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Tracing Marco Polo’s Path 踏上马可波罗的足迹

     

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How two New Yorkers tackled the explorer’s 13th-century journey to China  看两位纽约客如何按图索骥，循着十三世纪探险家马可波罗的足迹而远行至中国

 

In 1271, 17-year-old Marco Polo left Venice with his merchant father and uncle. Upon their reappearance there 24 years later, the tales of where they’d been were met with utter disbelief. The very idea of crossing hostile and mysterious Asia and spending more than a dozen years in the Great Khan’s China was absurd.

一二七一年，当时年仅十七的马可波罗（译注：一二五四年～一三二四年）和从商的父亲及叔叔启程离开威尼斯，这一别就是廿四年，他们重返故里后，所述说的游历令乡人难以置信，因为马可波罗自称曾跨越存有敌意、蒙着神秘面纱的亚洲，并在大汗统治下的中国（译注：大汗又称可汗，为古代西域和北方各国对君王的称呼，马可波罗到中国时，统治者为元世祖忽必烈大汗）度过了超过十二年寒暑（译注：有关马可波罗待在中国的期间众说纷纭，但一般多指介于十七至十八年间），这种说法对当时人而言，简直像天方夜谭。

 

Yet the autobiographical Travels of Marco Polo, which detailed that overland journey, became perhaps the most influential travelogue ever written. It paved the way for the Age of Discovery.

不过自传性质的《马可波罗游记》或许成为了史上最具影响力的游记，该书巨细靡遗地记录了马可波罗横越大陆的旅程，也为之后的「地理大发现」(译注: 地理大发现约介于十五世纪至十七世纪之间意大利航海家哥伦布〔1451-1506〕即是地理大发现的前驱)铺路。

 

Retracing the route of the Polos  重征马可波罗的旅途

 

The idea captivated two guys from New York, Francis O’Donnell and Denis Belliveau, who undertook the 25,000-mile feat in the 1990s. The result is a film “In the Footsteps of Marco Polo” and its 280-page companion volume.

有个想法（译注：指循着马可波罗的足迹而行）让弗朗西斯．欧唐纳和丹尼斯．贝利沃这两位纽约客深深着迷，于是他们在一九九０年代完成了长达两万五千哩旅程的壮举，过程并拍摄成电影《踏上马可波罗的足迹》，并搭配电影出了一本厚达两百八十页的书。

 

It took Polo three years to reach China from Venice and four years to return. The American may have completed their roundtrip in two, but it was no cakewalk. No one had previously succeeded in copying the Polo route start to finish. O’Donnell and Belliveau made the trip on their own, and their expedition was largely self-bankrolled. When they set off from St. Mark’s Square in Venice in 1993, Central Asia was as dangerous as ever – a vastness of warlords, hard terrain and extreme climates.

马可波罗从威尼斯去到中国，共花了三年的时间，而返乡之旅则耗费了四年。这两位美国人来回旅程虽然只花了两年，但这并不代表整趟过程会很轻松。过去从未有人能成功地从头到尾地走完马可波罗游历的全程。欧唐纳和贝利沃不但是自食其力走完全程，而且他们的探险之旅大部分都是自行筹措出资的。他们在一九九三年自威尼斯的圣马可广场启程出发时，当时中亚局势相当危险──可说是军阀割据、地形艰困、天候极端的广袤。

 

In a recent interview, O’Donnell, now 50, spoke about:

现年五十岁的欧唐纳最近接受访问时表示：

 

What they took with them  随身行李

 

We always said we had to get rid of stuff, to pare down, but couldn’t. … Backpacks held our clothes and gear. We had all the basics – medical kits and other devices.

虽然我们老是说，应该扔掉一些东西，才能减少行李，但实际上却无法办到…背包里装着我们的衣服和器材，所有基本必需品一应俱全──像是医药箱和一些其他装置等。

 

This was in the^‘90s before ….. GPS, so we went low-tech. Most important was the camera equipment. After a while, we just started acquiring and putting on clothes the locals wore.

当时是九０年代…那时全球定位系统还没有问世，所以我们带的都是些低科技的产品。最重要的就是摄影器材了。不久之后，我们就开始采买、穿着和当地人一样的服饰。

 

 

 

单词发音

 

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disbelief [͵dɪsbəˋlif] n. 不信；怀疑

hostile [ˋhɑstɪl] adj. 怀敌意的；不友善的

absurd [əbˋsɝd] adj. 不合理的，荒谬的；可笑的，愚蠢的

overland [ˋovɚ͵lænd] adj. 陆路的；陆上的；横越大陆的

travelogue [ˈtrævəlɔg] n. 旅行纪录片; 游记; 旅行见闻讲座

pave the way for 为……铺路

retrace [rɪˋtres] v. 追溯，探究……的源流

companion volume 姊妹篇

companion [kəmˋpænjən] n. 成对（或成副等）的物件之一

start to finish 从开始到结束; 由始至终

on one’s own 独自地; 独立地 by one's own efforts or resources

set off 出发; 动身 to start on a journey

as …. as ever 和以前一样...(通常含惊讶之意)

vastness [ˋvæstnɪs] n. 无边无际；广阔

pare [pɛr] v. 消减，缩减[（+down/away）]

 

 

 

 

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Dealing with languages  语言问题

 

We realized Turkish is probably the 10th- or 11th-most spoken language in the world. The Turks didn’t start off in Anatolia, where modern Turkey is today. They started out in Central Asia and pushed across the Steppes, going through Iran and into where Turkey is today. Many of the languages in Central Asia are Turkic.

