万物简史 第364期:进入对流层(5)

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　　on a 1924 British expedition up Everest, "found himself choking to death after a piece of infected flesh came loose and blocked his windpipe." 1924年，萨默维尔随一个英国远征队攀登珠穆朗玛峰，“发现自己一块发炎的肉掉下来，堵住了气管，差一点窒息而死”。

　　With a supreme¹ effort Somervell managed to cough up the obstruction². 萨默维尔费了好大的劲儿才把肉屑咳出来。

　　It turned out to be "the entire mucus lining³ of his larynx." 结果发现，他咳出来的是“喉部的整个蒙古膜”。

　　Bodily distress⁴ is notorious above 25,000 feet—the area known to climbers as the Death Zone, 到了7500米以上的高度—即登山运动员所谓的“死亡地带”——身体就会很不舒服；

　　but many people become severely⁵ debilitated⁶, even dangerously ill, at heights of no more than 15,000 feet or so. 但是，许多人到不了4500米左右的高度就会极度虚弱，甚至病危。

　　Susceptibility has little to do with fitness. 敏感程度与身体是否健壮几乎没有关系。

　　Grannies sometimes caper⁷ about in lofty situations while their fitter offspring are reduced to helpless, groaning⁸ heaps until conveyed to lower altitudes. 有时候，老奶奶在高处生龙活虎，而她们身强力壮的后辈们反而哼哼哈哈，已经吃不消，不得不被送往低处。

　　The absolute limit of human tolerance⁹ for continuous living appears to be about 5,500 meters, or 18,000 feet, 就人类连续生活的耐受能力而言，极限大约为5500米，

　　but even people conditioned to living at altitude could not tolerate such heights for long. 但连习惯于生活在高处的人也无法长期忍耐这种高度。

　　Frances Ashcroft, in Life at the Extremes, notes that there are Andean sulfur¹⁰ mines at 5,800 meters, 弗朗西斯·阿什克罗夫特在《极端条件下的生命》一书中说，安第斯山脉在5800米的高处有硫矿，

　　but that the miners prefer to descend¹¹ 460 meters each evening and climb back up the following day, rather than live continuously at that elevation¹². 但矿工们宁可每天晚上往下走460米，第二天再爬上去，也不愿意连续生活在那个高度。

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