Why bother leaving the house? | Ben Saunders

360,061 views ・ 2012-12-14

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00:00
Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Thu-Huong Ha
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翻译人员: Bruce Liu 校对人员: dahong zhang
00:15
I essentially drag sledges for a living,
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基本可以说 我是靠拉雪橇来谋生的
00:17
so it doesn't take an awful lot to flummox me intellectually,
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所以 拼智力的话真的不用花很大力气就能赢我
00:20
but I'm going to read this question
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不过 我还是会读一下这个问题
00:22
from an interview earlier this year:
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这是今年早些时候一个采访中的问题:
00:24
"Philosophically, does the constant supply of information
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"从哲学的角度来说 源源不断的资讯
00:28
steal our ability to imagine
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是否偷走了我们想象的能力
00:30
or replace our dreams of achieving?
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或是取代了我们的成功梦?
00:33
After all, if it is being done somewhere by someone,
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毕竟 如果某人在某地不论做什么事情
00:36
and we can participate virtually,
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我们都能感同身受地参与的话
00:38
then why bother leaving the house?"
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那么干嘛还要那么麻烦离开家呢?"
00:42
I'm usually introduced as a polar explorer.
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人们通常介绍我是一名极地探险家。
00:44
I'm not sure that's the most progressive or 21st-century
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我不确定极地探险家是否是21世纪最激进的一个职位
00:47
of job titles, but I've spent more than two percent now
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但是我一生中有超过2%的时间
00:52
of my entire life living in a tent inside the Arctic Circle,
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都是在北极圈内的一个帐篷里度过的
00:55
so I get out of the house a fair bit.
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所以可以说 我离家颇久。
00:59
And in my nature, I guess, I am a doer of things
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我想我的个性是属于实干派
01:02
more than I am a spectator or a contemplator of things,
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我不能算是旁观者或沉思者一类的
01:07
and it's that dichotomy, the gulf between ideas and action
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我想简单和大家探讨一下的正是这种分歧
01:11
that I'm going to try and explore briefly.
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这种想法和行动之间不可逾越的鸿沟。
01:14
The pithiest answer to the question "why?"
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过去的12年间 我一直不停在思考"为什么"
01:17
that's been dogging me for the last 12 years
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而最好的答案
01:20
was credited certainly to this chap, the rakish-looking gentleman
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应当归功于站在后排从左往右数第二位
01:22
standing at the back, second from the left,
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看上去一脸轻松的这位先生
01:25
George Lee Mallory. Many of you will know his name.
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他就是乔治·李·马洛里 你们当中有很多应该知道他的名字
01:27
In 1924 he was last seen disappearing into the clouds
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1924年,他消失在
01:31
near the summit of Mt. Everest.
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珠穆朗玛峰峰顶一片云雾中,从此踪迹全无。
01:33
He may or may not have been the first person to climb Everest,
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不知道他是不是第一位攀登珠穆朗玛峰的人
01:36
more than 30 years before Edmund Hillary.
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比埃德蒙·希拉里早30多年。
01:38
No one knows if he got to the top. It's still a mystery.
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没有人知道他是否到达山顶 这仍旧是个迷
01:41
But he was credited with coining the phrase, "Because it's there."
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他人们总是把他和这句话联系在一起"因为它就在那儿"("Because it's there.")
01:44
Now I'm not actually sure that he did say that.
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现在我并不确定他是否说过这句话
01:47
There's very little evidence to suggest it, but what he did say
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并没有确凿的证据可以证明,但事实上
01:49
is actually far nicer,
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他却说过更棒的话
01:51
and again, I've printed this. I'm going to read it out.
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一样 我也打印出来了 念给大家听
01:55
"The first question which you will ask
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"你们必然会问的 也是我必须回答的
01:56
and which I must try to answer is this:
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第一问题是:
01:59
What is the use of climbing Mt. Everest?
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攀登珠穆朗玛峰有什么用呢?
02:03
And my answer must at once be, it is no use.
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而我的答案毫无疑问一定是 毫无用处。
02:05
There is not the slightest prospect of any gain whatsoever.
