-
[
世界上最冷的地方
/
蒂姆·维卡里
著
]
The Coldest Place On Earth by Tim
Vicary
■
简介
<
/p>
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
< br>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 1 Two
Ships
The race
began in the summer of 1910
．
On June
lst
，
in
London
，
a black
ship
，
the Terra
Nova
，
went down
the river Thames to the
sea
．
Thousands of
people stood by the river to watch
it
．
They were all excited and
happy
．
On the Terra
Nova
，
Captain Robert Falcon
Scott smiled quietly
．
It was
a very important day
for
him
．
He was a strong
man
，
not very
tall
，
in the blue clothes of
a captain
．
He was forty-one
years old
，
but he
had a young face
，
like a
boy
．
His eyes were dark and
quiet
．
One man on the
ship
，
Titus
Oates
，
smiled at
Scott
．
'What an exciting day
，
Captain
！
'he
said
．
'Look at those
people
！
I feel like an
important man
！
'
Scott
laughed
．
'You are important
，
Titus
，
'
he said
．
'And you're going to
be famous
，
too
．
We
all
are
．
Do you see this
flag
？
'He looked at the big
British flag at the back of the
ship
，
and smiled
at Oates
．
'That
flag is coming with us
，
'he
said
．
'In the
Antarctic
，
I'm going to carry
it under my clothes
．
We're going to be the first men at
the South
Pole
，
and that flag is going
to be first
，
too
！<
/p>
'
* *
* * *
Five days
later
，
on June
6th
，
a man opened the door of
his wooden house in
Norway
．
He was
a
tall man
，
with a long
face
．
He waited outside the
house for a
minute
．
Everything was very
quiet
．
He could
see no houses
，
only mountains
，
trees
，
and wa-ter
．
It was nearly
dark
．
The sky
was
black over the mountains
．
The man
smiled
，
and walked quickly
away from the house
，
down to
the sea
．
In the
water
，
a big wooden ship
waited for him
．
The man got
onto the ship
，
and talked and
laughed quietly with
his
friends
．
The
ship's
name
was
Fram
，
and
the
man
was
Roald
Amundsen
．
The
Fram
was
the
most
beautiful ship on
earth
，
Amundsen
thought
．
His friends were the
best skiers on earth
，
too
．
One
of
them
，
Olav
Bjaaland
，
smiled at
him
．
'North Pole
，
here
we come
，
Captain
，<
/p>
'he said
．
'Yes
．
'Amundsen
said
．
His friends could not
see his face in the
dark
．
'Fram is going to the
Arctic
．
'
Everyone on the
Fram was ready to go to the North
Pole
，
to the
Arctic
．
Amundsen wanted to
go there
，
too
．
But first he wanted to go
south
．
His friends didn't
know that
．
At midnight on June
6th
，
the Fram moved quietly
away from Amundsen's
house
，
out to
sea
．
■
1
两艘船
比赛开始于
1910
年夏天。
6
月
1
日，伦敦。特若·诺瓦号这艘黑船顺泰晤士河而
下，向大海驶去。成千上万的人
伫立岸边观望，所有的人脸上都露出兴奋与幸福。
特若·
