An Everest First 冒險勇登聖母峰 ( 地球村生活美語月刊2015年4月號)
Mount Everest wasn’t discovered until 1856 due to geographic1 isolation2 and the roughness of the surrounding terrain3. When the mountain entered the world of consciousness4, people dreamed of standing on its summit5, the highest peak6 on Earth.
聖母峰由於地理位置的隔絕，以及周遭的粗糙地形，直到1856年才被人們發現。當這座山峰被人類認識時，人們開始夢想站在這地球上最高山峰的頂點上。
Joe : Hey, do you want to tag along and hike to Everest basecamp with me? I want to do it for my 30th birthday.
喬：嘿，你想要和我一起爬到聖母峰的基地營嗎？我想要在三十歲的生日時，完成這件事。
Tracy : No way, there has been way too much misadventure7 on Everest, and I don’t think I could handle the altitude8 sickness.
崔西：才不要，聖母峰上發生過太多意外事故，而且我不覺得我能夠適應高山症。
Joe : What do you mean?
喬：怎麼說？
Tracy : There have been lots of mishaps9 over the last century. Haven’t you heard of George Mallory, the British explorer who attempted to summit Everest and went missing in 1924? They only just found his body in 1999, and it was perfectly preserved10!
崔西：在過去一世紀中，聖母峰發生過許多的不幸事故。你沒聽過喬治．馬洛嗎？就是那位試圖登上聖母峰，卻在1924年失蹤的英國探險家？一直到了1999年他的遺骸才被人們發現，而且保存相當完好！
Joe : Yikes! But there have been many successes too. Since Sir Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide reached the summit in 1953, there have been many firsts.
喬：哎呀！但也有許多成功的案例啊。自從艾德蒙．希拉里爵士和他的夏爾巴人嚮導，在1953年登上聖母峰頂端之後，就有許多的首個案例。
Tracy : Like what?
崔西：像是什麼？
Joe : Like the first woman, the first solo ascent, the first descent on skis... These were all done with the help of bottled oxygen11, and you can help altitude sickness by taking aspirin12 every day for a week before you go. It helps thin the blood, making it easier to flow in high altitudes.
喬：像是首位登頂的女性、首位單獨登頂者、首位滑雪下山的⋯這些都是利用氧氣筒的幫助才完成的，而如果在爬山前的一星期，天天服用阿斯匹靈，將可以幫助緩解高山症。這樣做能夠讓血液變稀，讓血在高海拔地區能夠順暢流動。
Tracy : That may be true, but another friend did the same thing with aspirin and still felt nauseous13 for most of her climb. Not to mention the months of training you need to do in advance1. You have to do the training, or you’ll pay the piper2.
崔西：或許可行，但是我有另一位朋友也服用阿斯匹靈才出發，但是她在攀登的大多數時間仍然感到作嘔。更別提你必須預先訓練好幾個月。一定要進行訓練，不然就得承擔後果。
Joe : If you train beforehand1, you can climb Everest. Ever heard of Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler? In the mid-1970s they climbed Matterhorn and the North Face of the Eiger in record time1 without safety pegs. They also were the first to climb Everest without oxygen, which medical experts said was impossible.
喬：如果你事先訓練，就可以登上聖母峰。你有聽過萊因霍爾．梅斯納和彼得．哈伯勒嗎？在1970年代中期，他們用創紀錄的時間，並且沒有安全掛勾，攀爬了馬特洪峰以及艾格峰的北面。他們也是首例攀爬聖母峰不使用氧氣筒的人，醫學專家當時說這是不可能辦到的。
Tracy : What? Only lunatics2 would tempt fate2 like that.
崔西：什麼？只有瘋子才會那樣鋌而走險。
Joe : Well, I admit that Messner had reservations3 and insisted they carry oxygen bottles just in case. They also agreed to turn back if either man began to lose physical coordination4 or spoke with a slur5.
喬：嗯，我承認梅斯納也有疑慮，並且堅持他們要帶著氧氣筒以防萬一。他們也同意假若其中一人開始失去身體協調性，或是說話含糊不清，就要回頭。
Tracy : I’m glad they reached some compromise6.
崔西：很高興聽到他們有達成妥協。
Joe : Both men were super fit and agile7. They quickly climbed up to 7,200 meters but knew this was where climbers begin to suffer from oxygen deprivation8. The next day they climbed 3.5 hours to reach almost 8,000 meters – 850 vertical meters from the summit.
喬：他們兩人體力都在極佳狀態，並且敏捷俐落。他們很快地爬到七千兩百公尺，而且知道這是登山者會開始感到缺氧的高度。隔天他們攀登了三個半小時，達到將近八千公尺，離頂峰還有垂直距離八百五十公尺。
Tracy : Isn’t that when people get headaches, double-vision, and really gasp for air3?
崔西：人們在這裡，不是會感到頭痛、擁有雙重視覺現象、以及真正感到喘不過氣嗎？
Joe : Yes, and the next morning it took two hours to get dressed. They also decided to save breath by just communicating with their hands. After four hours of trudging9 they reached 8,500 meters, where they collapsed for 30 minutes. They decided for safety to link up with a rope.
喬：是啊，隔天早上，他們花了兩小時才整裝完畢。他們也決定要用手勢來溝通以節省呼吸。在跋涉了四小時之後，他們到達了八千五百公尺高，並且癱倒休息三十分鐘。為了安全起見，他們決定繫上繩子。
Tracy : Wow, that’s higher than anyone had ever gone before without bottled oxygen.
崔西：哇啊，這樣的高度已經超過任何不用氧氣筒攀爬的紀錄了。
Joe : Yeah, and every two or three steps, they stopped and wheezed10. They then began to lie down every 3-4 meters. After eight hours of climbing they finally reached the summit on May 8th, 1978.
喬：是啊，每走兩三步，他們就要停下來喘氣。接下來，他們開始每走三到四公尺，就躺下來休息。在攀爬了八小時之後，他們終於在1978年五月八號抵達山頂。
Tracy : Incredible! They really defied11 the medical establishment12.
崔西：真了不起！他們真正挑戰了醫學權威。
Vocabulary(字彙)
1. geographic (adj.) 地理的
2. isolation (n.) 隔離；孤立
3. terrain (n.) 地形；地勢
4. consciousness (n.) 意識；察覺
5. summit (n.) 峰頂
6. peak (n.) 山頂；山峰
7. misadventure (n.) 意外事故；災禍
8. altitude (n.) 海拔
9. mishap (n.) 不幸事故；災難
10. preserve (v.) 保存；保藏
preserve preserved preserved
11. oxygen (n.) 氧氣
12. aspirin (n.) 阿斯匹靈
13. nauseous (adj.) 作嘔的
Idioms, Phrases, etc.(片語)
1. in advance (adv. phr.) 事前；預先
I need half the pay in advance or I won’t start the job.
2. pay the piper (idiom) 承擔後果
Heather has been goofing off all semester, but she’ll pay the piper when report cards come out.