Part A :

Right, well, for our presentation shall I start with the early life of Thor Heyerdahl?

好吧，那么关于我们的报告我是否可以从托尔-海尔达尔的早年生活开始讲起?

Sure.

当然。

Why don't you begin with describing the type of boy he was, especially his passion for collecting things.

你一定是想先从他是一个怎样的男孩开始描述吧，尤其是他对收集物品的热忱。

That's right, he had his own little museum.

太对了，那时他就拥有了自己的小博物馆。

And I think it's unusual for children to develop their own values and not join in their parents' hobbies; I'm thinking of how Heyerdahl wouldn't go hunting with his dad, for example.

我认为对于一个孩子而言，没有跟从父母的爱好而是开发属于他自己的喜好，这是很不用寻常的事情。我现在经常在思考是什么让海尔达尔不愿意参与父亲的活动，比如一起去打猎。

Yeah, he preferred to learn about nature by listening to his mother read to him.

是的，他更愿意从他妈妈那学到一些关于大自然的知识。

And quite early on he knew he wanted to become an explorer when he grew up.

并且在他很小的时候他就意识到将来自己想要成为一名探险家。

That came from his camping trips he went on in Norway I think ...

我想这种观点是在他去挪威参加野曹旅行的时候开始形成的。

No, it was climbing that he spent his time on as a young man.

不，当他还年轻时，他将大量精力都用在了攀登上。

Oh, right ...

噢，是的……

After university he married a classmate and together, they decided to experience living on a small island, to find out how harsh weather conditions shaped people's lifestyles.

大学毕业后他娶了自己的同学并生活在一起，然后他决定生活在独立的小岛上从而探寻出恶劣的天气条件怎样塑造人类的生活方式。

As part of their preparation before they left home, they learnt basic survival skills like building a shelter.

维克多：作为他们为离家开始独岛生活所做准备的一部分，他们学习了基本的求生技能，比如搭建避难所。

I guess they needed that knowledge in order to live wild in a remote location with few inhabitants, cut off by the sea, which is what they were aiming to do.

我想他们想要在远离人群又被大海阻隔的野外生存这是他们必须掌握的知识，当然这正是他们的目的所在。

An important part of your talk should be the radical theory Heyerdahl formed from examining mysterious ancient carvings that he happened to find on the island.

你谈到的很重要的一点应该是海尔达尔在岛上研究神秘古代雕刻时碰巧形成的很激进的理论。

I think you should finish with that.

我想你可以以此作为结束。

OK.

好的。

Part B :

All right, Victor, so after your part I'll talk about Thor Heyerdahl's adult life, continuing from the theory he had about Polynesian migration.

好吧．维克多，接着你的主题我将谈一下海尔达尔的成年生活，从他的波利尼西亚移民理论开始。

Up until that time of course, academics had believed that humans first migrated to the islands in Polynesia from Asia, in the west.

直到那之前，学者普遍认为人类最开始是从亚洲迁移到波利尼西亚西面的岛屿上。

Yes, they thought that travel from the east was impossible, because of the huge, empty stretch of ocean that lies between the islands and the nearest inhabited land.

是的，他们起初认为由于最近的人类居住地与这些岛屿之间横亘着无边无际的大海，所以从东面登陆岛屿是不可能的。

Yes, but Heyerdahl spent ages studying the cloud movements, ocean currents and wind patterns to find if it was actually possible.

是的，但是海尔达尔花了数年时间来研究云层移动、洋流活动、季风变换等气象条件来证实是否可以从东面登陆岛屿。

And another argument was that there was no tradition of large ship building in the communities lying to the east of Polynesia.

与此同时，另外一个挑战是当时在波利尼西亚的东部没有传统的大型造船。

But Heyerdahl knew they made lots of coastal voyages in locally built canoes.

但是海尔达尔知道在当地近海区他们造了许多独木舟。

Yes, or sailing on rafts, as was shown by the long voyage that Heyerdahl did next.

