42_Modern_Cavemen

42 Modern Cavemen

原文译文

Cave exploration, or pot-holing, as it has come to be known, is a relatively new sport. Perhaps it is the desire for solitude or the chance of making an unexpected discovery that lures people down to the depths of the earth. It is impossible to give a satisfactory explanation for a pot-holer's motives. For him, caves have the same peculiar fascination which high mountains have for the climber. They arouse instincts which can only be dimly understood.

Exploring really deep caves is not a task for the Sunday afternoon rambler. Such undertakings require the precise planning and foresight of military operations. It can take as long as eight days to rig up rope ladders and to establish supply bases before a descent can be made into a very deep cave. Precautions of this sort are necessary, for it is impossible to foretell the exact nature of the difficulties which will confront the pot-holer. The deepest known cave in the world is the Gouffre Berger near Grenoble. It extends to a depth of 3, 723 feet. This immense chasm has been formed by an underground stream which has tunnelled a course through a flaw in the rocks. The entrance to the cave is on a plateau in the Dauphine Alps. As it is only six feet across, it is barely noticeable. The cave might never have been discovered had not the entrance been spotted by the distinguished French pot-holer, Berger. Since its discovery, it has become a sort of pot-holers' Everest. Though a number of descents have been made, much of it still remains to be explored.

A team of pot-holers recently went down the Gouffre Berger. After entering the narrow gap on the plateau, they climbed down the steep sides of the cave until they came to a narrow corridor. They had to edge their way along this, sometimes wading across shallow streams, or swimming across deep pools. Suddenly they came to a waterfall which dropped into an underground lake at the bottom of the cave. They plunged into the lake, and after loading their gear on an inflatable rubber dinghy, let the current carry them to the other side. To protect themselves from the icy water, they had to wear special rubber suits. At the far end of the lake, they came to huge piles of rubble which had been washed up by the water. In this part of the cave, they could hear an insistent booming sound which they found was caused by a small waterspout shooting down into a pool from the roof of the cave. Squeezing through a cleft in the rocks, the pot-holers arrived at an enormous cavern, the size of a huge concert hall. After switching on powerful arc lights, they saw great stalagmites--some of them over forty feet high--rising up like tree-trunks to meet the stalactites suspended from the roof. Round about, piles of limestone glistened in all the colours of the rainbow. In the eerie silence of the cavern, the only sound that could be heard was made by water which dripped continuously from the high dome above them.

洞穴勘查——或洞穴勘探——是一项比较新的运动。寻求独处的愿望或寻求意外发现的机会的欲望吸引人们来到地下深处。要想对洞穴探险者的动机作出满意的解释是不可能的。对洞穴探险者来说，洞穴有一种特殊的魅力，就像高山对登山者有特殊魅力一样。为什么洞空能引发人的那种探险本能，人们对此只能有一种模模糊糊的理解。

探测非常深的洞穴不是那些在星期日下午漫步的人所能胜任的。这种活动需要有军事行动般的周密布署和预见能力。有时需要花费整整8天时间来搭起绳梯，建立供应基地，然后才能到一个很深的洞穴里。作出这样的准备是必要的，因为无法预见到洞穴探险者究竟会遇到什么性质的困难。世界上最深的洞穴是格里诺布尔附近的高弗·伯杰洞，深达3,723英尺。这个深邃的洞穴是由一条地下暗泉冲刷岩石中的缝隙并使之慢慢变大而形成的。此洞的洞口在丹芬阿尔卑斯山的高原上，仅6英尺宽，很难被发现。若不是法国著名洞穴探险家伯杰由于偶然的机会发现了这个洞口的话，这个洞也许不会为人所知。自从被发现以后，这个洞成了洞穴探险者的珠穆朗玛峰，人们多次进入洞内探险，但至今尚有不少东西有待勘探。

最近，一队洞穴探险者下到了高弗·伯杰洞里。他们从高原上的窄缝进去，顺着笔直陡峭的洞壁往下爬。来到一条狭窄的走廊上。他们不得不侧着身子往前走，有时过浅溪，有时游过深潭。突然，他们来到一道瀑布前，那瀑布奔泻而下，注入洞底一处地下湖里。他们跳入湖中，把各种器具装上一只充气的橡皮艇，听任水流将他们带往对岸。湖水冰冷刺骨，他们必须穿上一种特制的橡皮服以保护自己。在湖的尽头，他们见到一大堆一大堆由湖水冲刷上岸的碎石。在这儿，他们可以听见一种连续不断的轰鸣声。后来他们发现这是由山洞顶部的一个小孔里喷出的水柱跌落到水潭中时发出的声音。洞穴探险者从岩石缝里挤身过去，来到一个巨大的洞里，其大小相当于一个音乐厅。他们打开强力弧光灯，看见一株株巨大的石笋，有的高达40英尺，像树干似的向上长着，与洞顶悬挂下来的钟乳石相接。周围是一堆堆石灰石，像彩虹一样闪闪发光。洞里有一种可怕的寂静，唯一的可以听见的声响是高高的圆顶上不间断地滴水的嘀嗒声。