诺瓦号上，
队长罗伯特·
福尔康·
斯科特无声地笑了。
这一天对他来说太重要了。
他
个头不高，但长得壮实，穿着蓝色的队长制服。他虽说已经
41
岁，但是由于长着一张娃
娃脸，所以看上去仍像个小孩。他双眼乌黑而又沉静。
泰特斯·奥茨，船上的一位水手，冲着队长笑了。
“多么令人兴奋的日子啊，队长！
”他说，
“看看这些人！我觉得自己好似成为重要人物
了！
”
队长朗声笑了。
“泰特斯，你的确是
重要人物，
”他说，
“而且你很快就要名扬天下，就
同我们大家一样。
你看到这国旗了吗？”
他注视着
船尾那面巨幅的英国国旗，
微笑着对奥茨
说：
< br>“那面国旗将会随我们一道去。在南极洲，我将把它夹在衣服里面带着。我们将成为首
批到达南极的人，那面国旗也将是第一面到达南极的旗帜。
”
* * * * *
5
天以后
，
6
月
6
日。
在挪威，一个人拉开了自己的木房子的门。这人高个、长脸。他
在室外稍候片刻，四周万
籁俱寂。他目光所及之处，没有住房，只有群山、树林和大海。天
近傍晚，群山上面是黑
沉沉的一片天空。
这人脸上露出微笑，快步离开木屋，朝海边走去。大海中，一艘大型木船正等着他。他
来到船上，与朋友们聊着，悄悄地笑着。
这船叫弗雷门号，这人便是罗阿尔·
阿蒙森。
阿蒙森认为，弗雷门号是地球上最美丽的
一艘船。
他的朋友是
地球上最优秀的滑雪者。
其中有位朋友叫奥拉夫·
比阿兰德，<
/p>
正冲着他微笑。
“北极，我们去那儿，队长。
”他说。
“是的，
”阿蒙森说。由于天色已黑，这位朋友看不见他的面部表情。
“弗雷门号正驶向
北极。
”
弗雷门号上的每个人全都准备就绪：
到北极圈，上北极。
阿蒙森也想去那儿。
然而他第
一想做的事，便是向南航行。他的朋友却毫不知情。
6
月
6
日午夜，弗雷门号无声地驶离阿蒙森的家园，驶向大海。
■
Chapter 2 The
Race
The Fram
went to an island in the south of
Norway
．
It was a very little
island
，
with only one
small wooden
house
，
two
trees
—
and nearly a hundred
dogs
．
'Look at
that
！
'Bjaaland
said
．
'It's an island of
dogs
！
There are dogs in the
water
，
near the
trees
，
on the
house
—
dogs
everywhere
！
'
Two men came out of the hou
se
．
'Hassel
！
Lindstrom
！
'Amundsen
said
．
'It's good to see
you
！
How many dogs do you
have for me
？
'
'Ninety-nine
，
Roald
，
'said
Hassel
．
'The best ninety-nine
dogs from Greenland
．
And
they're
very
happy
！
They don't
work
；
they just eat and play
all day
！
They're having a
won-derful summer
here
！
'
'Good
，
good
．
'Amundsen
laughed
．
'But that's finished
now
．
Hey
，
Bjaaland
！
Stop
laughing
—
come down here and
help me
．
Let's get all these
dogs onto the ship
！
'
It was not
easy
．
The dogs were fat and
strong
，
and they didn't want
to go on the ship
．
But at
last
，
after three
hours'hard work
，
all ninety-
nine were on the ship
，
and
the Fram went out to sea
again
．
The men were
not happy
．
The weather was
bad
，
the dogs were
dirty
，
and some of the men
were ill
．
They
began to ask questions
．
'Why are we
bringing dogs witn us
？
'asked
one man
，
Jo-
hansen
．
'We're going
thousands of
kilometres
south
，
past Cape
Horn
，
and then north to
Alaska
．
Why not
wait
，
and get dogs in
Alaska
？
'
'Don't ask
me
，
'said his
friend
，
Helmer
Hanssen
，
'I don't understand
it
．
'
The men talked for a long time
．
Then
，
on
September 9th
，
Amundsen called everyone to the
back of the
ship
．
He stood quietly and
looked at them
．
Behind him
was a big map
．
It was not a
map of the
Arctic
．
It was a map of
Antarctica
．
Bjaaland looked at Helmer
Hanssen
，
and
laughed
．
Then Amundsen began
to speak
．
'Boys
，
'he
said
．
