美国国家公共电台 NPR In Sub-Zero Temperatures, Skiers Find 'Bliss' In The Frozen Woods

In Sub-Zero Temperatures, Skiers Find 'Bliss¹' In The Frozen Woods

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

It's winter, which means lots of social media posts of weather forecasts or temperature readings on car dashboards. In the Adirondacks this week, the low could hit nearly 40 below. A lot of us would rather stay inside, but not North Country Public Radio's Brian Mann. He set out on one of the coldest days of the season so far for a wilderness² ski.

BRIAN MANN, BYLINE³: Setting off through the woods I am wrapped like a Christmas package with seven layers of insulation⁴ between myself and the day, wearing mittens⁵ an astronaut would envy.

This is one of those ice-box cold, double-digit below zero days. And the snow you can hear has that super cold squeak⁶. The air is just absolutely kind of metal cold. But the cool part is that it is radiantly sunny outside and windless. So there's this blue sky and sun just cutting through these trees.

I ski on. Amazingly, I'm not alone out here. While crossing a frozen lake, I hear voices. Here's the thing I love. On days like this in the back country there's a lot of solitude⁷, but sometimes there's also a kind of community.

HELENA GRANT: I also have homemade chia coconut⁸ energy bars.

MANN: I got to try that.

GRANT: You have to try it.

MANN: Helena Grant, visiting the Adirondacks from Connecticut, is passing out pastries⁹ from a Tupperware dish. This is her first time skiing a wilderness trail. She says her grandfather used to train in these mountains with one of the Army's Alpine¹⁰ units.

When your friend said let's go back country skiing when it's double digits¹¹ below zero, did you say, hell, no?

GRANT: Oh, I said, hell, yes. And actually, this is something I've been hoping to do. And my grandfather was in the 10th Mountain Division. He used to climb up Marcy before breakfast, so...

MANN: Oh, that's cool.

GRANT: ...I feel like I'm in my element. I just had never gotten here before.

MANN: Helena's ski partner today is Brantley Beach from Keene, N.Y. He's grinning through a thick crust of ice in his beard.

BRANTLEY BEACH: It's actually warmer once it all kind of freezes over. There's this little layer of warm air between the ice and my face (laughter).

MANN: I know that sounds miserable¹², spending a day with ice plastered to your face, so I ask Helena to try to explain why this appeals.

GRANT: This is bliss. You are beyond all the cares of the world. And it almost brings tears to the eyes. And there's just little flecks¹³ of snow coming off the trees. It's just - I can't even describe it. It's so beautiful.

MANN: We go our separate ways. And soon I'm back in solitude, skiing high in a mountain pass next to a river that rumbles¹⁴ under snow and ice.

(SOUNDBITE OF RIVER RUMBLING)

MANN: It's the heart of winter right here. Brian Mann, NPR News, in New York's Adirondack Mountains.

(SOUNDBITE OF BONOBO'S "SILVER")

1 bliss   

n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福

参考例句：

• It's sheer bliss to be able to spend the day in bed.整天都可以躺在床上真是幸福。
• He's in bliss that he's won the Nobel Prize.他非常高兴，因为获得了诺贝尔奖金。

2 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

3 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。

4 insulation   

n.隔离；绝缘；隔热

参考例句：

• Please examine the insulation of the electric wires in my house.请检查一下我屋子里电线的绝缘情况。
• It is always difficult to assure good insulation between the electric leads.要保证两个电触头之间有良好的绝缘总是很困难的。

5 mittens   

不分指手套

参考例句：

• Cotton mittens will prevent the baby from scratching his own face. 棉的连指手套使婴儿不会抓伤自己的脸。
• I'd fisted my hands inside their mittens to keep the fingers warm. 我在手套中握拳头来保暖手指。

6 squeak   

n.吱吱声，逃脱；v.（发出）吱吱叫，侥幸通过；（俚）告密

参考例句：

• I don't want to hear another squeak out of you!我不想再听到你出声！
• We won the game,but it was a narrow squeak.我们打赢了这场球赛，不过是侥幸取胜。

7 solitude   

n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方

参考例句：

• People need a chance to reflect on spiritual matters in solitude. 人们需要独处的机会来反思精神上的事情。
• They searched for a place where they could live in solitude. 他们寻找一个可以过隐居生活的地方。

8 coconut   

n.椰子

参考例句：

• The husk of this coconut is particularly strong.椰子的外壳很明显非常坚固。
• The falling coconut gave him a terrific bang on the head.那只掉下的椰子砰地击中他的脑袋。

9 pastries   

n.面粉制的糕点

参考例句：

• He gave a dry laugh, then sat down and started on the pastries. 杜新箨说着干笑一声，坐下去就吃点心。 来自子夜部分
• Mike: So many! I like Xijiang raisins, beef jerky, and local pastries. 麦克：太多了。我最喜欢吃新疆葡萄干、牛肉干和风味点心。

10 alpine   

adj.高山的；n.高山植物

参考例句：

• Alpine flowers are abundant there.那里有很多高山地带的花。
• Its main attractions are alpine lakes and waterfalls .它以高山湖泊和瀑布群为主要特色。

11 digits   

n.数字( digit的名词复数 )；手指，足趾

参考例句：

• The number 1000 contains four digits. 1000是四位数。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The number 410 contains three digits. 数字 410 中包括三个数目字。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

12 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

13 flecks   

n.斑点，小点( fleck的名词复数 )；癍

参考例句：

• His hair was dark, with flecks of grey. 他的黑发间有缕缕银丝。
• I got a few flecks of paint on the window when I was painting the frames. 我在漆窗框时，在窗户上洒了几点油漆。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 rumbles   

隆隆声，辘辘声( rumble的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• If I hear any rumbles I'll let you know. 我要是听到什么风声就告诉你。
• Three blocks away train rumbles by. 三个街区以外，火车隆隆驶过。