美國語文第三冊 第88期：高山
The Himalayas are the highest mountains on our globe, They are in Asia, and separate India from Thibet.
喜馬拉雅山是地球上最高的山，位于亞洲，在印度與中國西藏之間，
They extend in a continuous line for more than a thousand miles.
山脈連綿超過一千英里。
If you ever ascend one of these mountains from the plain below, you will have to cross an unhealthy border, twenty miles in width.
如果你試圖從山腳的平原登上其中一座山峰，你就必須跨越一條危及生命健康的邊界線，寬度達到了20英里。
It is, in fact, a swamp caused by the waters overflowing the river banks.
實際上，那是一片由于河水溢出河床流到岸邊形成的沼澤地。
The soil of this swampy border is covered with trees and shrubs, where the tiger, the elephant, and other animals find secure retreat.
沼澤地的土壤被樹林與灌木叢所覆蓋，那里是老虎、大象等動物尋找安全退路的所在。
Beyond this border, you will reach smiling valleys and noble forests.
跨越了這片邊界地，你就能到達開闊的山谷和郁郁蔥蔥的森林。
As you advance onward and upward, you will get among bolder and more rugged scenes.
當你繼續(xù)向上攀登，你會置身于更粗糙、更崎嶇的山野之間。
The sides of the mountains are very steep, sometimes well wooded to quite a height, but sometimes quite barren.
山崖十分陡峭，有時即便很高的地方也生長著樹木，有時則相當貧瘠荒涼。
In crossing a river you must be content with three ropes for a bridge.
越過河流的時候，有一條三根繩子做成的橋你就該感到滿足了。
You will find the streets of the towns to be simply stairs cut out of the rock, and see the houses rising in tiers.
走進市鎮(zhèn)，你會發(fā)現(xiàn)街道是直接在巖石上開鑿而成，房子一排排拔地而起。
The pathways into Thibet, among these mountains, are mere tracks by the side of foaming torrents.
進入西藏的小路蜿蜒在山間，小路一側(cè)就是怒吼著的滾滾洪流，
Often, as you advance, you will find every trace of the path swept away by the falling of rocks and earth from above.
你會發(fā)現(xiàn)路上沒有任何足跡，因為都被從山上滾落的石頭和沙泥一掃而空了。
Sometimes you will find posts driven into the mountain side, upon which branches of trees and earth are spread.
有時你會看到山崖上插著柱子，在上面鋪上樹枝和泥土，就形成了讓人心驚膽戰(zhàn)的立足之地，
This forms a trembling foothold for the traveler.
供旅人通過。
In the Andes, in South America, the sure-footed mule is used to carry travelers.
在位于南美洲的安第斯山脈，旅客們使用步伐穩(wěn)健的騾子作為坐騎。
Quite often a chasm must be crossed that is many feet wide and hundreds of feet deep.
常常在必須跨越好幾英尺寬、幾百英尺深的峽谷時，
The mule will leap across this chasm, but not until it is sure it can make a safe jump.
這種騾子會一躍而過，當然，如果它們不確定自己可以越過的話，是不會冒險的。
"One day," says a traveler, "I went by the worst pass over the Andes Mountains."
“有一天，”一位旅客說，“我遇到了安第斯山脈最糟糕的路況。”
The path for seventy yards was very narrow, and at one point it was washed entirely away.
有一段路長達70碼，非常狹窄，有一個地方路完全被沖走了。
On one side the rock brushed my shoulder, and on the other side my foot overhung the precipice.
我只好任由一側(cè)的肩膀被巖石摩擦著，另一側(cè)的腳就吊掛在懸崖邊上。
The guide told this man, after he was safely over the pass, that, to his knowledge, four hundred mules had fallen over that precipice,
在這位旅客安全通過了那條路之后，一位向?qū)Ц嬖V他，據(jù)他的了解，在那個懸崖大概摔死過400頭騾子，
and in many instances travelers had lost their lives at that terrible spot.
還有很多人在那個可怕的地方失去了生命。
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