纽约时报 沉寂100多年的“坚忍号”沉船被发现(2)

 

Today, the expedition stands as a parable¹ of astounding² courage and the poignancy³ of dreams not quite realized.

今天，这场探险是一个关于肝胆过人、壮志未酬的寓言。

The headstone placed at Shackleton’s grave site bears a quotation⁴ it attributes to Robert Browning: “I hold that a man should strive to the uttermost for his life’s set prize.”

沙克尔顿墓地的墓碑上有一句罗伯特·布朗宁的名言:“我认为一个人应该为他的人生目标不断奋斗、永不松懈。”

The discovery of the long-lost ship is a reminder⁵ of Shackleton’s deeds.

这艘失踪已久船只的发现提醒人们沙克尔顿的事迹。

It’s also a lesson in how technology is transforming our encounters with the past.

这也是一个教训，说明技术如何改变我们与过去相遇。

The Endurance video is well-nigh Spielbergian, almost too wondrous⁶, too exquisitely⁷ “art directed,” to be believed.

坚忍号的视频几乎是斯皮尔伯格式的，十分奇妙了，十分细腻的“艺术指导”，让人难以置信。

Watching it, I couldn’t help imagining what sights we might have beheld⁸ had a videographer been present at the opening of King Tutankhamen’s tomb,观看这一段视频，我不禁想象，如果图坦卡蒙国王的陵墓被打开时，有一位摄像师在场，我们会看到什么样的景象，or if a drone camera were on hand when the jungle cover was stripped back to reveal the citadels⁹ of Machu Picchu.

或者拨开丛林，马丘比丘的城堡显露出来时，有一架无人机在现场，我们会看到什么样的景象。

We live in a world where real-life “Indiana Jones” scenes may, at any moment, pop up on our social media feeds.

在我们生活的这个世界里，真实的“印第安纳·琼斯”场景随时可能出现在我们的社交媒体上。

But our relationship to these ruins and remnants has changed.

但我们与这些废墟和遗迹的关系已经改变。

These days, a sunken ship inspires not just awe¹⁰ but melancholy¹¹, moral unease, even dread¹².

如今，一艘沉船不仅让人敬畏，还让人感到忧郁、道德不安，甚至恐惧。

The world today is smaller and less mysterious than in Shackleton’s time.

与沙克尔顿时代相比，今天的世界没那么大，也没那么神秘。

Earth’s remotest realms have given up their secrets.

地球上最遥远的地域已经揭开了它们的秘密。

To know the lay of the land in distant places once required literal boots on the ground — in Shackleton’s case, boots with nails punched through the soles, makeshift crampons for clambering over icy peaks.

要了解遥远地域的地形，曾经需要脚踏实地的靴子——比如，沙克尔顿需要穿上鞋底有钉子的靴子，这是攀爬冰峰时的临时冰爪。

Now, thanks to our conquest of the most distant frontier, outer space, all-seeing satellites provide detailed¹³ maps of Antarctica’s ice-sheet moraines, available at the tap of a touch-screen.

现在，由于我们征服了最遥远的边境，外太空，全视卫星提供了南极洲冰盖冰碛的详细地图，只需点击触摸屏即可获得。

Journeys once undertaken only by the intrepid¹⁴ — to the depths of the Amazon or the heights of the Himalayas — are on the adventure-tourism circuit.

曾经只有勇敢者才会进行的旅行——前往到亚马逊的深处或攀登喜马拉雅山脉的高峰——现在成为了冒险旅游线路。

What would Shackleton make of “Journey to Antarctica: The White Continent,”

沙克尔顿会如何看待“南极洲--白色大陆之旅”

a cruise-ship vacation that offers encounters with icebergs¹⁵ and Emperor penguins¹⁶这是一次游轮度假，你可以邂逅冰山和帝企鹅

amid “the luxury of comfort — a quality of shipboard life and a philosophy of wellness designed to relax and rejuvenate¹⁷ body, mind and spirit”?

