VOA文化艺术2024--Last Member of 1st Team to Top Everest Says Mountain Crowded, Dirty

Last Member of 1st Team to Top Everest Says Mountain Crowded, Dirty

　　The only living member of the team to first climb to the top of Mount¹ Everest says the mountain is too crowded and polluted.

　　Ninety-one-year-old Kanchha Sherpa was part of the team that helped New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepali Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reach the peak of the world's tallest mountain on May 29, 1953.

　　Kanchha recently spoke² with the Associated Press, saying the 8,849-meter tall mountain must be respected. "They should not be dirtying the mountain. It is our biggest god and they should not be dirtying the gods," he said.

　　Since 1953, the mountain has been climbed thousands of times, and it gets more crowded every year.

　　During the spring climbing season in 2023, 667 climbers got to the top, or summit³. And that brought thousands of support workers to Everest base camp between March and May.

　　"It would be better for the mountain to reduce the number of climbers," Kanchha said. "Right now there is always a big crowd of people at the summit."

　　There have been concerns for years about the number of people living on the mountain for several months and leaving trash behind. But officials have no plans to cut down on the number of permits they issue to climbers.

　　The rules require climbers to bring down their own trash, equipment and everything they carry to the mountain. But monitoring of the climbers has not been very effective.

　　"It is very dirty now. People throw tins and wrappings after eating food. Who is going to pick them up now?" Kanchha said.

　　Some climbers just drop their trash in deep openings in the earth on the mountain, he said, noting that the trash is hidden at first. But, he said, in time the trash "will flow down to base camp as the snow melts and carries them downward."

　　For the Sherpas, Everest is Qomolangma or goddess mother of the world. The mountain is highly⁴ honored⁵. And Sherpas generally perform religious services before climbing it.

　　Kanchha was just a young man when he joined the Hillary-Tenzing climb. He was among the three Sherpas to set up the climb's last camp for Hillary and Tenzing to use.

　　They heard by radio message that Hillary and Norgay reached the top. Later, the summiteers reunited with the Sherpas at Camp 2.

　　"We all gathered at Camp 2 but there was no alcohol⁶ so we celebrated⁷ with tea and snacks," Kanchha said. "We then collected whatever we could and carried it to base camp."

　　The path they opened up from the base camp to the summit is still used by current climbers.

　　Words in This Story

　　peak – n. mountain top

　　trash – n. things that are no longer useful or wanted and that have been thrown away

　　monitor – v. to watch, keep track of, or check usually for a special purpose

　　tins – n. metal containers

　　wrapping – n. paper or soft material used to cover or enclose⁸ something.

　　snack – n. a light meal; food eaten between usual mealtimes

1 mount   

n.山峰，乘用马，框，衬纸；vi.增长，骑上（马）；vt.提升，爬上，装备

参考例句：

• Their debts continued to mount up.他们的债务不断增加。
• She is the first woman who steps on the top of Mount Jolmo Lungma.她是第一个登上珠穆朗玛峰的女人。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 summit   

n.最高点，峰顶；最高级会议；极点

参考例句：

• They climbed up the mountain and reached the summit.他们爬山，最终达到了山顶。
• The summit of the mountain is lost in the cloud and mist.山顶隐没在云雾之中。

4 highly   

adv.高度地，极，非常；非常赞许地

参考例句：

• It is highly important to provide for the future.预先做好准备非常重要。
• The teacher speaks very highly of the boy's behaviour.老师称赞这个男孩的表现。

5 honored   

adj.光荣的：荣幸的v.尊敬，给以荣誉( honor的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I hope to be honored with further orders. 如蒙惠顾，不胜荣幸。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This is a time-honored custom. 这是一个古老的习俗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 alcohol   

n.酒精，乙醇；含酒精的饮料

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors.法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。
• The alcohol is industrial.这些酒精是供工业用的。

7 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

8 enclose   

vt.围住，包住；把…装入信封，附入

参考例句：

• I'll enclose his letter with mine.我将他的信装入我的信中寄出。
• I enclose two tickets along with this letter.我随信附上两张票。