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９月２４日出題分
あまりなじみの無い単語・熟語をちょっと解説。

At last on May 17, 1944, we stood at the top of the Tsangchokla Pass. We knew from our maps that our altitude was 17,200 feet.

So here we were on the frontier between India and Tibet, so long the object of our wishful dreams.

Here we enjoyed for the first time a sense of security, for we knew that no Englishman could arrest us here. We did not know how the Tibetans would treat us, but as our country was not at war with Tibet, we hoped confidently for a hospitable welcome.

On the top of the pass were heaps of stones and prayer flags dedicated to their gods by pious Buddhists. It was very cold, but we took a long rest and considered our situation. We had almost no knowledge of the language and very little money. Above all, we were near starvation and must find human habitation as soon as possible. But as far as we could see, there were only empty mountain heights and deserted valleys. Our maps showed only vaguely the presence of villages in this region. Our final objective, as I have already mentioned, was Japanese lines - thousands of miles away. The route we planned to follow led first to the holy mountain of Kailas and thence along the course of the Brahmaputra till at last it would bring us to Eastern Tibet. Kopp, who had been in Tibet the year before and had been expelled from that country, thought that the indications on our maps were reasonably accurate.

After a steep descent we reached the course of the Opchu and rested there at noon. Overhanging rock walls flanked the valley like a canyon. The valley was absolutely uninhibited, and only a wooden pole showed that men sometimes came there. The other side of the valley consisted of slopes of shale up which we had to climb. It was evening before we reached the plateau, and we bivouacked in icy cold. Our fuel during the last few days had been the branches of thorn bushes, which we found on the slopes. Here there was nothing growing, so we had to use dry cow dung, laboriously collected.

Tsangchokla：地名
Pass：峠
altitude：標高
so long the object of our wishful dreams：長らく切望し夢見てきたところ
a sense of security：安心感
confidently：確信を持って
hospitable：もてなしの良い、手厚く
heaps of stones：積み重ねられた石
prayer flags：祈祷文が書かれた旗
dedicate：捧げる
their：the Tibetansを指します
pious：敬虔な
Above all：とりわけ
starvation：飢餓・餓死
habitation：住まい
height：高所、高地
deserted：人の住まない
vaguely：はっきりしない、あいまいな
objective：目的・目標
Kailas：地名
thence：そこから
course：流れ
Brahmaputra：地名（川の名前）
Kopp：人名
expel：追放する
indication：表示
reasonably：ほどよく、それなりに
accurate：正確な
steep descent：急な下り
Opchu：地名（川の名前）
Overhang：覆いかぶさる様に出っ張る
flank：側面に位置する
absolutely：完全に
shale：頁岩
plateau：高原
bivouack：野営する
thorn：とげのある
dung：糞
laboriously：骨折って