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爬珠穆朗玛峰不会带来哪怕是一丁点儿的好处
02:09
Oh, we may learn a little about the behavior
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恩 我们可以了解一下
02:11
of the human body at high altitudes,
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人体在高海拔地区会有哪些反应
02:13
and possibly medical men may turn our observation
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或许医学人士可以
02:16
to some account for the purposes of aviation,
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用我们的观察结果做一些航空学上有价值的解释
02:19
but otherwise nothing will come of it.
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但在别的方面不会有任何收获
02:21
We shall not bring back a single bit of gold or silver,
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我们不会带着任何一点金银宝石或煤铁回来。
02:23
and not a gem, nor any coal or iron.
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我们不会带着任何一点金银宝石或煤铁回来。
02:26
We shall not find a single foot of earth that can be planted
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我们找不到一寸土地
02:29
with crops to raise food. So it is no use.
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可种庄稼收获食物 所以真是一无是处。
02:33
If you cannot understand that there is something in man
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如果你无法理解 人就是有一种情结
02:35
which responds to the challenge of this mountain
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要迎接山的挑战
02:37
and goes out to meet it, that the struggle
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要走出去和它相见 这种斗争
02:41
is the struggle of life itself upward and forever upward,
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是人生永远的斗争 向上 永远向上
02:45
then you won't see why we go.
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那么你永远都不明白我们为什么登山。
02:48
What we get from this adventure is just sheer joy,
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我们探险旅程给予我们的是纯粹的快乐
02:51
and joy, after all, is the end of life.
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而快乐 毕竟才是生命的终极。
02:54
We don't live to eat and make money.
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我们活着不是为了吃饭挣钱。
02:57
We eat and make money to be able to enjoy life.
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我们吃饭挣钱是为了能够享受生活。
02:59
That is what life means, and that is what life is for."
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这才是生命的意义 这才是生活的目的。"
03:04
Mallory's argument that leaving the house,
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马洛里坚持离开家踏上精彩的历险旅途
03:07
embarking on these grand adventures is joyful and fun,
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会多么快乐有趣
03:10
however, doesn't tally that neatly with my own experience.
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然而 这和我的经历并非完全一致
03:14
The furthest I've ever got away from my front door
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2004年的春天
03:17
was in the spring of 2004. I still don't know exactly
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我第一次离开家去了生平最远的地方
03:20
what came over me, but my plan was to make
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我仍旧不知道自己哪儿来的主意
03:23
a solo and unsupported crossing of the Arctic Ocean.
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不过我的计划是单枪匹马穿越北冰洋
03:27
I planned essentially to walk from the north coast of Russia
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我的计划是从俄罗斯北岸出发 向北极前进
03:30
to the North Pole, and then to carry on to the north coast of Canada.
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然后继续向加拿大北岸前进
03:33
No one had ever done this. I was 26 at the time.
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此举前所未有 而当时我仅26岁。
03:36
A lot of experts were saying it was impossible,
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当时很多专家都说这是不可能的
03:38
and my mum certainly wasn't very keen on the idea.
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当然,我妈妈肯定不太喜欢这个主意。
03:41
(Laughter)
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(笑声)
03:44
The journey from a small weather station on the north coast
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从西伯利亚北部的一个气象站开始
03:47
of Siberia up to my final starting point,
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到我最终的起点
03:49
the edge of the pack ice, the coast of the Arctic Ocean,
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北冰洋海岸上一块漂浮冰块的边沿
03:51
took about five hours, and if anyone watched fearless
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这一段小小旅程就花了整整五个小时
03:55
Felix Baumgartner going up, rather than just coming down,
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如果任何人看过菲利克斯·鲍姆加特纳(从“太空”往地球跳 )升上太空
03:58
you'll appreciate the sense of apprehension,
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而不仅仅是他纵身一跳 那么就一定会有同感
04:01
as I sat in a helicopter thundering north,
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正如我坐在一架轰鸣在北方高空的直升机上
04:04
and the sense, I think if anything, of impending doom.
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那种感觉 我想一定就是末日临头的感觉
04:07
I sat there wondering what on Earth I had gotten myself into.
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我坐在那儿 禁不住想究竟给自己惹了什么麻烦事儿。
04:10
There was a bit of fun, a bit of joy.