我们发现，在全世界最多人说的语言中，土耳其语可能排名第十或十一，而土耳其人最早并不是从现代土耳其领土的安纳托力亚发迹的，而是从中亚起家，然后跨越大平原，行经伊朗，一直到了现今的土耳其一带。中亚地区的许多语言都属于突厥语系（译注：Turkic指突厥语或突厥民族的，而土耳其人只是诸多突厥民族中的一支）。

 

So before we left, we took advantage of knowing people in the Turkish community in New York, and tried to pick up as much as we could. By happenstance, on our trip we got stuck in Turkey for about three months. As a result, when we got to Central Asia, we had an understanding of what I’d consider “combat” Turkish – greetings and common phrases and so on. Dialects differ among related Turkic languages, but we had enough words to get us to China.

所以我们在出发上路之前，就已经先在纽约土耳其裔社群认识一些人，试着尽可能多学点土耳其语备用。后来真的很巧，我们在旅途中一度被困在土耳其约三个月左右，结果等我们到了中亚地区时，早已练就了我所谓的「战斗用」土耳其语──像是打招呼、常用的句子等等都难不倒我们。虽然突厥语系一些相关语言仍存有地域性方言的差异，但我们会说的字眼已经足够让我们顺利抵达中国。

 

The other places? For the most part, in any capital you can find someone who speaks English. Also, we picked up the real basics in Chinese and Arabic. And there’s miming – hand gestures, a big smile. People have open hearts, really.

至于其他地方呢！多半来说，只要是大都会地区，都不难找到会说英语的人。此外，我们也学了一些最基础的中文和阿拉伯语，当然还有身体语言啰──像是比手势和大大的笑容。说真的，民众都很愿意敞开心扉。

 

For so much of our trip, we relied on the help of strangers.

我们旅途中大都仰赖陌生人伸出援手。

 

How they paid their way  旅途盘缠

 

We took some traveler’s checks; for the most part, we also had U.S. cash on us. The whole first year, we didn’t have that much hard currency – less than you think. We spent three months in Afghanistan and spent maybe $100 or $150. We kind of had to give money away as a gift because we were pretty much honored guests and things were simply given to us. That’s because of connections we made with Afghans in New York.

我们大部分都是带旅行支票，但身上也带了美钞。头一年全年中，我们随身携带的现金其实并不多──比大家想象的要少很多。我们有三个月是在阿富汗，大概只花了一百或一百五十美元左右。有时我们把钱当成礼物来送给别人，以答谢对方把我们待若上宾，而且他们送了我们很多东西，这都是因为我们在美国就认识一些阿富汗人所建立起的人脉所致。

 

 

单词发音

 

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start off 以…开始

start out 开始起步 to take the first steps, as in life, one's career, etc

push across 跨越 to move across

steppe [stɛp] n.（西伯利亚一带没树木的）大草原；干草原

pick up（不费力地）获得，学会 to learn something

happenstance [ˋhæpən͵stæns] n.【美】【口】偶然的事情

dialect [ˋdaɪəlɛkt] n. 方言，土话

mime [maɪm] n. 手势动作

hard currency 硬通货，强势货币（指价值稳定的货币）

honored [ˋɑnɚd] adj. 光荣的 荣幸的

 

 

 

 

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Any Shangri-la moments?  有没有发现世外桃源？

 

For me, it was in the Wakhan Corridor, in northeastern Afghanistan, a little finger of a corridor, just a passage next to the Pamir Mountains. …. I knew, when I was standing there, that Marco Polo had seen that same things: camel caravans coming down the way in the cold winter, carrying these mythic traders and their wares. That was an epiphany.

阿富汗东北部的瓦罕走廊是我心目中的世外桃源，它其实小到根本称不上走廊，只能算是靠近帕米尔高原的一处通路罢了…我深深感受到，当我站在那儿时，马可波罗当年也见到了相同景物：寒冬里一路行来的骆驼商队，驮着宛如活生生从神话中走出来的贸易商人，以及他们所携带的商品。这一切令我在电光火石的剎那间顿悟。

 

What were the most Polo-like countries?  最有马可波罗味道的国度

 

Afghanistan, if you take away the weapons and craziness.

