·续（２）·
We did just that, suffering another long spell perched on
the side of this summit awkwardly holding our pads above us.
（我们举着垫子高高过头，难看得要死，在山顶上遭受着又一次长时间的栖息山头的苦痛。）
Later, visibility fell to nearly zero, and we found
ourselves in the middle of a cloud, which felt good. It felt
good on the lungs, especially. I haven't breathed air like
that since my last visit to Oregon.
（过了好一会，能见度几乎降到零，我们发现自己身处一片浮云之中，感觉不错。我觉得肺部尤其舒服——自从Oregon回来后就再没有吸收过这般清新的空气了。）
The stint in the cloud was also accompanied by a long
absence of rain. We surmised that being in a cloud meant we
were above the rain, and hence we could roll the dice and
return to the sleeping bags. It wasn't hard to convince us,
considering it was midnight and we were two very tired
cyclists/would-be adventurers. So, out came the bags and in we
went.
（置身云层的这段时间里，雨也停了许久。我们猜想身在云中就意味着在雨层的上面，也就可以碰碰运气回到睡袋里去了。要我们相信自己的猜测很容易，因为已经是深夜时分了，而我们这两个自行车运动爱好者（准探险爱好者）此刻已经十分疲倦了。于是袋子那出来了，我们钻了进去。）
Twenty minutes later we were back on the rock.
（20分钟后我们又回到了岩石上。）
"I'm getting tired of this drill!" I said. It was truly
exasperating.
（“我受不了这种拉练了！”我真的很生气。）
By 2 am, the wind kicked up and started pelting us from the
side, blowing cold mountain air across us, not to mention some
precipitation. We recalled a collapsed section of the Wall
very near us that we could hide in. We got the flashlight out
and hunkered down in a depressed bit of Wall, which was our
barracks for the duration, safer from the wind but still fully
exposed to the rain.
（深夜2点钟，风刮了起来，开始从边上朝我们打来，冷冷的山风吹过我们的脸，更别提雨水了。我们想起了有一段崩塌了的城墙可以藏身，于是拿起电筒盘着腿坐在一段扁平低矮的城墙上，这里便成了我们打持久战的营地了，虽然更能避风，却完全暴露在雨中。）
"No breaks!" I said over and over in a mocking, exasperated
tone. "No breaks for us. No damn breaks. This just keeps up.
We don't get a break!"
（“没有停息！”我重复着，带着辱骂和激愤的语调。“我们一刻也不能歇息，一刻都不能！一直下雨，真混蛋！”）
It was bad. Breaking a long period of silence, Will sighed,
lifting his head just slightly toward the sky. "Come on, mate.
Give us a break."
（天气糟糕透了。长时间的沉默后，Will叹了叹气，头微微向着天空说：“老天，就给我们歇歇吧。”）
"Are you talking to God, Will?"
（“在和上帝说话吗？”我问。）
"I guess, if that's who's listening. I'll plead with anyone
right now." Will pushed the illuminator on his watch. "We're
two-thirds through this thing. Four more hours to go."
（“如果他在听的话，我想是的。我现在愿意求任何人。”Will按了按手表上面的照明灯，“我们已经度过了三分之二的时间了，还有4个小时。”）
Next, he asked the question: How much would you pay to get
out of this? For all the times in China when a few extra
dollars separates you from the masses, lifts you out of the
frustrations and inconveniences they suffer every day, I was
for all the world a regular schmo, deprived of the usual
escape hatch.
（他又接着问了个问题：如果可以摆脱现在所受的困扰，你愿意给多少？在中国，有那么一些多余的钞票总可以把你和老百姓区分开来，还可以每天把你从他们所遭受的挫折和不便中解放出来，但不管有多么诱惑，我还是一个正常的愚人，不会走歪路。）
With daylight we were soaking wet but ready to get down
from the place -- which we dubbed Eagle's Nest in honor of its
altitude and exposure -- and reach our bikes, which had been
thoroughly washed of their lubricants.