是的，或者用木筏，正如海尔达尔接下来给我展示的那样。

It was an incredibly risky journey to undertake sometimes I wonder if he did that trip for private reasons, you know?

那简直是令人难以置信的冒险旅程，你知道吗有时候我甚至怀疑他做那样的旅行是否是为了个人的原因。

To show others that he could have spectacular adventures.

为了向别人炫耀他曾经经历过多么壮观的冒险。

What do you think, Olivia?

你认为呢，奥利维拉?

Well, I think it was more a matter of simply trying out his idea, to see if migration from the east was possible.

然而，我认为他不仅仅是想尝试他的想法，他更想看看从东面迁移是否可能。

Yes, that's probably it.

是的，很有可能是那样的。

And the poor guy suffered a bit at that time because the war forced him to stop his work for some years ...

而且这个可怜的家伙不得不中断了几年工作因为战争的原因。

Yes.When he got started again and planned his epic voyage, do you think it was important to him that he achieve it before anyone else did?

是的。当他再次开始并且筹备他的史诗般的旅行的时候，你是否认为以前从没有人做过这样的事是他要这么做的很重要的一个原因?

Um, I haven't read anywhere that that was his motivation.

嗯。我现在还不知道他这样做的动机。

The most important factor seems to have been that he use only ancient techniques and local materials to build his raft.

最重要的因素似乎是他只使用了最古老的技术和当地的材料制造了他的木筏。

Yes.

是的。

I wonder how fast it went.

我想知道他的木筏能跑多快?

Well, it took them 97 days from South America to the Pacific Islands.

噢，从南美洲到太平洋岛屿共花费了97天时间。

Mm.

嗯。

And after that, Heyerdahl went to Easter Island, didn't he?

在那之后，海尔达尔去了复活节岛，对吗?

We should mention the purpose of that trip.

我们应该找到他此次旅行的目的。

I think he sailed there in a boat made out of reeds.

我认为他是乘坐用芦苇制成的小船去的。

No, that was later on in Egypt, Olivia.

不，那是后来在埃及发生的事情。奥利维拉。

Oh, yes, that's right.

哦，是的，的确如此。

But what he wanted to do was talk to the local people about their old stone carvings and then make one himself to learn more about the process.

但是他实际想做的是和当地人聊关于古老石雕的事情，然后自己亲自动手制作一个以便了解更多的细节。

I see.

我明白了。

Well, what a great life.

多么伟大的一生。

Even though many of his theories have been disproven, he certainly left a lasting impression on many disciplines, didn't he?

尽管他的许多理论被推翻，但是他依然在许多领域留下了不可磨灭的痕迹，难道不是吗?

To my mind, he was the first person to establish what modern academics call practical archaeology.

在我看来，他是第一个建立被现代学者们称之为考古学的人。

I mean, that they try to recreate something from the past today, like he did with his raft trip.

我的意思是，他们试图重现过去，就像海尔达尔当年的木筏旅行一样。

It's unfortunate that his ideas about where Polynesians originated from have been completely discredited.

不幸的是，他关于波利尼西亚人起源的理论已经被彻底推翻。

Yes.

是的。

Right, well, I'll prepare a PowerPoint slide at the end that acknowledges our sources.

那么我会准备一个PPT幻灯片并在最后的地方标明我们研究资料的来源。

I mainly used The Life and Work of Thor Heyerdahl by William Oliver.

我的大部分资料来源于威廉-奥利弗写的《托尔-海尔达尔的生活与工作》。

I thought the research methods he used were very sound, although I must say I found the overall tone somewhat old fashioned.

我认为他的研究方法非常棒。但即使这样我还是必须得说他们的整体框架有些过时，

I think they need to do a new, revised edition.

我认为他们需要一个新的修订版。

Yeah, I agree.

是啊，我同意。

What about the subject matter I found it really challenging!

命题是很重要的，我发现它真的很具挑战性。

Well, it's a complex issue .

是啊，这是一个复杂的问题……

I thought the book had lots of good points.

我觉得这本书中有很多很好的观点。

What did you think of .

你认为呢?