'I know you are
unhappy
．
You often ask me
difficult questions
，
and I
don't
answer
．
Well
，
I'm going to an-swer all
those questions now
，
today
．
We began to work for this journey two
years ago
．
Then
，
we wanted to be the first men at the
North Pole
．
But
last year
，
Peary
，<
/p>
an American
，
found
the North Pole
．
So America
was first to
the North
Pole
，
not
Norway
．
We're going
there
，
but we're too
late
．
'
'I don't understand
this
，
'Bjaaland
thought
．
'Why is Amundsen
talking about the North
Pole
，
with a map of
Antarctica behind him
？
'
Amundsen
stopped for a minute
，
and
looked at all the men
slowly
．
No one said
anything
．
'We have to go a long way
south before we get to
Alaska
，
'he
said
．
'Very near
Antarctica
，
you
know
．
And Captain
Scott
，
the
Englishman
，
is going to the
South Pole this year
．
He
wants to put
his British flag
there
．
An American flag at
the North Pole
，
a British
flag at the South Pole
．
'
Bjaaland
began
to
understand
．
He
started
to
smile
and
couldn't
stop
．
He
was
warm
and
excited
．
'Well
，
boys
，
'Amundsen
said slowly
．
'Do we want the
British to put their flag at the South
Pole first
？
How
fast can we travel
？
We have a
lot of
dogs
，
and
some of the
most won-derful
skiers on
earth
—
Bjaaland here is the
best in Norway
！
So I have an
idea
，
boys
．
Let's go to the
South
Pole
，
and put the Norwegian
flag there before the
British
！
What do you
say
？
'
For a minute or two it was
very quiet
．
Amundsen
waited
，
and the men watched
him and
thought
．
Then
Bjaaland
laughed
．
'Yes
！
'he
said
．
'Why
not
？
It's a ski
race
，
isn't
it
，
and the English can't
ski
！
It's a wonderful
idea
，
of
course
！
Let's
go
！
'
■
2
比赛
<
/p>
弗雷门号抵达挪威南部的一个小岛。该岛很小，仅有一间小木屋，两棵树，还有将近
100
条狗。
“看那儿！
”比阿兰德说，
“是座狗岛！海水里有狗，树旁有狗，房顶上有狗，处处都有
狗！
”
房内走出两个人。
“哈塞尔！林德斯特伦！
”阿蒙
森呼唤说，
“见到你们就好了！你们给
我养了多少条狗？”
“
99
条，罗阿尔，
”哈塞尔说，
“
99
条格陵兰最好的狗。这些狗太好过了，啥事不干
，
整天好吃好玩！它们正在这儿欢度夏天呢！
”
“好，好，
”阿蒙森朗声笑了，
“但是现在这一切全结束了。喂，比阿兰德！别笑啦，
下
船来这儿，帮帮我，把这些狗全弄到船上去！
”
这事并不容易。这些
狗又肥又壮，不愿上船。然而在苦干
3
小时后，所有
99
条狗全都
上船，弗雷门号再度驶向大海。
船上的人员
高兴不起来：气候恶劣，狗群肮脏，而且有人病倒了。于是，他们便开始提
出种种问题。
“我们
为什么要带这些狗？”有人提问说，他叫约翰森。
“我们即将南行好几千公里，
穿越合恩角，然后向北，到阿拉斯加。为什么不等等，等到阿拉斯加后再弄狗？”
“别问我，
”他的朋友赫尔默·汉森说，
“我也搞不懂。
”<
/p>
好长时间
内，这些人一直都在议论纷纷。后来，
9
月
9
日那天，阿蒙森将所有人员召集
到大船尾部。他静静地站
着，看着众人。他身后有一大幅地图，然而这不是北极地图，而是
南极洲地图。
比阿兰德看着赫
尔默·汉森，笑出声来。这时，阿蒙森开始讲话。
“伙计们，
”他说，
“我知道你们心中不满。你们经常问我一些难题，我都没有回答。好
吧，今天我
当即解答所有的问题。
”
“两年前，我们便开始为这次旅程做准备。当时，我们想成为
最先抵达北极的人。然而
去年，美国人皮里找到了北极。所以，美国人首先到达了北极，
而不是挪威人。我们现在正
要去那儿，但为时过晚了。
”
“我听不懂这
些话，
”
比阿兰德心想，
“阿蒙森身后
挂着南极洲地图，
为什么却大谈北极
呢？”
阿蒙森稍作停顿，缓缓地看着全体人员。这时没有任何人多嘴。
“到阿拉斯加前，还得南行好远的
路，