在“在奢华舒适的环境中--拥有高品质的船上生活、充满着健康的哲学，旨在放松和振奋身体，心灵和精神。

Yet we know too much to romanticize the swashbuckling past.

然而，我们知道的太多了，无法将过去的传奇经历浪漫化。

The history of exploration, after all, is inseparable from exploitation, the relentless¹⁸ drive of empires and private enterprise to claim territory and expropriate raw materials.

毕竟，勘探的历史与剥削是分不开的，也离不开帝国和私营企业为争夺领土和没收原材料而进行的不懈努力。

 

1 parable   

n.寓言，比喻

参考例句：

• This is an ancient parable.这是一个古老的寓言。
• The minister preached a sermon on the parable of the lost sheep.牧师讲道时用了亡羊的比喻。

2 astounding   

adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词)

参考例句：

• There was an astounding 20% increase in sales. 销售量惊人地增加了20%。
• The Chairman's remarks were so astounding that the audience listened to him with bated breath. 主席说的话令人吃惊，所以听众都屏息听他说。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 poignancy   

n.辛酸事，尖锐

参考例句：

• As she sat in church her face had a pathos and poignancy. 当她坐在教堂里时，脸上带着一种哀婉和辛辣的表情。
• The movie, "Trains, Planes, and Automobiles" treats this with hilarity and poignancy. 电影“火车，飞机和汽车”是以欢娱和热情庆祝这个节日。

4 quotation   

n.引文，引语，语录；报价，牌价，行情

参考例句：

• He finished his speech with a quotation from Shakespeare.他讲话结束时引用了莎士比亚的语录。
• The quotation is omitted here.此处引文从略。

5 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

6 wondrous   

adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地

参考例句：

• The internal structure of the Department is wondrous to behold.看一下国务院的内部结构是很有意思的。
• We were driven across this wondrous vast land of lakes and forests.我们乘车穿越这片有着湖泊及森林的广袤而神奇的土地。

7 exquisitely   

adv.精致地；强烈地；剧烈地；异常地

参考例句：

• He found her exquisitely beautiful. 他觉得她异常美丽。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He wore an exquisitely tailored gray silk and accessories to match. 他穿的是做工非常考究的灰色绸缎衣服，还有各种配得很协调的装饰。 来自教父部分

8 beheld   

v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟

参考例句：

• His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

9 citadels   

n.城堡，堡垒( citadel的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• citadels of private economic power 私人经济力量的堡垒
• They once were icons of integrity, citadels of civilization, bastions of benevolence. 大学曾经是正直的象征，文明的堡垒，仁爱的捍卫者阵地。 来自互联网

10 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

11 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

12 dread   

vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧

参考例句：

• We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
• Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

13 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

14 intrepid   

adj.无畏的，刚毅的

参考例句：

• He is not really satisfied with his intrepid action.他没有真正满意他的无畏行动。
• John's intrepid personality made him a good choice for team leader.约翰勇敢的个性适合作领导工作。

15 icebergs   

n.冰山，流冰( iceberg的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The drift of the icebergs in the sea endangers the ships. 海上冰山的漂流危及船只的安全。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The icebergs towered above them. 冰山高耸于他们上方。 来自辞典例句

16 penguins   

n.企鹅( penguin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why can penguins live in cold environment? 为什么企鹅能生活在寒冷的环境中？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Whales, seals, penguins, and turtles have flippers. 鲸、海豹，企鹅和海龟均有鳍形肢。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

17 rejuvenate   

v.(使)返老还童；(使)恢复活力

参考例句：

• The mountain air will rejuvenate you.山里的空气会使你恢复活力。
• Exercise is perhaps the most effective way to rejuvenate your skin.锻炼可能是使皮肤恢复活力的最好手段。

18 relentless   

adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的

参考例句：

• The traffic noise is relentless.交通车辆的噪音一刻也不停止。
• Their training has to be relentless.他们的训练必须是无情的。