國(guó)家地理:融化的北極正使一場(chǎng)新的冷戰(zhàn)升溫(2)

I stood at the edge of the circle, rubbing ice from my eyelashes. It was too cold to take notes, so I watched faces and read the frostbite scars, little badges of honor that told of lives spent outdoors on one of the planet's most unyielding landscapes. The group soon broke up and began smoking last cigarettes before the long ride into darkness. Atqittuq walked over to ask whether I was warm enough. He was tall, broad shouldered, laughed easily. He'd been a ranger for many years before the others had voted him their new commander. In a friendly way, he warned me not to fall asleep on the journey ahead.

我站在圍成圈的人群外圍，把冰從睫毛上擦下來(lái)。天太冷了，記不了筆記，所以我盯著他們的臉，注意到凍傷所留下的疤痕，那是些小小的榮譽(yù)勛章，講述了人們?cè)诘厍蛏献顖?jiān)硬的土地上的戶(hù)外生活的故事。這群人很快散開(kāi)，在展開(kāi)黑暗中的漫漫長(zhǎng)行前抽最后一根煙。艾奇圖克走過(guò)來(lái)問(wèn)我是否穿得夠暖。他是個(gè)肩膀?qū)挻蟮母邆€(gè)子，經(jīng)常把笑容掛在臉上。在別人把他選為他們的新指揮官之前，他已經(jīng)當(dāng)了好多年的巡邏民兵。他親切地告誡我別在接下來(lái)的旅程中睡著。

It happened, he said. Sometimes people tumbled off their snowmobiles and went missing. He reminded me that there was currently no cell service on the island or anywhere else in the territory of Nunavut -- three times the size of Texas. "If anything happens and you get separated, just sit tight till someone comes back for you," he said. "And try not to meet any polar bears."

確實(shí)有這種情況發(fā)生，他說(shuō)。有時(shí)會(huì)有人從雪地摩托車(chē)上摔落，接著就不見(jiàn)蹤影。他提醒我，島上以及整個(gè)奴納武特領(lǐng)地目前都沒(méi)有手機(jī)服務(wù)，這片領(lǐng)地是德州的三倍大?！叭绻l(fā)生了任何事讓你與隊(duì)伍走散，待在原地直到有人回來(lái)找你，”他說(shuō)?！氨M量不要碰上北極熊?！?/p>

The rangers are called "Canada's eyes and ears in the north," and their units have been patrolling the country's outermost regions since the 1940s. Most rangers in the far north are indigenous volunteers, and over the years they've acted as scouts, participated in war games, and helped regular troops learn to build igloos, navigate the tundra, and generally stay alive in the cold. Their role, like the far north itself, isn't well-known, and the rangers have always managed to keep going on shoestring budgets and hand-me-down equipment, including government-issued bolt-action rifles made in the 1940s and stamped with the British crown.

巡邏民兵有“加拿大北方耳目”之稱(chēng)，他們自19世紀(jì)40年代起就在加拿大最偏遠(yuǎn)地區(qū)執(zhí)行巡邏任務(wù)。在這些遙遠(yuǎn)的北方領(lǐng)土上的巡邏民兵大多是原住民志愿兵，多年來(lái)他們擔(dān)任偵察兵，參與軍事演習(xí)，也協(xié)助正規(guī)部隊(duì)學(xué)習(xí)搭建冰屋、在這片凍原上移動(dòng)，大體上就是教他們?nèi)绾卧趪?yán)寒中生存。他們的角色，就像遙遠(yuǎn)的北方一樣，并不為人所知，巡邏民兵總是在預(yù)算吃緊和裝備代代相傳的狀況下設(shè)法維持，他們的裝備包括政府于19世紀(jì)40年代制造、印著英國(guó)王冠的步槍。