Can you solve the buried treasure riddle? - Daniel Griller

譯者: YUYI TONG 審譯者: Helen Chang

After a massive storm tears through the Hex Archipelago,

一次巨大的暴風雨襲擊了 Hex 群島

you find five grizzled survivors in the water.

之後你在水中發現了 五名頭髮花白的倖存者

Shivering their timbers,

顫抖地抱著浮木

they explain that they’re the former crew of the great pirate Greenbeard,

他們說自己以前是 偉大的海盜「綠鬍子」的船員

who marooned them after they tried to mutiny.

不過他們在試圖叛亂以後 就被丟下了

Each was bound up in a different spot on a small island,

每個人都被綁在 一個小島上的不同地方

until the storm washed them out to sea.

直到風暴把他們沖到海裡

In gratitude for saving them, they reveal a secret:

作為救命之恩的回報 他們向你揭露了一個秘密：

the island they were on is also where Greenbeard has buried his treasure hoard.

他們所在的島嶼是綠鬍子藏寶的地方

But when the sailors try to describe the island, something seems off.

但當這些水手試著描述那個島的時候 當中好像缺少了什麼東西

All agree it was flat and barren with no prominent features except for some trees.

所有人都認為這個島是平坦且貧瘠 除了一些樹木沒有其他突出的特徵

Yet each pirate claims they saw a different number of trees,

然而每個海盜聲稱 看到的樹木數量都不同

ranging from two to six.

從兩棵到六棵都有

The pirate who saw two trees says the treasure was buried right at his feet.

看到兩棵樹的海盜說 寶藏就埋在他腳的右邊

When you fly your hot air balloon over the area to investigate,

當你乘坐熱氣球飛到那個區域調查時

you see hundreds of small islands, each with exactly six trees.

你看到數以百計的小島 每個島上都有剛好六棵樹

The next storm will be here soon,

下一個風暴即將來襲

so you’ll have to hurry and narrow your search.

你需要趕快縮小調查範圍

What does the island with Greenbeard’s treasure look like from the sky?

綠鬍子藏寶的島嶼 從上空俯瞰會是什麼樣子的呢？

And where will the treasure be on that island?

寶藏又在島上的何處呢？

Pause here if you want to figure it out for yourself!

如果你想自己找出答案的話 就先在這裡暫停一下

Answer in 3

答案倒數：3

Answer in 2

2

Answer in 1

1

It might seem like the pirates are delirious from dehydration.

可能看起來這些海盜 像是因為脫水而神志不清

But that’s not what’s going on.

但這不是原因

Remember, each was confined to a separate point on the island,

記住，他們每個人 都被困在島上不同的點

and no two of them could see the same number of trees.

而且每個人都看到不同數量的樹

That means that for all but one pirate, something was blocking their view.

這就代表除了其中一個海盜 其他的人的視線都被阻擋了

And since there are no other features on the island,

同時又因為島上沒有其他突出的特徵

that something could only have been other trees.

所以阻擋視線的就只有其他的樹了

A pirate would see fewer trees when two or more

海盜能看到的樹木變少的原因

fell along a straight line from their vantage point.

是由於從他們所處的角度看出去 有兩棵或以上的樹排成了一直線

So we need to find the island

所以我們需要找到島上

where five different pirates standing in different spots

五個海盜所在的位置不同

would each see a different number of trees.

並且在該位置上 能看到的樹木數量不同

Virtually every island has a position from which you can see six trees.

幾乎每個島嶼都有一個 可以看到六棵樹的位置

And on most islands there’s a position where 5 trees can be seen

在大部分的島上都有 能看到五棵樹的位置

by standing in line with two of them.

只要和其中兩棵樹站在一直線

It turns out that the hardest locations to find are those with fewer visible trees

所以最難找的位置是 那些能看到較少樹的地方

precisely because they require more trees to line up with the viewer’s position.

就是因為這些位置需要更多的樹 和觀察者處在一直線上

So how can we see just two trees?

我們要如何才能只看到兩棵樹呢

One way would be if all the trees were lined up in single file,

其中一個方法是所有樹都一字排開

such as on this island.

就像這個島一樣

Then, you could stand at the end of the line and see one,

然後站在這排樹的最後 就能只看到一棵樹了

stand in the middle and see two,

站在中間的話就會看到兩棵

or stand anywhere else and see all six.

站在其他任何位置 就會看到全部六棵樹

But there’s no place from which you can see only three,

但沒有任何位置能只看到三棵樹

four,

or five,

或者四棵

又或者五棵

so one straight line of trees is out.

所以排成一直線這種方法行不通

So what about two lines of trees?

那如果排成兩排呢

So long as the lines aren’t parallel and they intersect over land,

只要這兩排樹不平行 並且最終在陸地上相交

there’ll always be a position where the two lines converge

就一定會有兩排樹交匯的位置

from which you could see exactly two trees.

在那裡你就能只看到兩棵樹了

And if they’re grouped two and four,

如果它們以兩棵和四棵為分組

or three and three,

又或者三棵為一組

there are many arrangements in which you could also see three,

這就有很多方式能讓你也能看到三棵

four,

四棵

five,

五棵

and six trees.

和六棵樹了

Fortunately for us, there’s only one island in the archipelago

幸運的是，群島上只有一個島

with two non-parallel lines of trees,

有兩排不平行的樹

and it’ll be buried at the intersection of the two lines.

寶藏就埋在兩排樹相交的位置

You land on this island and dig up a chest containing a massive pile of tree seeds,

你在這個島上降落 挖到了一個內有大量樹種的箱子

ready for planting.

是可以種植的

Was this treasure really worth all that trouble?

這個寶藏值得花時間 去解決那些難題嗎

That’s a matter of perspective.

這就是觀點的問題了