Words

• pot-holing /ˈpɑt ˌholɪŋ/ n. 洞穴探险
  1. With the advent of modern equipment, pot- holing has become a safer adventure sport.
  2. The team celebrated their successful pot- holing with a note of triumph.
  3. It is incredible how the human body can adapt to the challenging conditions of pot-holing.
• solitude /ˈsɑləˌtud/ n. 孤独
  1. The solitude of a quiet forest can be a catastrophe for someone accustomed to city life.
  2. It provides one with a chance to reflect on spiritual matters in solitude.（L5&L37）
  3. Nothing can be compared with the moments of solitude before the pressures of the day began.
• lures /lʊrz/ v. 引诱
  1. The possibility of success can often lure people into taking risks they might avoid.
  2. He attempted to lure her away from her husband and family.
  3. What invariably happens is that short videos can easily lure adults away from their daily routine.
• rambler /ˈræmblɚ/ n. 散步者
  1. At the mere mention of a fantastic new destination, the rambler went into raptures.
  2. Today the railway attracts many tourists to the area, and is very popular with ramblers.
• undertakings /ˈʌndɚˌtekɪŋz/ n. 任务
  1. It suddenly dawned on me that it might be a more difficult undertaking than it appears at first sight.
  2. It is anticipated that the trip across country was a dangerous undertaking.
• foresight /ˈfɔrˌsaɪt/ n. 深谋远虑
  1. It has always been a mystery to me why they had the foresight to invest in the new technology.
  2. If you had had more foresight to change direction, you would have saved yourself a lot of misery and expense.
• foretell /fɔrˈtɛl/ 预言
  1. The ancient prophecy foretold the rise of a great leader who would bring about the downfall of previous cruel ruler.
  2. The mere fact [that the fortune teller foretold a promotion in his future] gave him hope and motivation to work harder.
• chasm /ˈkæzəm/ n. 断层
  1. What a relief it was when the rescue team arrived just in time to save the climbers from falling into the chasm.
  2. The children went into raptures as they watched the hiker fearlessly cross the chasm.
• flaw /flɔ/ n. 小裂缝
  1. The expert immediately noticed a small flaw in the antique vase and noted with satisfaction that it would increase its value.
  2. It is odd that the new car had a flaw in its paintwork, but the company promised that it would be fixed.
• distinguished /dɪˈstɪŋɡwɪʃt/ adj. 著名的
  1. She described to me what the distinguished visitor looked like.
  2. He seems to have a fascination for distinguished philosopher.
  3. He asked me to keep an eye on the distinguished guests.
• wading /ˈwedɪŋ/ v. 淌水
  1. Have you heard of anyone who was able to wade through this kind of deep mud?（L37）
  2. There was a chance that he failed to wade through the river and died at last.（L36）
• waterfall /ˈwɔtɚˌfɔl/ n. 瀑布
  1. The mere fact [that the waterfall is surrounded by sweet-smelling trees] attracted me to travel miles to get there.（L34&L41）
  2. You could only go on foot to reach the hidden waterfall.
  3. Nobody could account for the fact that the waterfall mysteriously disappeared overnight.
• gear /ɡɪr/ n. 一套用具
  1. He described to me how he picked up the precious hunting gear.
  2. The fact [that I had left all the gear at Dave’s house] almost reduce me to tears.
• inflatable /ɪnˈfletəbəl/ adj. 可充气的
  1. Why the inflatable rubber boat is suddenly broken is beyond me.
  2. The children go into raptures whenever they see an inflatable castle.（L41）
• rubber /ˈrʌbɚ/ 瓦块
• insistent /ˌɪnˈsɪstənt/ adj. 连续的
  1. Oddly enough, there was an insistent knock on my door at midnight yesterday.
  2. Little is known about the insistent drum sound on the street that night.
  3. The insistent noise should be taken into account.
• waterspout /ˈwɔtɚˌspaʊt/ n. 强大的水柱
  1. He presumed that the booming sound was from a waterspout in the cave.
  2. I couldn't believe my eyes when a waterspout formed right in front of us during the storm.
• cleft /klɛft/ n. 裂隙
  1. They could only rely on themselves to walk through the cleft in the hills.
  2. It strikes me as odd that eagles often nest in a cleft in the rocks.
  3. They seemed perturbed by the cleft ahead of them.
• cavern /ˈkævɚn/ n. 大洞穴
  1. Few things could be more impressive than the ancient cave paintings depicted on the walls of a hidden cavern.（L41&L38）
  2. Explorers rely on their knowledge and equipment to safely go through the dark caverns.
  3. The rubble had temporarily blocked the entrance to the cavern.
• stalagmites /stəˈlæɡmaɪts/ n. 石笋
• stalactites /stəˈlæktaɪts/ 钟乳石
• limestone /ˈlaɪmˌston/ n. 石灰石
  1. It has never been explained why there is a lot of limestone in the antique store.
  2. He is born and bred in a place where there is a valley between the limestone mountains.
• glistened /ˈɡlɪsənd/ v. 闪烁
  1. It is incredible to see sunlight glistening on the water.
  2. She excitedly described to me how the trees glistened with thin ice from the freezing rain.
• eerie /ˈɪri/ adj. 可怕的
  1. It's eerie to walk through a dark wood at night.
  2. It’s not the darkness but the eerie sound of the wind outside the window that made his hair stand on end.（L37）
  3. It has always been a mystery to me why there was eerie green light in that wood.
  4. I have an eerie feeling that there was something unusual in the boot of his car.
• dome /dom/ n. 圆顶
  1. The team is working hard to devise a plan to increase the dome construction speed.
  2. The inspiring quote is inscribed on the entrance of the dome, reminding visitors to always follow their dreams.
  3. It is anticipated that the dome will become a popular tourist attraction, drawing visitors from all over the world.

