泰少年足球队被困300小时 友谊或能缓解精神压力

Connections May Help Ease Stress in Thai Cave

In the mountains of northern Thailand, Ekapol Chanthawong developed a skill that may help him as he sits trapped underground in a cave: meditation¹.

The 25-year-old and 12 members of a boys’ soccer team disappeared after the team played on June 23. They have been inside the cave ever since.

Before Ekapol Chanthawong was asked to supervise the team, he spent 10 years as a Buddhist² monk³. He still goes to a religious center in the mountains where [he once] lived from time to time.

Tham Chanthawong, a family member, told the Associated Press that he “could meditate⁴ up to an hour. It has definitely helped him and probably has helped the boys stay calm.”

About 300 hours have passed since rising floodwaters trapped Ekapol and the boys in the Tham Luang cave.

Rescue crews found them on July 2. By then, the group had spent 10 days cut off from the outside world. Experts say the boys and their soccer coach are mostly physically⁵ healthy. But they say the experience has likely been difficult mentally. And it will likely worsen the longer the situation goes on.

Paul Auerbach is chief of the Division of Emergency Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

“It’s very likely that while the boys were in the cave, but not yet discovered by rescuers, that they experienced various degrees of anxiety, fear...and perhaps hopelessness,” he told the Associated Press.

Videos taken inside the cave show the boys -- aged⁶ 11 to 16 -- and Ekapol speaking with Thai navy SEAL divers⁷. The divers were sent in to give the group survival supplies, provide medical care and to keep them from feeling lonely. Although the boys and their coach appear thin and weak, they can be seen smiling and making jokes.

There is no set date for their removal from the cave. The only way out is for the boys to dive through the same flooded, narrow passageways that their rescuers entered.

The way out is considered extremely dangerous even for expert divers. Yet it is being considered as a possibility. Storms expected in the coming days could worsen the flooding.

Cave rescue experts say it may be safer to provide the group with supplies and wait for the water to go down -- either naturally or by pumping it out. But that could take months. Thailand’s rainy season usually continues until the end of October.

Experts say the boys and their coach have skills and qualities that will help them deal with the situation. They include their young age and their group identity, as well as Ekapol’s training in meditation.

David Spiegel is a professor at Stanford’s medical school. He said young people are “especially social creatures, and having friends with them as well as their coach would be a tremendous help.”

The boys and their coach are known to have very close ties as a group. Outside of sports, they often spend time together, swimming in waterfalls, boating down rivers -- and exploring caves.

Aisha Wiboonrungrueng’s 11-year-old son Chanin is among the boys trapped in the cave. She believes that Ekapol has helped the boys stay calm.

“Look at how calm they were sitting there waiting. No one was crying or anything,” she said of the video taken after the boys were discovered. “It was astonishing.”

I’m Dorothy Gundy.

Words in This Story

cave - n. a large hole that was formed by natural processes in the side of a cliff or hill or under the ground

meditation - n. the act or process of spending time in quiet thought

soccer - n. a game played between two teams of 11 players in which a round ball is moved toward a goal usually by kicking

Buddhist - adj. relating to Buddhism⁸, a religion of eastern and central Asia that is based on the teachings of Gautama Buddha⁹

monk - n. a member of a religious community of men who usually promise to remain poor, unmarried, and separated from the rest of society

coach - n. a person who teaches and trains an athlete or performer

anxiety - n. fear or nervousness about what might happen

tremendous - adj. very large or great

astonishing - adj. causing a feeling of great surprise or wonder

1 meditation   

n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录

参考例句：

• This peaceful garden lends itself to meditation.这个恬静的花园适于冥想。
• I'm sorry to interrupt your meditation.很抱歉，我打断了你的沉思。

2 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

3 monk   

n.和尚，僧侣，修道士

参考例句：

• The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。
• Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。

4 meditate   

v.想，考虑，（尤指宗教上的）沉思，冥想

参考例句：

• It is important to meditate on the meaning of life.思考人生的意义很重要。
• I was meditating,and reached a higher state of consciousness.我在冥想，并进入了一个更高的意识境界。

5 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

6 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

7 divers   

adj.不同的；种种的

参考例句：

• He chose divers of them,who were asked to accompany him.他选择他们当中的几个人，要他们和他作伴。
• Two divers work together while a standby diver remains on the surface.两名潜水员协同工作，同时有一名候补潜水员留在水面上。

8 Buddhism   

n.佛教（教义）

参考例句：

• Buddhism was introduced into China about 67 AD.佛教是在公元67年左右传入中国的。
• Many people willingly converted to Buddhism.很多人情愿皈依佛教。

9 Buddha   

n.佛；佛像；佛陀

参考例句：

• Several women knelt down before the statue of Buddha and prayed.几个妇女跪在佛像前祈祷。
• He has kept the figure of Buddha for luck.为了图吉利他一直保存着这尊佛像。