牛津書蟲系列 世界上最冷的地方 02 The race

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　　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 house.'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，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 比賽

　　弗雷門號抵達挪威南部的一個小島。該島很小，僅有一間小木屋，兩棵樹，還有將近100條狗。

　　“看那兒!”比阿蘭德說，“是座狗島!海水里有狗，樹旁有狗，房頂上有狗，處處都有狗!”

　　房內(nèi)走出兩個人。“哈塞爾!林德斯特倫!”阿蒙森呼喚說，“見到你們就好了!你們給我養(yǎng)了多少條狗?”

　　“99條，羅阿爾，”哈塞爾說，“99條格陵蘭最好的狗。這些狗太好過了，啥事不干，整天好吃好玩!它們正在這兒歡度夏天呢!”

　　“好，好，”阿蒙森朗聲笑了，“但是現(xiàn)在這一切全結(jié)束了。喂，比阿蘭德!別笑啦，下船來這兒，幫幫我，把這些狗全弄到船上去!”

　　這事并不容易。這些狗又肥又壯，不愿上船。然而在苦干3小時后，所有99條狗全都上船，弗雷門號再度駛向大海。

　　船上的人員高興不起來：氣候惡劣，狗群骯臟，而且有人病倒了。于是，他們便開始提出種種問題。

　　“我們?yōu)槭裁匆獛н@些狗?”有人提問說，他叫約翰森。“我們即將南行好幾千公里，穿越合恩角，然后向北，到阿拉斯加。為什么不等等，等到阿拉斯加后再弄狗?”

　　“別問我，”他的朋友赫爾默·漢森說，“我也搞不懂。”

　　好長時間內(nèi)，這些人一直都在議論紛紛。后來，9月9日那天，阿蒙森將所有人員召集到大船尾部。他靜靜地站著，看著眾人。他身后有一大幅地圖，然而這不是北極地圖，而是南極洲地圖。

　　比阿蘭德看著赫爾默·漢森，笑出聲來。這時，阿蒙森開始講話。

　　“伙計們，”他說，“我知道你們心中不滿。你們經(jīng)常問我一些難題，我都沒有回答。好吧，今天我當即解答所有的問題。”

　　“兩年前，我們便開始為這次旅程做準備。當時，我們想成為最先抵達北極的人。然而去年，美國人皮里找到了北極。所以，美國人首先到達了北極，而不是挪威人。我們現(xiàn)在正要去那兒，但為時過晚了。”

　　“我聽不懂這些話，”比阿蘭德心想，“阿蒙森身后掛著南極洲地圖，為什么卻大談北極呢?”

　　阿蒙森稍作停頓，緩緩地看著全體人員。這時沒有任何人多嘴。

　　“到阿拉斯加前，還得南行好遠的路，”他說。“你們都知道，幾乎是到了南極洲。英國人斯科特隊長今年正趕往南極。他想將英國國旗插在那兒。美國國旗已經(jīng)插上了北極，而英國國旗正插向南極。”

　　比阿蘭德開始省悟了，臉上露出了微笑，難以自制。他渾身暖洋洋的，亢奮不已。

　　“好吧，伙計們，”阿蒙森緩緩地說，“眼睜睜地看著英國人將他們的旗幟首先插上南極，我們能同意嗎?我們的前行速度非常之快，不是嗎?我們不僅帶著許多狗，而且擁有地球上最杰出的滑雪能手：我們這兒的比阿蘭德便是全挪威最優(yōu)秀的!所以，我有個主意，伙計們。咱們到南極去，趕在英國國旗之前，將挪威國旗插到那兒去!你們有何看法?”

　　一時間，整個場面安靜極了。阿蒙森等待著，而這些人看著他，考慮著這些。這時，比阿蘭德朗笑出聲。

　　“對!”他說，“為什么不呢?這是場滑雪比賽，難道不是嗎?再說，英國人不會滑雪!這主意絕妙之極!咱們就去那兒!”