Expressions

• have the foresight to do… 有先见之明做……
• wade through/across 涉水穿过
• as it has come to be known 正如已逐渐为人所了解的那样
  1. The collector, as it has come to be known, can’t be bothered to sell any of his valuable items.
  2. The hidden waterfall, as it has come to be known, is tucked away in a remote corner of the forest.
  3. The behavior of certain animals, as it has come to be known, is influenced by the phases of the moon.
  4. He finally gave a satisfactory explanation for why she was in a unique position to shed light on the mysterious event.
  5. The detective gave a satisfactory explanation for how the suspect emerged from the crowd.
  6. The scientist gave a satisfactory explanation for why the phases of the moon are depicted on ancient cave walls.
• give a satisfactory explanation for 对……给出令人满意的解释
• rig up 临时搭建
• make a descent into 下降到……
• extend to 延伸到
  1. It is odd that only this chapter extends to a hundred pages.
  2. Few things could be more impressive than the garden which extends to the river bank.
  3. It has never been explained why the table extends to 10m.
• tunnel a course through 开凿隧道穿过
  1. The engineer announced that the workers will tunnel a course through the mountain for the high-speed train.
  2. It suddenly dawned on me that the thieves might have tunneled a course through the ground of the bank.
  3. It is incredible to see the ants tirelessly tunneled a course through the soil.
• remain to be done 有待完成
• edge one’s way 侧身挪动
  1. If someone or something edges somewhere, they move very slowly, gradually, in that direction.
  2. She attempted to edge her way through the crowd.
  3. I proceeded to edge my way round the back of the house.
  4. I bet he edged his way along the wall.
• plunge into 跳入；投入
  1. She was about to plunge into the river when the phone rang.
  2. The brave diver who plunged into the deep ocean captured my attention.
  3. He plunged into the icy river to avoid being hit by the coming car.
• piles of 成堆的
• wash up 冲上岸
  1. I am amazed to find that the tide washed up a collection of seashells onto the shore.
  2. After the heavy rain, the river washed up a mixture of mud and leaves onto the bank.
• squeeze through 挤过
  1. He managed to squeeze through the crowd to be reunited with his family.
  2. It is outrageous that all of you were trying to squeeze through a narrow door.
  3. I was tempted to squeeze through the narrow sideway.
• switch on 打开（开关）
  1. She got her brother to switch on the heat.
  2. He switched on the alarm under the illusion that it would bring a sense of safety to the house.
  3. The crowd went into raptures when they saw everyone in the concert switch on the flashlights on the phone and singing together.
• be suspended from 悬挂在……上
  1. The worker attended to the large light suspended from the ceiling.
  2. Few things could be more impressive than the stalactites suspended from the roof in a large cavern.
  3. The new painting suspended from the wall bears little resemblance to the artist's previous works.
• round about 大约；到处