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有一点点有趣 有一点点快乐。
04:12
I was 26. I remember sitting there
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那时我26岁。我记得坐在那里
04:14
looking down at my sledge. I had my skis ready to go,
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俯视着我的雪橇。我的滑雪板已经准备就绪
04:17
I had a satellite phone, a pump-action shotgun
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我有一台卫星电话 一把连发猎步枪
04:19
in case I was attacked by a polar bear.
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以防万一被北极熊袭击。
04:21
I remember looking out of the window and seeing the second helicopter.
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我还记得望出窗外 看着第二架的直升机
04:23
We were both thundering through this incredible Siberian dawn,
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在西伯利亚无比美丽的破晓前 我们一同在空中轰鸣
04:27
and part of me felt a bit like a cross between Jason Bourne
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一部分的我感觉像是杰森·伯恩和威弗瑞·塞西格的合体
04:30
and Wilfred Thesiger. Part of me
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还有一部分的我对自己感到非常自豪
04:33
felt quite proud of myself, but mostly I was just utterly terrified.
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但最多的感觉还是彻彻底底的恐惧
04:39
And that journey lasted 10 weeks, 72 days.
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这一旅程整整持续了10周,72天
04:41
I didn't see anyone else. We took this photo next to the helicopter.
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一路上我没遇到任何人 我们在直升机旁边一起留了影
04:44
Beyond that, I didn't see anyone for 10 weeks.
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除此之外 整整10周 我没看到任何人
04:46
The North Pole is slap bang in the middle of the sea,
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北极恰好位于大海中央
04:48
so I'm traveling over the frozen surface of the Arctic Ocean.
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所以我的旅程穿越了北冰洋上冰冻的表面
04:51
NASA described conditions that year as the worst since records began.
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美国宇航局称当时的情况是有史以来最恶劣的。
04:55
I was dragging 180 kilos of food and fuel and supplies,
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我拖着180公斤的食物和400磅的燃料供给
04:59
about 400 pounds. The average temperature for the 10 weeks
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整整10周里 平均温度是零下35度
05:02
was minus 35. Minus 50 was the coldest.
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最冷的时候有零下50度
05:04
So again, there wasn't an awful lot of joy or fun to be had.
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所以 再说一遍 真的没什么值得开心高兴的事儿
05:12
One of the magical things about this journey, however,
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然而 这段旅程最神奇的事情之一是
05:13
is that because I'm walking over the sea,
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因为我在穿越海洋
05:15
over this floating, drifting, shifting crust of ice
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穿越北冰洋上
05:19
that's floating on top of the Arctic Ocean is
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随波逐流的硬邦邦的冰块
05:22
it's an environment that's in a constant state of flux.
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那是一个流动的世界
05:24
The ice is always moving, breaking up, drifting around,
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冰块不停地移动 破裂 漂流 又重新结冻
05:26
refreezing, so the scenery that I saw for nearly 3 months
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因此 在那三个月里所见到的景象
05:29
was unique to me. No one else will ever, could ever,
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对于我来说是独一无二 任何人都将不可能目睹那种景象
05:33
possibly see the views, the vistas, that I saw for 10 weeks.
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任何人都不可能见到我在那十周的日子里看到的景象
05:38
And that, I guess, is probably the finest argument for leaving the house.
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我想也许这就是为什么要离开家最好的理由
05:42
I can try to tell you what it was like,
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我可以尽量为大家形容那番景象
05:46
but you'll never know what it was like,
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但你们永远都不可能真正知道
05:48
and the more I try to explain that I felt lonely,
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我越是想说明 就越觉得孤单
05:50
I was the only human being in 5.4 million square-miles,
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在方圆5百40万平方英里内 我是唯一一个人类
05:54
it was cold, nearly minus 75 with windchill on a bad day,
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天气很冷 寒风凛凛的日子 有将近零下75度
05:58
the more words fall short, and I'm unable to do it justice.
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言语越发显得贫乏 而我无法准确地形容
06:02
And it seems to me, therefore, that the doing,
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因此 对于我来说
06:07
you know, to try to experience, to engage, to endeavor,
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你们知道 比起旁观想象
06:12
rather than to watch and to wonder, that's where
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行动起来 努力体验 参与尝试
06:17
the real meat of life is to be found,
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才能发现生命的真谛
06:19
the juice that we can suck out of our hours and days.