”他说。
“你们都知道，几乎是到了南极洲。英国
人斯科特队长今年正赶往南极。
他想将英国国旗插在那儿。
美国国旗已经插上了北极，
而英
国国旗正插向南极。
”
比阿兰德开始省悟了，脸上露出了微笑，难以自制。他浑身暖洋洋的，亢奋不已。
“好吧，
伙计们，
”
阿蒙森缓缓地说，
< br>“眼睁睁地看着英国人将他们的旗帜首先插上南极，
我们能同意吗？我们的前行速
度非常之快，
不是吗？我们不仅带着许多狗，
而且拥有地球上<
/p>
最杰出的滑雪能手：
我们这儿的比阿兰德便是全挪威最优秀的！<
/p>
所以，
我有个主意，
伙计们。
咱们到南极去，赶在英国国旗之前，将挪威国旗插到那儿去！你们有何看法？”
一时间，整个场面安静极了
。阿蒙森等待着，而这些人看着他，考虑着这些。这时，比
阿兰德朗笑出声。
“对！
”他说，
“为什么不呢？这是场滑雪比赛，难道不是吗？再说，英国人不会
滑雪！
这主意绝妙之极！咱们就去那儿！
”
■
Chapter 3 The Ponies
On October
27th
，
the Terra Nova arrived
in Wellington
，
New
Zealand
．
When Scott came off
the ship
，
a
newspa-per man walked up to
him
．
'Captain
Scott
！
Captain
Scott
！
Can I talk to you
，
please
！
'he
said
．
Scott stopped and smiled
．
'Yes
，
of
course
，
'he
said
．
'What do you want to
know
？
'
'Are you going to
win
？
'the man
asked
．
'Win
？
'Scott
asked
．
'Win
what
？
'
'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
！
'
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
on-to his ship
，
with the
newspaper in his hand
．
Later that
day
，
he talked to his
men
．
He gave them the
newspaper
，
and
laughed
．
'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
！
'
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
．
'They're
beautiful
ponies
，
Titus
，
'Scott
said
．
'They
come
from
China
—
they're
wonderful
ponies
！
'
Oates
looked
at
them
angrily
，
and
said
nothing
．
Then
he
asked
：
'Where
is
their
food
，
Captain
？
'
'Here
！
'Scott
opened a door
．
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
！
'
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
．
'
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 Antarc-tica is a
very dangerous place
．
■
3
小马
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。
“斯科特队长！斯科特队长！我能与你谈谈吗？”他说。
斯科特停下来，面带微笑。
“行，当然可以！
”他说，
“你想知道什么？
”
“你们会是赢家吗？”那人问。
“赢家？”斯科特问，
“什么赢家？”
“当然是赢得前往南极的竞赛。<
/p>
”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：<
/p>
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！
”
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。
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。
“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！
”
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！
< br>”
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？”<
/p>
“这儿！
”斯科特打开一道门。
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！
”
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。
”
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。
■
Chapter 4 Food Depots
The two
ships
，
Terra Nova and
fram
，
arrived in
Antarctica
，
in January
1911
，
at the end of
summer
．
The
Englishmen and the Norwegians wanted to stay on
