"This is a very exciting place. Where else on Earth can you find so much unexplored territory?"
“這里是一個讓人非常激動的地方。你還能在地球上找到如此大面積的未開發(fā)區(qū)嗎?”
A huge grin lit Andy Eavis's face. Then the expedition leader frowned.
安迪·艾維斯咧嘴大笑。然后探險隊長皺了皺眉。
"Well, I suppose there are a few spots," he said, considering his own question. "Papua New Guinea comes to mind. And of course, there's the bottom of the sea. But anyway, no. So far as cave exploration is concerned, Borneo is singular. There's no place like it under the earth."
“我覺得有一些地方,”他一邊考慮自己的問題一邊說道。“我想到了巴布亞新幾內(nèi)亞。當(dāng)然,還有海底。但不管怎樣都沒有。到目前為止,婆羅洲是獨一無二的洞穴探險地。地球上沒有任何一個地方能與之媲美?!?/p>
Eavis, stout and hale at 70, felt comfortable staking the claim. He has spent more than 50 years exploring some of the world's most remote and fantastic subterranean systems and has served on nearly every one of his sport's governing bodies, helping decide how caving records are kept and how titles such as "biggest" and "deepest" are bestowed. Less formally, he's spent years working to protect caves and ensure they remain open to the cavers who love them. Eavis is, by any measure, an ambassador of the underworld.
艾維斯現(xiàn)年70歲,身體結(jié)實、健壯,對涉足這個領(lǐng)域很興奮。他花了50年的時間來探索一些世界上最偏遠、最漂亮的地下洞穴系統(tǒng),而且他幾乎供職過所有的體育管理機構(gòu),他的工作是決定如何保持洞穴探險記錄以及如何評定“最大”和“最深”的洞穴。用不太正式的話來說,他多年來致力于保護洞穴,并確保洞穴依然為探險者開放。不論怎么看,艾維斯都堪稱地下世界的大使。