书名：The Coldest Place On Earth《世界上最冷的地方 》
作者：Tim Vicary 蒂姆·维卡里
简介：
当今，南极有一座房子，叫阿蒙森—斯科特南极站。室内暖融融的，无论夏冬，人们都可以在那儿生活、工作。飞机毫不费力地便能飞抵或是飞离南极站。从这儿到世界其它地方，要不了多少小时。但是从南极站出来走上500米，那儿的南极洲便再次成为地球上最寒冷、最空旷的地区。
在1911年，当时的南极既没见过飞机也没建有住房。除了茫茫大雪、冰封天地与凛凛寒风外，一无所有。没有英国国旗，没有挪威国旗。但是，有几个人缓慢地向南走着，横穿冰封大地。斯科特率领的人配备了小马，而阿蒙森率领的人配备了狗与滑雪板。当时的温度为－30℃或者更糟。这些人忍受着疲倦、饥饿和寒冷……他们中谁将是到达南极的第一人呢？
目前，在阿蒙森—斯科特南极站内，墙上写着一些字，是斯科特队长于1912年写在日记里的一句话：
“天啊，这地方太可怕了！”
本文的作者蒂姆·维卡里是经验丰富的教师和作家。他现今在英国北部的约克生活工作。
Chapter 3 The Ponies
On October 27th, the Terra Nova arrived in Wellington, New Zealand. When Scott came off the ship, a newspaper man walked up to him.
10月27日，特若•诺瓦号船抵达新西兰的惠灵顿。当斯科特走下船时，一位报社记者迎面走来。
'Captain Scott! Captain Scott! Can I talk to you, please!' he said.
“斯科特队长！斯科特队长！我能与你谈谈吗？”他说。
Scott stopped and smiled. 'Yes, of course, 'he said. 'What do you want to know?'
斯科特停下来，面带微笑。“行，当然可以！”他说，“你想知道什么？”
'Are you going to win?' the man asked.
“你们会是赢家吗？”那人问。
'Win?' Scott asked. 'Win what?'
“赢家？”斯科特问，“什么赢家？”
'Win the race to the South Pole, of course, 'the newspaper man said. 'It's a race between you and Amundsen, now. Look at this!' He gave a newspaper to Scott. Scott looked at it. It said: Scott's face went white. 'Give me that!' he said. He took the newspaper and read it carefully. The newspaper man watched him, and waited. 'Well, Captain Scott, 'he said at last. 'Who's going to win this race? Tell me that!'
“当然是赢得前往南极的竞赛。”报社记者说。“现在这个竞赛在你与阿蒙森之间展开。瞧！”他将一份报纸递给斯科特。斯科特看着报纸。报上是这样写的：弗雷门号正与斯科特争先到达南极。阿蒙森说：“我们将赢得比赛！”斯科特脸色变得苍白。“给我报纸！”他说。他拿过报纸认真阅读。记者观察着他，期待着。“那么，斯科特队长，”他最终开口了，“谁将赢得这场比赛？请告诉我！”
Scott looked at him angrily. 'This is stupid!' he said. 'It's not a race! I came here to learn about the Antarctic—I'm not interested in Amundsen, or in races!' Then he walked back onto his ship, with the newspaper in his hand.
斯科特愤怒地看着他。“真是愚蠢！”他说，“这不是比赛！我来这儿是为了了解南极。我对阿蒙森对比赛都不感兴趣！”然后，他回到船上，手里拿着那张报纸。
Later that day, he talked to his men. He gave them the newspaper, and laughed.
当天晚些时候，他对同行人员讲起这事，将报纸递给他们，并且大笑起来。
'It doesn't matter, 'he said. 'We're in front of Amundsen, and we have more men, and more money. He has only eight men, and a lot of dogs. I know about dogs—they don't work in the Antarctic. We have sixteen men and the new motor sledges—they are much better. And tomorrow the ponies are coming. We need ponies, motor sledges, and good strong British men—that's all. Forget about Amundsen! He's not important!'
“没关系，”他说，“我们现今还在阿蒙森前面。我们不仅人数占优势，而且钱也更多。他呢，除了许多狗外，只有8个人。我熟悉狗性：它们在南极洲干不了活儿。我们有16个人，还配有新式机动雪橇。这些雪橇比狗好使多了。明天，还有小马送来。我们需要小马、机动雪橇以及身强力壮的英国人！这些就够了。忘了那个阿蒙森！他并不重要！”
Scott asked Oates to look after the ponies, but he did not let Oates buy them. When Oates first saw the ponies, in New Zealand, he was very unhappy. Most of the ponies were old, and some of them were ill.
斯科特分配奥茨喂养小马，但不让他负责买马。在新西兰，奥茨一见到这些小马，便大为光火。这些小马大部分都已老态毕呈，有些还是病马。
“这些都是漂亮的小马，泰特斯，”斯科特说，“纯中国货，匹匹都极为出色！”
Oates looked at them angrily, and said nothing. Then he asked：'Where is their food, Captain?'
奥茨恼火地看着这些小马，没有说什么。随即他问：“队长，它们的饲料在哪里？”
'Here!' Scott opened a door.
“这儿！”斯科特打开一道门。
Oates looked inside. He thought for a minute. 'We need more food than this, Captain Scott! These ponies are going to work in the coldest place on earth—they need a lot of food—more than this!'
奥茨朝里看了看，思索了一会儿。“我们需要更多饲料，斯科特队长！这些小马将在地球上最冷的地区干活儿：它们需要许多饲料，远不止这些！”
Scott smiled quietly. 'We can't take more food on this ship, Titus. Where can we put it? But it doesn't matter, old boy. They're very strong ponies, you know. The best ponies on earth.'
斯科特无声地笑了。“这条船上，我们不可能带许多饲料，泰特斯。往哪放呢？没什么关系，老兄。你看见了，这些马十分壮实，是地球上最好的小马。”
Later that night, Oates wrote a letter to his mother. There are nineteen ponies on the Terra Nova now, he wrote. All the penies are in a small room at the front of the ship. We eat our food in the room under the ponies, so our table is often wet and dirty. Scott makes a lot of mistakes, I think, and Antarctica is a very dangerous place.
那天深夜，奥茨给他母亲写了封信。信是这样写的：特若•诺瓦号船上现在有 19匹小马，所有小马都养在船首的小舱里。我们进餐的地方正好位于装运小马的船舱下面。所以我们的餐桌经常湿漉漉、脏兮兮的。我认为，斯科特犯了许多错误。南极洲其实是非常危险的地方。
【词组学习】
1.walk up
向上走；<非正>请进；沿…走去
例：She walk up to the desk and ask to see the manager.
她走到办公桌前要求见经理。
2.for a minute
一会儿
例：Could I borrow your pen for a minute?
我可以借用你的笔一会儿吗？
