国家地理 一次翻越世界屋脊的历史性旅行(6)

Irshad Pass rises 16,335 feet above sea level. We finally reached it at sunset. Paley ventured a feeble victory dance. I gulped¹ air so thin and metallic² it cut my lungs like razor blades. Gales³ had scoured⁴ the summit to raw bedrock. Without shelter or firewood, it was a hazardous⁵ place to camp. But we had little choice. A bitter dark was rising fast from the deep valleys. We unpacked⁶ our donkeys with difficulty -- the ropes were stiff as rebar -- and pounded our tent stakes into iron-cold earth. My frozen pants never thawed⁷, not even inside my sleeping bag. I staggered out into the howling night only once, to wrap the donkeys in fluttering tarps. The animals' black eyes shone back accusingly in the white bore of my headlamp. I couldn't look at them.

伊尔沙德山口海拔16355英尺。我们在太阳东山的时候终于到达了山口，佩利冒险无力地跳了一会蹩脚的胜利之舞。我们大口喘气，钢刀似的空气像刀片一样划痛我的肺。大风已经把这座顶峰抹成光秃秃的岩床。没有庇护所，也没有点火的柴，这是个危险的宿营地。但我们没有别的选择。一股严寒刺骨的黑云从深谷里快速升起。我们吃力地卸掉驴子，那绳子像钢筋一样坚硬，然后把帐篷桩打进冰冷的铁板一样的地面。我那冻得硬绷绷的裤子没有解冻过，即使在睡袋里也没有解冻。我在狂风咆哮的夜里只摇摇晃晃地出去了一次，为的是把驴子裹猎猎飘动的油布里。驴子黑黑的眼睛责难地映回我头灯的白光，我不敢看着它们。

Plainclothes Pakistani security forces confronted us the next night while we camped at the eastern end of the Hindu Kush. We had notified the government of our plan to enter Pakistan via Irshad. We carried valid⁸ visas issued in advance. But the officers, armed with AK-47s, insisted we had trespassed⁹ into a restricted zone. They drove us to the frontier town of Gilgit. In detention¹⁰ there, I overheard Paley, curled on his cot, parroting in his emphatic¹¹ Norman accent the lines from a film playing on his hidden mobile phone: "An eye for an eye only ends up making zee whole world blind."

第二天晚上我们在兴都库什东端宿营时，遇到了巴基斯坦便衣安全部队。我们曾经向政府通报我们经由伊尔沙德山口进入巴基斯坦，也携带了预先办好的有效签证。但这些军官用 AK47 对着我们，坚持我们擅自进入了禁区。他们把我们赶到了边陲小镇吉尔吉特。拘留在那里的时候，我无意中听到蜷缩在简易床上的佩利用明显的诺曼底口音机械地模仿他隐藏的移动电话播放的电影台词：“以眼还眼，结果只会使这整个世界都失明。”

"Matthieu," I whispered, "are you watching Gandhi in an intelligence agency safe house?"

“马蒂厄，”我低声道，“你在情报机关的安全室里看甘地吗？”

1 gulped   

v.狼吞虎咽地吃，吞咽( gulp的过去式和过去分词 )；大口地吸（气）；哽住

参考例句：

• He gulped down the rest of his tea and went out. 他把剩下的茶一饮而尽便出去了。
• She gulped nervously, as if the question bothered her. 她紧张地咽了一下，似乎那问题把她难住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 metallic   

adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的

参考例句：

• A sharp metallic note coming from the outside frightened me.外面传来尖锐铿锵的声音吓了我一跳。
• He picked up a metallic ring last night.昨夜他捡了一个金属戒指。

3 gales   

龙猫

参考例句：

• I could hear gales of laughter coming from downstairs. 我能听到来自楼下的阵阵笑声。
• This was greeted with gales of laughter from the audience. 观众对此报以阵阵笑声。

4 scoured   

走遍（某地）搜寻（人或物）( scour的过去式和过去分词 )； （用力）刷； 擦净； 擦亮

参考例句：

• We scoured the area for somewhere to pitch our tent. 我们四处查看，想找一个搭帐篷的地方。
• The torrents scoured out a channel down the hill side. 急流沿着山腰冲刷出一条水沟。

5 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。

6 unpacked   

v.从（包裹等）中取出（所装的东西），打开行李取出( unpack的过去式和过去分词 )；拆包；解除…的负担；吐露（心事等）

参考例句：

• I unpacked my bags as soon as I arrived. 我一到达就打开行李，整理衣物。
• Our guide unpacked a picnic of ham sandwiches and offered us tea. 我们的导游打开装着火腿三明治的野餐盒，并给我们倒了些茶水。 来自辞典例句

7 thawed   

解冻

参考例句：

• The little girl's smile thawed the angry old man. 小姑娘的微笑使发怒的老头缓和下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He thawed after sitting at a fire for a while. 在火堆旁坐了一会儿，他觉得暖和起来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

9 trespassed   

（trespass的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Here is the ringleader of the gang that trespassed on your grounds. 这就是侵犯你土地的那伙人的头子。
• He trespassed against the traffic regulations. 他违反了交通规则。

10 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

11 emphatic   

adj.强调的，着重的；无可置疑的，明显的

参考例句：

• Their reply was too emphatic for anyone to doubt them.他们的回答很坚决，不容有任何人怀疑。
• He was emphatic about the importance of being punctual.他强调严守时间的重要性。