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才能从日常生活中获取动力之源
06:23
And I would add a cautionary note here, however.
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然而 在这里我想提出一个警告
06:26
In my experience, there is something addictive
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根据我的个人经验 人们对于在极限状态下
06:28
about tasting life at the very edge of what's humanly possible.
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品味人生总会有些上瘾
06:32
Now I don't just mean in the field of
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我所指的不仅仅是爱德华七世时期
06:35
daft macho Edwardian style derring-do,
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盛行的愚蠢大男子主义一类的大胆行径
06:37
but also in the fields of pancreatic cancer,
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还有像罹患胰腺癌什么的
06:39
there is something addictive about this, and in my case,
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又有些什么让人欲罢不能 而我的情况是
06:41
I think polar expeditions are perhaps not that far removed
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我认为或许极地探险
06:44
from having a crack habit.
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与一般人的毒瘾没有很大区别。
06:45
I can't explain quite how good it is until you've tried it,
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除非你们亲身体验过 否则我无法解释清楚那感觉有多好
06:49
but it has the capacity to burn up all the money I can get my hands on,
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它能够让我心甘情愿花光手上每一分钱
06:52
to ruin every relationship I've ever had,
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抛弃一切友情爱恋
06:56
so be careful what you wish for.
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所以 一定要慎重
07:00
Mallory postulated that there is something in man
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马洛里假定人类会本能地
07:03
that responds to the challenge of the mountain,
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回应高山的挑战
07:05
and I wonder if that's the case whether there's something
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而我想是否是挑战本身
07:07
in the challenge itself, in the endeavor, and particularly
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是努力的过程 特别是人类所面临的
07:11
in the big, unfinished, chunky challenges that face humanity
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巨大的 未竟的 确确实实的挑战在呼唤我们
07:14
that call out to us, and in my experience that's certainly the case.
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以我的经验来说 正是如此。
07:18
There is one unfinished challenge
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在我成年后的大多数岁月里
07:20
that's been calling out to me for most of my adult life.
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一个未竟的挑战一直在召唤我
07:23
Many of you will know the story.
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你们当中有很多人会知道这个故事
07:24
This is a photo of Captain Scott and his team.
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这是斯考特队长和他的团队的一张照片
07:27
Scott set out just over a hundred years ago to try
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斯考特在100多年前出发
07:29
to become the first person to reach the South Pole.
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试图成为第一位到达南极的人类
07:32
No one knew what was there. It was utterly unmapped
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人们对那里一无所知 从未有人他上过那片土地
07:34
at the time. We knew more about the surface of the moon
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我们对南极洲了解甚少
07:36
than we did about the heart of Antarctica.
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甚至不如我们对月球表面的了解。
07:39
Scott, as many of you will know, was beaten to it
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如你们所知 斯考特失败了
07:42
by Roald Amundsen and his Norwegian team,
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败给了利用狗拉雪橇的罗尔德·亚孟森和他的挪威团队
07:44
who used dogs and dogsleds. Scott's team were on foot,
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斯考特和队员们靠双脚徒步前进
07:46
all five of them wearing harnesses and dragging around sledges,
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他们五个人背着吊带拖着雪橇徒步前进
07:49
and they arrived at the pole to find the Norwegian flag already there,
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而当他们到达南极时 却发现挪威旗帜早已捷足先登
07:53
I'd imagine pretty bitter and demoralized.
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我能够想象那是多么痛苦 令人沮丧
07:56
All five of them turned and started walking back to the coast
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五名队员一起掉头 向海岸前行
07:59
and all five died on that return journey.
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五个人都死在了回程的路上
08:02
There is a sort of misconception nowadays that
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今天人们有一种误解
08:05
it's all been done in the fields of exploration and adventure.
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认为探险已经没有什么新奇的
08:08
When I talk about Antarctica, people often say,
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当我谈起南极洲的时候 人们经常会说
08:09
"Hasn't, you know, that's interesting,
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“你知道么 真是有意思啊
08:11
hasn't that Blue Peter presenter just done it on a bike?"