the ice all winter
．
They
wanted to
be ready to go to the South
Pole at the beglnning of the next Antarctic
summer
．
The dogs pulled the
Norwegians'sledges
．
They ran
quickly over the snow and pulled the big
sledges from the ship onto the
ice
．
The men ran beside them
on skis
．
They
put
a
big
wooden
house
on
the
ice
．
The
house
was
full
of
food
，
and
skis
，
and
sledges
．
They
called
it
Framheim
．
Out-side
the
house
，
the
dogs
lived
in
holes
under
the
snow
．
When the
house was ready
，
the men made
their first journey south
．
Before the
winter
，
they wanted to take a
lot of food south
，
and leave
it in depots
．
For the long
journey
to
the
Pole
，
they
needed
a
lot
of
food
，
and
they
couldn't
carry
it
all
with
them
．
On
February
10th
，
five
men
，
three
sledges
，
eighteen
dogs
，
and half a tonne of
food left Framheim and
went
south
．
It was
easy
．
The weather was warm
for the Antarctic
，
be-tween
—
7
°
Centi
grade and
—
17
°
Centigrade
．
The
snow
was
good
，
and
the
dogs
and
skis
went
fast
．
They
went
fifty
or
sixty
kilometres every
day
．
After four days they
reached 80
°
South
，
and made the first
depot
．
Amundsen
made
his
depot
very
carefully
．
It
was
very
im-
portant
to
find
it
again
，
next
summer
．
So he put
a big black flag on top
．
Then
he put ten flags to the east of the
depot
—
each
flag
half
a
kilometre
from
the
next
—
and
ten
flags
to
the
west
．
So
there
were
flags
for
five
kilometres to the left of the
depot
，
and five kilometres to
the right
．
Then they went back to
Framheim
，
and took some more
food south
，
this time to 82
°
South
．
This time it
was harder
．
The temperature
was sometimes
－
40
°
Centigrade
，
and
there were
strong winds with a lot of
snow
．
The dogs and men were
very tired
，
and the tents and
boots were
bad
．
At
the second depot
，
they put
out sixty flags
，
to help them
find it again
．
They came back to Framheim
on March 23rd
．
It was nearly
winter in the
Antarctic
．
Their
ship Fram was far away
now
，
near South
America
．
They were alone on
the ice
．
* * * * *
Oates
went
with
Scott
to
make
the
first
British
depot
．
They
left
Cape
Evans
on
January
25th
．
There were
thirteen men
，
eight
ponies
，
and twenty-six
dogs
．
The dogs were faster
than the
ponies
—
they ran
quickly over the top of the
snow
，
but the ponies'feet
went through it
．
Every
morning the ponies started
first
，
and the dogs started
two hours later
，
because they
ran faster
．
At
night
，
the dogs
made warm holes under the
snow
，
but the ponies stood on
top of the snow
．
It was
－
20
°
Centigr
ade
．
