to dictate to others?你有什么资格向别人发号施令？

21 precipice   

n.悬崖，危急的处境

参考例句：

• The hut hung half over the edge of the precipice.那间小屋有一半悬在峭壁边上。
• A slight carelessness on this precipice could cost a man his life.在这悬崖上稍一疏忽就会使人丧生。