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《兰彼得》的(英国儿童节目)主持人不是刚骑车去过南极洲么”
08:14
Or, "That's nice. You know, my grandmother's going
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又或是 “真棒啊 你知道我祖母打算
08:18
on a cruise to Antarctica next year. You know.
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明年乘游轮去南极洲 你说
08:20
Is there a chance you'll see her there?"
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你们有可能在那儿碰面么?”
08:23
(Laughter)
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(笑声)
08:25
But Scott's journey remains unfinished.
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但是斯考特的旅程并未完成
08:28
No one has ever walked from the very coast of Antarctica
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还没有人成功地徒步往返
08:30
to the South Pole and back again.
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南极洲最边际的海岸线和南极之间
08:32
It is, arguably, the most audacious endeavor
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可以说 这是探险的黄金年代 - 爱德华时代
08:35
of that Edwardian golden age of exploration,
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最大胆的一次尝试
08:38
and it seemed to me high time, given everything
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在我看来 正是时候 想想看这个世纪
08:40
we have figured out in the century since
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我们上个世界解决那些问题 从坏血病到太阳能板
08:42
from scurvy to solar panels, that it was high time
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因此如果有人想尝试完成某项任务
08:46
someone had a go at finishing the job.
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这正是最好的时候。
08:47
So that's precisely what I'm setting out to do.
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所以 这正是我准备做的事情。
08:50
This time next year, in October, I'm leading a team of three.
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明年这个时候 10月份 我将带领一个三人团队
08:53
It will take us about four months to make this return journey.
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我们将要花费4个月左右走完往返的路程
08:56
That's the scale. The red line is obviously halfway to the pole.
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这个比例尺 很显然这条红线表明往返南极的半程。
08:59
We have to turn around and come back again.
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我们必须折返 踏上返程
09:00
I'm well aware of the irony of telling you that we will be
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告诉大家我们将会发博客、发推特
09:02
blogging and tweeting. You'll be able to live
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我知道这很讽刺 你们将能够
09:05
vicariously and virtually through this journey
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以一种从未采用过的 间接但确实的方式
09:07
in a way that no one has ever before.
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感受整段旅行
09:10
And it'll also be a four-month chance for me to finally
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同样对于我来说 在这四个月旅程中我将有机会
09:13
come up with a pithy answer to the question, "Why?"
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找到答案 很好地回答“为什么”这个问题
09:17
And our lives today are safer and more comfortable
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比起从前 我们今天的生活更加安全舒适
09:22
than they have ever been. There certainly isn't much call
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当然也就不需要很多的探险者
09:24
for explorers nowadays. My career advisor at school
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读书时我的职业顾问
09:28
never mentioned it as an option.
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从未说过探险者会是一个职业选择
09:31
If I wanted to know, for example,
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比如说 如果我想知道
09:33
how many stars were in the Milky Way,
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银河系有多少颗星星
09:36
how old those giant heads on Easter Island were,
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复活岛上的巨石像存在了多少年
09:38
most of you could find that out right now
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你们很多人甚至不用起立
09:40
without even standing up.
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就能马上找到答案
09:43
And yet, if I've learned anything in nearly 12 years now
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而且 要说在这12年中在寒冷地带拖曳重物
09:46
of dragging heavy things around cold places,
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我学到了什么
09:49
it is that true, real inspiration and growth
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那么毫无疑问 那便是
09:53
only comes from adversity and from challenge,
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来自困难 来自挑战
09:57
from stepping away from what's comfortable and familiar
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来之远离熟知的一切 迈向未知的领域
10:00
and stepping out into the unknown.
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所带来的鼓舞和成长
10:03
In life, we all have tempests to ride and poles to walk to,
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生活中 我们都必须经历风暴 迈向极点
10:06
and I think metaphorically speaking, at least,
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我想 打个比方说吧
10:08
we could all benefit from getting outside the house
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只要我们能够鼓起勇气
10:11
a little more often, if only we could summon up the courage.
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多出去看看世界 那么我们就都能获益
10:15
I certainly would implore you to open the door just a little bit
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我真得希望大家能够多踏出家门一点
10:18
and take a look at what's outside.
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看看外面的世界
10:21
Thank you very much.
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非常感谢
10:22
(Applause)
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(掌声)
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