After fifteen days Oates talked to
Scott
．
There was a strong
wind
，
and the two men's faces
were white with
snow
．
'Three of these ponies are
ill
，
Captain
，
'Oates said
．
'They
can't go on
．
'
'Don't be stupid
，
Oates
，
'Scott
answered
．
'They're good
strong animals
—
the best
ponies on
earth
．
'
'Not these
three
，
'Oates
said
．
'They're
ill
，
and
unhappy
，
and now they can't
walk
．
Let's kill
them
，
and leave
the meat here
，
in the
snow
．
We can eat
it
，
or the dogs
can
．
'
'Of course
not
！
'Scott said
angrily
．
'These ponies are
our friends
，
they work hard
for us
．
I don't
kill my friends
！
'
Three days
later
，
two of the ponies were
dead
．
Scott's
men
were
slower
than
Amundsen's
；
it
took
them
twenty-
four
days
to
get
to
80
°
South
．
They made a big depot
there
，
and put one large
black flag on top of it
．
Then
they went back
to Cape
Evans
．
Their camp was on an island
in the ice
，
and the sea ice
moved sometimes
．
There were
holes
in the
ice
，
and black sea water
under it
．
One day seven
ponies went through the ice into the
sea
，
and
died
．
One motor sledge also
went into the sea
．
■
4
食品贮藏屋
两艘船，特若·诺瓦号与弗雷门号
都抵达南极洲，时间为
1911
年
1<
/p>
月，夏末。英国人
与挪威人均想在这冰封的天地里度过整个冬天。
他们都想做好准备工作，
以求这儿第二年夏
天刚开始时能向南极进军。
群狗拉着挪威人的雪橇，
在雪地上高速奔跑，
< br>将从船上卸下来的大雪橇拉到了冰封世界。
众人踩着滑雪板滑行在一旁。
他们在冰封世界
上建起一座大木屋。
屋子里堆满了食品、
滑雪板以及雪橇。
他们将这木
屋称作弗雷门海姆。
木屋外，群
狗住在雪下挖出的狗洞里。当木屋准备就绪时，他们开始了
首次南行征途。
在冬天来临之前，<
/p>
他们打算向南方运出许多食物，
并将食物放到各个贮藏屋里。
因为在
奔赴南极的漫长旅程中，他们需要许多食物。他们不可能随身
带着所有的食物！
2
月
10
日，
5
个人、
3
辆雪橇、
18
条狗、以及半吨食物离开了弗雷门
海姆，向南而去。
事情进行得颇为顺利。此时的南极气候相对来说还算暖和，介于－
7
℃与－
17
℃之间。
雪
地质量不错，
狗与雪橇都跑得不慢，每天能走五六十公里。
4<
/p>
天之后，
他们到达南纬
80
°
的地方，建立了第一个贮藏屋。
阿蒙森非常精心地修建他的贮藏屋
。明年夏天需要再度找到它，这点特别重要。所以，
他在贮藏屋顶上插上一面黑旗。随后
他在贮藏屋的东边插上
10
面旗帜：每半公里插一面；
在贮藏屋西边也插上
10
面旗帜。所以，从贮藏
屋向左延伸
5
公里，见得着旗帜；向右延伸
5
公里，也看得见旗帜。
随后，他们返回弗雷门海姆，带上更多的食品后，再度南行。
这次抵达了南纬
82
°的
地方。
这次旅程辛苦
多了。温度有时低达－
40
℃。寒风凛冽，雪花漫天。人困狗乏
，帐篷与靴
子也不顶事了。在第二个贮藏屋附近，他们插了
60
面旗，目的是帮助他们能再次找到它。
他们再度回到弗雷门海姆时，已是
3
月
23
日。
这时南极时近冬天。他们的弗雷门号船
早已远驶而去，现在到了南美洲附近。只有他们孤
独地留在冰封的天地里。
* * * * *
奥茨跟随斯科特，前往修建第一座英国人的贮藏屋。他们于
1
月
25
日离开了开普埃文
斯
。一行
13
人、
8
匹小马、
26
条狗。这些狗比小马要快：它们能够在雪地上
快速地奔跑，
但是马腿却要陷进雪里。每天早晨，都是小马首先出发。
< br>2
小时后，狗儿们才上路，因为它
们奔跑速度快些。夜里
，
狗躲进挖在雪下面的温暖的洞里，但是小马只能站在雪地上，
承受
着－
20
℃的气温。
15
天后，奥茨向斯科特请示。当时强劲的寒风刮起，两人脸上都沾上一层白雪。
“队长，有
3
匹小马病了，
”奥茨说，
“走不动
了。
”
“别犯傻了，奥茨，
”斯科特回答说，
“它们都是强壮的好畜牲，地球上最好的小马。
”
“这
3<
/p>
匹不是，
”奥茨说，
“它们病歪歪的，无
精打采。现在它们根本无法走路。杀了它
们吧，将肉留在这儿的雪里。要么我们吃，要么
让狗吃。
”
“绝对不行！
”斯科特生气地说，<
/p>
“这些小马是我们的朋友，它们拼命地为我们干活儿。
我可不想杀
掉自己的朋友！
”
3
天后，其中有
2
匹小马死了。
斯科特的人比阿蒙森的人动作慢。他们花了
< br>24
天才抵达南纬
80
”地区。
他们在那儿修
建了一个大贮藏屋，在棚顶上插了一面大黑旗。然后，他们返回开普埃文斯
。
他们
的营地构筑在冰岛上，
海冰有时还会移动。
