清了一下旧电脑的文件，看到这篇文章，想起了这篇文章。我从这个晚上开始喜欢的英语，并且记得当时还自己录了讲解这篇文章的视频，只不过最后还是没有发出来。本篇念旧所以存在。

Climbing, I once thought, was a very manly（有男子气概的） activity, but as I found my way into（逐渐接触） this activity, I came to see that something quite different happens on the rock. Like wild swimming, rock climbing involves you into（使你融入） the landscape. On the rock, I am fully present（整个人都在现场）. Eyes pay close attention, ears are alert, and hands move across the surface. Unlike walking, where I could happily wander about(四处闲逛) absent-mindedly（心不在焉地）, in climbing, attentive（专注的） observation is essential.

As an arts student studying English literature, I discovered a new type of reading from outdoor climbing. Going out on to thecrags（悬崖）, I saw (how you can learn to read the rocks) and develop a vocabulary of physical movements. Good climbers knew how to map their bodies on to the stone. Watching them, I wanted to possess （拥有）that skillful language.

My leap happened（我发生了很大的突破进步） when I worked for the Cairngorms National ParkAuthority（专家，权威人士，比较官方管理机构）. Guiding explorations into this strange new landscape（在这个陌生新景观中）, my guide（导师） was Nan Shepherd（牧羊人）. Unlike the goal-directed（目标导向的） mindset（观念模式；功利观念） of many mountaineers, she is not concerned with peaks（山峰，峰顶的那些人） or personal bests（最佳成绩）. Shepherd sees（看待） the mountain as a total environment, and she celebrates the Cairngorms as a place alive with plants, rocks, animals, and elements. Through her generous spirit and my own wanderings, I saw that rock climbing need not be a process of testing yourself against anything. Rather（相反，连接词写作替换instead）, the intensity（强度） of focus could release you into another way of being.

Spending so much time in high and stony（多石的，n+y结尾形容词：多...的 sweaty Sweety cloudy sunny sleepy） places has changed my view on（在。。上，比about关于的更多，对于。Discussion 对世界的看法 view of the world 世界观） the world and our place（位置） in it. I have come into physical contact with processes that go way beyond the everyday.（我与超越日常的过程进行了身体接触。亲身经历） Working with gravity, geology, rhythms of weather（天气变化规律）, and deep time, I gain an actual relationship with the earth（与这里的土地真正的联系）. This connection（说的是与自然，地球的联系） lies （位于，在）at the heart （核心）of my passion （这种联系是他热爱攀登的核心）for rock climbing. I return to the rocks（恢复攀登） because this is where I feel in touch with our land.

本篇大量的所谓的“熟词生意”、合成词构词、一些翻译顺序，模糊指代等等，让我彻底理解了英语作为一个怎样的学科去学习。我的英语学习观从完全弄懂这篇文章开始改变。

这是我用上阿尔法蛋翻译笔没过几天的晚上。只能说很幸运当时选择了这款翻译笔，换作当时其他任何品牌都没有这样的牛津解释和体验舒适感（我们那时候学校是翻译笔热潮，后面试过同学选购的一点也不好用，尤其是牛津字典和体验感上）。虽然毕业之后这个翻译笔被我随手借给了比我低两个年级的亲戚朋友（估计是送了），但是我最后一定要找回来好好收藏。

收录于知乎专栏「学习方法与底层原理」· 查看知乎原文