VOA慢速英语2020 研究称珠峰登顶率是过去的两倍（在线收听）

Study: Climbers Twice as Likely to Reach Top of Mount Everest than in Past

People climbing Mount Everest are two times as likely to reach the top and less likely to die on the climb than 20 years ago, a new study finds. Everest, high in the Himalayans, is the tallest mountain above sea level on Earth. It reaches 8,848 meters into the sky.

一项新的研究发现，登顶珠穆朗玛峰的可能性是20年前的两倍，而登山者中途遇难的可能性也比20年前更低。喜马拉雅山脉中的珠穆朗玛峰是地球上海拔最高的山峰。珠峰的高度为8848米。

Between 2006 and 2019, around two thirds of climbers were successful in their attempt to reach the top. In the 15 years before that, only about one-third went all the way to the top.

在2006年到2019年，大约三分之二的登山者成功登顶。在此之前的15年里，大约只有三分之一的登山者能成功登顶。

The study was a project of researchers at the University of Washington and the University of California, Davis. They found that the risk of dying on the mountain was 0.5 percent for women and 1.1 percent for men in recent years. That is down from 1.9 percent and 1.7 percent in the period from 1990 to 2005, the researchers said.

这项研究是华盛顿大学和加州大学戴维斯分校的研究人员的一个项目。他们发现，近年来，登山途中女性死亡的风险只有0.5%，男性只有1.1%。研究人员表示，与1990年到2005年期间的1.9%和1.7%相比有所下降。

The number of attempts to reach the top of Everest has risen sharply over the years, leading to a 300 percent increase in overcrowding. In 2019, 955 climbers tried to reach the mountaintop. Only 222 people did so in 2000.

近年来，想尝试登顶珠峰的人数急剧增加，导致过度拥挤的情况增加了300%。2019年，试图登顶的登山者有955人。而2000年时只有222人。

The study noted that on a single day in May of last year, 396 climbers had gathered at the narrow path just below the top. The area, known as the "death zone," is so narrow that only a small number of climbers can pass through, one directly behind another.

该研究指出，去年5月的一天，有396名登山者挤在山顶下方的狭窄通道上。这片被称为“死亡区”的地段非常狭窄，以至于只能让少数登山者挨个儿通过。

Nine climbers died on Everest in May 2019. It was the deadliest Everest climbing season since 2015 when an earthquake killed at least 18 people on the mountain.

2019年5月，有9名登山者在珠峰遇难。这是2015年因地震导致山上的18人遇难以来，珠峰登山季死亡最严重的一次。

A picture of climbers waiting their turn to go up and down through the death zone became famous as it was shared online. Yet researchers say the crowds were not the main reason for the deaths last year.

一张登山者排队等候穿越死亡区的照片在网络走红。然而，研究人员表示，拥挤并非是去年死亡事件的主要原因。

"Surprisingly crowding has no evident effect on success or death" of Everest climbers, the study said.

该研究表示：“令人惊讶的是，过度拥挤对于能否成功登顶珠峰没有明显影响。”

However, overcrowding does make the climb more dangerous.

然而，过度拥挤确实会让登山更加危险。

"If crowding slows climbers (as is expected), this increases their exposure to the elements, which should increase risk of an accident or illness," said Raymond B. Huey, lead writer of the report.

该报告的主要作者雷蒙德·休伊（Raymond B. Huey）表示：“如果过度拥挤如预期那样拖慢登山者的步伐，会导致暴露于各种因素的机会增加，面临事故或患病的风险也会增加。”

An unexpected storm, earthquake, or landslide could be disastrous, he told Reuters by email.

他通过电子邮件对路透社表示，任何一场意外风暴、地震或山体滑坡都可能是灾难性的。

Climbers have expressed concern that Nepal was giving anyone willing to pay the government $11,000 permission to climb Everest. Nepal plans to change its policy to require climbers to use guides, and meet physical fitness and experience qualifications, said tourism department official Mira Acharya.

尼泊尔同意只要向政府缴纳1.1万美元即可攀登珠峰，登山者对此表示担忧。旅游部官员米拉·阿查里亚（Mira Acharya）表示，尼泊尔计划更改政策，要求登山者雇佣向导，并且身体状况和登山经验也要达标。

Nepal temporarily closed its mountains to climbers because of the coronavirus health crisis. Now they are open again. However, Acharya noted that flights into and within Nepal have not restarted.

由于新冠病毒健康危机，尼泊尔暂时不对登山者开放。如今，尼泊尔再次对登山者开放。但是，阿查里亚表示，往返尼泊尔的航班尚未恢复。

More than 6,000 people have climbed Mount Everest since 1953, when New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers known to reach the top. At least 311 climbers have died trying.

1953年，新西兰人埃德蒙·希拉里（Edmund Hillary）和夏尔巴人坦辛·诺盖（Sherpa Tenzing Norgay）成为首批成功登顶的登山者，自那以来，已有6000多人登顶了珠峰。至少有311人在登山途中遇难。