冰层中还有些空洞，
可以看到冰下的黑
色海水。一天，
7<
/p>
头小马从冰窟中掉进海里，死了。还有一辆机动雪橇也掉进了海里。
■
Chapter 5 A Long Cold Winter
It was dark for
four months
．
Outside the
wooden house at Framheim
，
it
was often
－
60
°
Centigrade
．
The dogs
lived in warm holes under the
snow
．
The men stayed in the
house
，
and
worked
in their rooms under the
snow
．
The skis and sledges came
from the best shops in
Norway
，
but Bjaaland wasn't
happy with
them
．
He changed a
lot of things on the skis and
sledges
．
Soon the sledges
were stronger than
before
．
The skis
were better and faster
，
too
．
All
the
Norwegians
worked
hard
．
They
looked
after
their
dogs
，
and
worked
on
their
equipment
—
the sle
dges
，
skis
，
tents
．
Every day they
thought about their journey to the
Pole
，
and
talked
about it
．
And every
day
，
Amundsen thought about
Scott
．
One
day
，
in
midwinter
，
he talked
to his men
．
'Let's start
early
，
before
Scott
，
'Amundsen
said
．
'Remem-
ber
，
Scott has more men than
us
，
and he has motor sledges<
/p>
，
too
．
Pe
rhaps they can go faster than
us
．
'
Bjaaland
laughed
．
'Oh
no
，
they can't go faster than
me
，
'he
said
．
'On
snow
，
nothing can go
faster than a good man on
skis
．
'
'We don't
know
，
'Amundsen
said
．
'You're the best skier
in Norway
，
but you get
tired
，
and dogs
get tired
，
too
．
Motor sledges don't get
tired
．
They can go all day
and all night
．
'
Johansen laughed
angrily
．
'That's
stupid
，
'he
said
．
'Perhaps the motor
sledges can go all night
，
but
the Englishmen can't
．
The
English can't win
，
Roald
—
they don't understand
snow
，
but we
do
．
And they're
too slow
．
'
'Perhaps
，
'Amundsen said
．
'But I
want to win this race
．
So
we're going to start
early
！
Do you
understand
？
'
It was quiet
and warm inside
Framheim
．
Bjaaland looked at
Amundsen
，
and thought about
the long
，
cold
journey in front of him
．
He
thought about the dogs in their holes under the
snow
，
and listened to the
wind over the house
．
'When
，
Roald
？
'h
e said quietly
．
'On August
24th
．
The sun comes back on
that day
．
We start
then
．
'
'But we
can't
！
'Johansen
said
．
He looked
angry
，
and un-
happy
．
'That's too
early
！
We can't
start then
—
it's
danger-ous and stupid
！
'
Amundsen looked
at Johansen coldly
．
'You're
wrong
，
Jo-
hansen
，
'he
said
．
'We want to win
< br>，
remember
？
So
we start on August 24th
．
'
Bjaaland
listened to the winter wind
outside
．
* * * * *
In
Scott's
camp
，
at
Cape
Evans
，
no
one
talked
about
Amundsen
and
no
one
worked
hard
．
They had
good food
，
and they played
football on the snow
．
They
wrote a newspaper
—
The
south
Polar
Times
—
and
