又中又英｜Pristine

Mount Everest was in pristine condition when New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepalese-Indian Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa, became the first climbers to reach its summit on May 29, 1953. Mount Everest is the world’s tallest mountain above sea level. There were very few climbers in those days with the skill and money to try to reach the summit. That’s why Everest was in pristine condition. The word “pristine” means unspoiled and unpolluted. A Sherpa is a Himalayan person skilled in climbing mountains. The word “summit” used this way means the highest point of a mountain.

Sadly, Mount Everest is no longer pristine. The world has become richer. Thousands of people with money, including unskilled climbers, have climbed Everest since Hillary and Norgay climbed it. Kanccha Sherpa, 91, who is the only surviving member of the team that assisted Hillary and Norgay, recently said Everest has become too crowded and dirty. Climbers and their support teams throw away rubbish, including food wrappings and tins, even though rules require them to bring the rubbish down. He said Nepal should limit the number of permits for climbers.

I saw Everest from a distance in Kathmandu decades ago. It looked beautiful even from afar. But now it is full of not only rubbish but also poop, a slang word for faeces (feces in American English). A rude slang for poop is shit. New rules now require climbers to bring their poop down with them. I will have to wait till the cows come home for that to happen because I don’t think climbers will do that. Till the cows come home means a very long time.

当纽西兰人艾德蒙‧希拉里和尼泊尔籍印度雪巴人（Sherpa）丹增‧诺盖于一九五三年五月二十九日，成为首次登上珠穆朗玛峰顶峰（summit）的登山人士之时，珠峰还是纯净、未被污染过的（pristine）。珠峰是世界海拔最高的山峰。那个年头，只有非常少的登山者有足够的技术和金钱可以尝试攻顶。因此珠峰仍能保存 pristine的状态—— pristine一字解作未受破坏、玷污的。A Sherpa是精于登山、居于喜马拉雅山区的雪巴人。Summit在这里解作山的峰顶。

不幸地，珠峰已不再是纯净而未受污染（pristine）。自从希拉里与诺盖登顶以来，全世界变得富裕起来，数以千计有钱的人，包括缺乏技术的登山者，也去爬珠峰。年届九十一岁的坎查‧雪巴（Sherpa），是当时协助希拉里与诺盖的团队中，唯一还在世的队员，他说珠峰已变得太拥挤、太肮脏。登山者和他们的支援队，随意丢弃垃圾，包括食物包装和铝罐，即使规例要求他们要带走垃圾。他说，尼泊尔好应限制登山许可证的批发。

我曾在几十年前，于加德满都远眺珠峰。即使远望，也能见到它很美丽。但到现在，它不但充满垃圾，还满是 poop，就是粪便的俚语。Poop的粗俗俚语是shit。现在新规例要求登山者也带同他们的粪便（poop）下山。这件事要发生，恐怕我要无了期地「等到乳牛回家」（till the cows come home）吧，因为我不认为登山者真的会这样做。Till the cows come home是指很长很长的时间。

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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