（日光透了进来，我们全身湿透，但已做好从这里下去的准备——由于这里地势高，方位偏远，我们授予这里“鹰巢”的称号。我们回到了放单车的地方，车子的润滑剂已经完全被冲洗掉了。）
We got back to Sihai on our mud-caked bikes and dropped in
on the family of three and their small store/eatery. They were
so kind. With one look at us, the woman announced she'd bring
out a big pot of "hong tang" -- a boiled molasses beverage
which was delicious. We ordered some food, and the daughter
brought out an oven for us to warm ourselves by.
（骑着我们的泥土蛋糕般的单车，我们回到了四海镇，并拜访了一户三口之家和他们的小商铺兼小餐馆。他们很好人，女主人打量了我们一下，然后拿出一大壶的“红糖”给我们喝，这是一种可口的蜜糖饮料。我们叫了一些东西吃，主人的女儿还取出暖炉给我们取暖。）
"Let me roast your shoes for a while," the women said. We
demurred.
（“我来帮你把鞋子烘干吧，”女主人说。我们马上谢绝了。）
After that kind of heartfelt, kind treatment, I told them
I'd be sending a package of English study materials to their
daughter -- books and tapes.
（经受了一番亲切、衷心的待遇后，我告诉主人家我会寄给他们女儿一些英语学习资料，包括书和磁带。）
So, that was it. We put the calories in our stomachs and
set off for Beijing. Each pass made us warm, and each downhill
was a frozen burden.
（这段旅程也就告一段落了。我们填饱了肚子便启程北京。每到一处都是那么温暖人心，而每段下坡路却是冰冷的负担。）
To perk up spirits, I proposed we finish the weekend with a
few/20 donuts and coffee at the Dunkin Donuts shop 5 minutes
from home.
（为了振作精神，我便提议这个周末大家到离家5分钟路程的Dunkin饼屋去吃20个油炸圈饼，还有咖啡。）
Will did nothing but talk about donuts and ask for E.T.A. -
Dunkin Donuts estimates for the last 40 kilometers of the day.
（Will则什么都不干，只谈油炸圈饼，还有询问我预计到达的时间——到了最后40公里处他问了Dunkin饼屋。）
"We'll be there in under 30 minutes, Homer," I reassured
him.
（我叫他放心，“我们30分钟内可以到达那儿。”）
I arrived home, took a shower, and sat down. I nodded to
sleep but got control of myself. I wanted to stay awake until
nighttime.
（回到家洗了个澡然后坐下，本来决定睡觉的，但自己却把自己控制了：我想一直待到深夜。）
It's been two days since we got back from that ride, and
today I put the English materials in the mail to Sihai.
（从上次回来已经过去两天了，今天我把英语资料寄去了四海镇。）
I got a call from Will. "Well, I've been checking my
materials, and I'm pretty sure that pile of rubble was
Northern Qi Dynasty, dating from 550 AD. The Ming probably
used their mortar bricks to reform that Qi wall. But those
light mortar bricks never could have been enough to hold such
a mass of rubble together." Hence, the state we found it in.
（Will给过我电话，他说：“我查阅了资料，现在十分肯定那堆碎石是北齐时代留下来的，大约是公元550年。明朝可能想用他们的泥砖来刷新齐城墙，但那么轻的砖块是不可能承受得了那么多碎石的重压的。”于是，我们在现场看到了那样的情形。）
In fact, that Wall was probably from the Tang Dynasty, Will
later surmised. I told him that sounded damned exciting. It
meant I'd been on Qin, Qi and Ming Wall. Not bad at all.
（事实上，Will后来猜测那幅城墙有可能是唐代的。当时我听了觉得无比兴奋：清、齐、明三代的城墙我都到过。这一点不差！）
I hung up the phone and headed out for the Army surplus
store. If rain were to grace an upcoming episode of our Wall
adventures, a tent would consign it to a minor role.
（我挂了电话，便去了军需用品店。如果说雨水可以给我们即将进行的这轮长城冒险活动带来荣耀，那么购买一个挡风避雨的帐篷将使冒险变得平凡。）
Next week: Midnight, Part 1
（林若飞 编译）
Words &
Expressions
drill 军事化训练
keep up 持续
schmo 愚人
escape
hatch 紧急出口
dub 给予称号
lubricant 润滑剂
molasses 糖蜜
demur 不同意
perk
up 振作精神
donut 油炸圈饼
E.T.A. ＝ estimated time of
arrival