read
books
．
No
one
learnt
to
ski
，
no
one
worked
on
the
motor
sledges
．
Twice
，
men went for long jour-neys across the
snow
．
They
walked
，
and pulled the
sledges
themselves
．
Oates
stayed at Cape Evans and looked after his
ponies
．
Over the window in Cape
Evans
，
Scott put a map of
Antarc-tica
．
With a
pen
，
he made a line
from Cape Evans to the South
Pole
，
and he put a little
Britisn Flag at the
Pole
．
Under the
map
，
Scott wrote the day for
the start of their journey
．
We start on
November 3rd
，
he
wrote
．
■
5
漫长的寒冬
4
个月中不见天日，一片昏暗。在弗
雷门海姆木屋外面，气温低到－
60
℃。狗儿们生活
在温暖的雪洞里。众人则留在木屋里，在白雪覆盖下的房间里，忙着各自的活儿。
< br>
尽管滑雪板与雪橇都是从
挪威最好的商店内购买的，但是比阿兰德对这些设备并不满
意。于是，
< br>他在滑雪板与雪橇上换了许多部件。一会儿功夫雪橇变得结实多了。滑雪板变得
更
好使更快了。
< br>所有这些挪威人干活儿都很卖力。他们照顾狗群，改良设备：雪橇、滑雪板、帐篷。每
天，他们都想着远赴南极的旅程，谈论着这次旅程。每天，阿蒙森脑子里都装着斯科特。隆
< br>冬里的一天，他对众人说：
“我们早些走，赶在斯科特之前。
”阿蒙森说，
“别忘了，斯科特的人比我们多，他还有
机动雪橇。所以，他们可能比我们快。
”
比阿兰德大笑起来。
“啊，不，他们不可能比我快，
”他说，
“在雪地上，没有任何东西
能快过优秀的滑雪
者。
”
“很难料定。
”阿蒙森说，
“你虽是挪
威最优秀的滑雪者，但是也有累乏的时候，狗也一
样。而机动雪橇则不会累，它能没日没
夜地跑个不停。
”
约翰森怒极而笑。
“真蠢，
”他说，
“也许机动雪橇可以整夜不停地跑，但是英国人不能
啊！英国人不可能赢，罗阿尔。他们不懂雪性，而我们懂。而且他们行进速度非常缓慢。< p>
”
“也许如此，
”阿蒙森说，
“无论如何我想赢得这次竞
赛，所以我们要早些出发！你们理
解吗？”
弗雷门海姆的房内宁静而温暖。<
/p>
比阿兰德看着阿蒙森，
思考起摆在面前漫长寒冷的旅程；
想着那些躲在雪洞里的狗儿们；
听着屋外的寒风。
“什么时候出发，
罗阿尔？”他轻声地问。
“
8
月
24
日，从那天起就又要出太阳了。我们
就在那时出发。
”
“我们不能那时就出发！
”约翰森说
。他显得很生气，一脸不快。
“这太早了！我们不能
在那个时候
出发，那是危险又愚蠢的做法！
”
阿蒙森冷冷地看着约翰森。
“你错了
，约翰森，
”他说，
“别忘了，我们想取得胜利。所
以，我们的出发时间为
8
月
24
日。
”
比阿兰德聆听着窗外的寒风。
* * * * *
开普埃文斯，
斯科特的营地里，
没有任何人谈论起阿蒙森的情况，
没有任何人在努力地
干活儿。
他们吃好东西，
在雪地上踢足球，
编了一份定名为
《南极时报》
的报纸，
翻阅书籍。
没有人学滑雪，
也没有人保养机动雪
橇。
这些人两度进行过横穿雪原的漫长旅程。
他们走路
不算，反而还得拉着雪橇走。奥茨留在开普埃文斯，喂养小马。
在开普埃文斯的窗户上，
斯科特挂着一张南极洲地图。
他在开普埃文斯与南极之间，
用
钢笔划了条线，
并将一面小小的英国国旗插在南极
上。
地图下面，
斯科特写下了他们的出发
日期。
我们于
11
月
3
日出发，他写道。
■
Chapter 6 A Bad Start
On August
23rd
，
the Norwegians'sledges
were ready
．
They took them
outside
，
and the dogs
pulled
them
across
me
ice
．
The
sun
came
up
for
half
an
hour
，
but
it
was
too
cold
：－
46
°
Centigrade
．
They
could not travel in that
weather
．
They went back to
Framheim and waited
．
They
waited
two
weeks
，
until
September
8th
．
Then
，
with
the
temperature
a
t
－
37
°
C
entigrade
，
they
started
．
They
ran
happily
across
the
snow
to
the
south
—
eight
men
，
seven
sledges
，
and
eighty-six dogs
．
Only
Lindstrom
，
the
cook
，
stayed behind in
Framheim
．
At
first
everything
went
well
．
They
went
twenty-eight
kilo-metres
on
Saturday
，
and
twenty-eight kilometres on
Sunday
．
It was easy
．
Then
，
on
Monday
，
the temperature went
down
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
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