国家地理 一次翻越世界屋脊的历史性旅行(2)

"She makes me feel old," complained photographer Matthieu Paley after we had trudged¹ by on the dirt road built by the Soviets².

我们涉水过河上了苏联修的土路，摄影师马蒂厄·佩利抱怨道：“她使我觉得自己老迈来临。”

Paley was voluble and earthy, a French Zorba. He was joining me for a rare foot crossing of Afghanistan's Wakhan corridor, a forgotten redoubt tucked high behind the mountain walls of the Hindu Kush. In the mornings he performed yoga on the road to soothe³ a tricky⁴ back. Expanded font settings on my laptop were my own concessions⁵ to middle age. But I didn't feel old. Not at all. Walking the Earth makes you a child again. By the time I eventually reach Tierra del Fuego, my destination six or seven years away, I will be newborn.

佩利是个很健谈且朴实的法国卓巴。他和我一起进行穿越阿富汗瓦罕走廊的罕见徒步行走，那是隐藏在高高的兴都库什山脉下面的一个防御堡垒。许多个早晨，他在路练习瑜珈以减轻北部的酸痛。我扩大笔记本电脑上的字体设置是承认自己已经人到中年，但我并不觉得老了，根本没有感觉。行走全球让我又成为了一个孩子。等我最终到达火地岛（我6到7年路程的目的地）时，我将得到重生。

I glanced back.

我回头暼了一眼。

Paley was doing a Wakhi dance now -- paddling his arms and shimmying his hips⁶ along the desolate⁷ banks of the Panj. Across the glacial currents in Afghanistan, a few delighted Wakhi shepherds in dirt-brown shalwar kameezes gathered to mimic⁸ his moves. Everyone dances in Afghanistan. During the war, in the early 2000s, I had danced into Kabul with a column of Northern Alliance troops, two-stepping behind a T-55 tank to avoid land mines: a combat conga line. I remember how one fighter broke ranks to pillage⁹ a farmhouse¹⁰. A booby trap blew off his feet with a dull pop. This was a long time ago. It was before I began truly to walk, back when I was a million or more years old.

佩利当时也正在跳一种瓦罕舞蹈--沿荒凉的喷赤河岸，挥舞着胳膊，扭动着屁股。冰冷的河水对面，几个穿土褐色宽松长罩衫的瓦罕牧羊人聚在一起模仿他的动作。阿富汗人人都跳着舞。战争期间，2000年代初期，我曾随一支北约军队跳进了喀布尔，跟在一辆T-55坦克后面两步远以避开地雷阵：一种战争康加舞带。我记得一名战士是如何离队去抢掠一家农舍的，一枚诡雷沉闷地嘭的一声炸掉了他的脚。那是很久以前的事了，那是在我开始真正地行走之前，我要回到100多万年以前去。

1 trudged   

vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He trudged the last two miles to the town. 他步履艰难地走完最后两英里到了城里。
• He trudged wearily along the path. 他沿着小路疲惫地走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 soviets   

苏维埃（Soviet的复数形式）

参考例句：

• A public challenge could provoke the Soviets to dig in. 公开挑战会促使苏联人一意孤行。
• The Soviets proposed the withdrawal of American ballistic-missile submarines from forward bases. 苏联人建议把美国的弹道导弹潜艇从前沿基地撤走。

3 soothe   

v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承

参考例句：

• I've managed to soothe him down a bit.我想方设法使他平静了一点。
• This medicine should soothe your sore throat.这种药会减轻你的喉痛。

4 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

5 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

6 hips   

abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的

参考例句：

• She stood with her hands on her hips. 她双手叉腰站着。
• They wiggled their hips to the sound of pop music. 他们随着流行音乐的声音摇晃着臀部。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 desolate   

adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂

参考例句：

• The city was burned into a desolate waste.那座城市被烧成一片废墟。
• We all felt absolutely desolate when she left.她走后，我们都觉得万分孤寂。

8 mimic   

v.模仿，戏弄；n.模仿他人言行的人

参考例句：

• A parrot can mimic a person's voice.鹦鹉能学人的声音。
• He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another.他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。

9 pillage   

v.抢劫；掠夺；n.抢劫，掠夺；掠夺物

参考例句：

• The invading troops were guilty of rape and pillage.侵略军犯了抢劫和强奸的罪。
• It was almost pillage.这简直是一场洗劫。

10 farmhouse   

n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房）

参考例句：

• We fell for the farmhouse as soon as we saw it.我们对那所农舍一见倾心。
• We put up for the night at a farmhouse.我们在一间农舍投宿了一夜。