应该是阿富汗，我是指少掉了武器和疯狂行径的阿富汗。

 

Nowadays, people know about Polo going on the Silk Road and visiting Kublai Khan, but nobody knows about his trips through Indonesia and India.

如今，人们晓得马可波罗走过丝路，他也造访过忽必烈汗，但却没有人知道他其实也到过印度尼西亚和印度。

 

And India is amazing: Anything you could imagine is happening everywhere all the time – from the most horrific poverty and diseases to the most beautiful, transcendent and glorious things. Marco Polo is right on the money. Polo’s words about India jump off the pages and come to life today.

而印度真是令人惊为天人：你所能想象到的一切都随时随地可见──从最触目惊心的贫穷和疾病，乃至于最美丽、超凡绝伦和辉煌的事物都有。马可波罗所言果然是千真万确的，他描述印度的文字至今仍栩栩如生，活生生地呈现在眼前。

 

How the journey might be different now  今昔有别

 

The world is getting smaller so much faster. For years I avoided cell phones. Now they’re with us all, all the time. On our trip, there was a 10-month stretch – from the central Caucasus to our arrival in Beijing – where we didn’t know what was going on in the world. I don’t know [if] we could be so isolated now.

世界变得愈来愈小，而步调也愈来愈快。多年来，我一直不想用手机，但如今手机和我们如影随形，时时刻刻都不离身。我们当年旅途中，从高加瑟中部一直到抵达北京的过程，整整有十个月的时间，这期间我们对外界情形一无所知。我不知道，如果我们今天再踏上相同的旅程，有没有可能还会如此与世隔绝。

 

Why it took 15 years to get the documentary made  为何在十五年后才完成纪录片

 

When we first got back we were exhausted for two months. Then we hit the pavement. Looking back now, it seems the world wasn’t ready for or open to our project.

我们当年返乡后，有两个月时间都很筋疲力尽，之后才开始出外筹措纪录片相关事宜。如今回想起来，似乎是因为当时世界还没有准备好去接纳我们提出的方案。

 

Everybody we approached was interested and thought it would be an interesting story. But they were like: “Americans don’t care about those places. They want to know about campgrounds in Wyoming or whatever.”

我们找上的每个人都表示感兴趣，认为这故事引人入胜，但最后全都表示：「美国人不关心那些地方，他们只想知道怀俄明州或其他什么地方的露营地之类的消息。」

 

Until 9/11. Then they started saying, “Afghanistan!”

一直到九一一恐怖攻击事件发生后，这些人才开始改口说，「哇，是阿富汗耶！」

 

So many places we visited are now in the news.

我们造访过的很多地区如今都在新闻里出现。

 

−by John Bordsen

 

 

单词发音

 

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corridor [ˋkɔrɪdɚ] n. 走廊，回廊，通道

finger [ˋfɪŋgɚ] n. 指状物 something, such as an oblong peninsula, that resembles one of the digits of the hand.

caravan [ˋkærə͵væn] n.（来往于沙漠的）商队; （移动着的）车队

epiphany [ɪˋpɪfənɪ] n.（经义之）顿悟

Kublai Khan 忽必烈（元世祖）

Khan [kɑn] n.（常大写）汗，可汗（中亚细亚国家对统治者的尊称；中古时的蒙古、土耳其等对君主的尊称）

come to life 表现生动 to become vigorous or lively

stretch [strɛtʃ] n.（土地，时间的）延亘，连绵; 一段时间

approach [əˋprotʃ] v. 找……商量（或联系）; 与…接洽; 靠近; 接近

campground [ˋkæmp͵graʊnd] n. 野营地

 

 

 

单词发音

 

Vocabulary Focus

utter [ˋʌtɚ] adj. 完全的，彻底的 complete or extreme

cakewalk [ˋkek͵wɔk] n. 易如反掌的事 something that is very easy to achieve

bankroll [ˋbæŋk͵rol] v. 供给（资金）；提供财务上的资助 to support a person or activity financially

pare down 削减; 减少 to reduce the size or amount of something

horrific [hɔˋrɪfɪk] adj. 可怕的 very bad and shocking

transcendent [trænˋsɛndənt] adj. 超越的; 卓越的; 杰出的 greater, better, more important, or going beyond or above all others

(right) on the money 完全正确; 私毫不差的 on target; exactly right; exactly right or correct

jump off the page 栩栩如生 when written words seem to come to life and grab the reader’s attention

isolated [ˋaɪs!͵etɪd] adj.（被）孤立的，（被）分离的，（被）隔离的 feeling cut off from others

hit the pavement 外出忙着开始做某事 to get out and walk the streets in order to accomplish something

 

 

in the footsteps of MARCO POLO - excite travel monday

 

 

Faces of Wakhan, Afghanistan

 

 

Visit the Wakhan Corridor