地道英文
作者：Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
“粉絲”們，看完上一期節選的《三杯茶》精彩選段之後，是不是冒出很多疑問：主人公摩頓森後來到底有沒有兌現自己的承諾？他會如何做呢？……別急，這期我們繼續為大家奉上《三杯茶》的感人章節，讓我們一起來慢慢品味那縷縷茶香，濃濃情意！
——Maisie
【前情提要：回到美國的摩頓森並沒有忘記自己對科爾飛村長哈吉·阿裏做出的籌建學校的承諾。他寫了580封募捐信，寄給那些看起來很有影響力、很受歡迎或是很重要的人物，但收獲甚微。不過隨後，摩頓森還是遇到了他生命中的“貴人”——美籍瑞士物理學家、擁有劍橋大學學位的吉恩·霍爾尼。霍爾尼給了摩頓森一萬兩千美元的捐助，帶著用霍爾尼捐助的款項購買的材料和自己的承諾，幾經輾轉，摩頓森回到了科爾飛村。科爾飛小學正式動工。】
I tried to be a tough but fair 1）taskmaster，” Mortenson says. “I spent all day at the construction site， from sunrise to sunset， using my 2）level to make sure the walls were even and my 3）plumb line to check that they were standing straight. I always had my notebook in my hand， and kept my eyes on everyone， anxious to account for every 4）rupee. I didn’t want to disappoint 5）Jean Hoerni， so I drove people hard.”
One clear afternoon at the beginning of August， Haji Ali tapped Mortenson on the shoulder at the construction site and asked him to take a walk. The old man led the former climber uphill for an hour， on legs still strong enough to 6）humble the much younger man. Mortenson felt precious time slipping away， and by the time Haji Ali halted on a narrow ledge high above the village， Mortenson was 7）panting. Haji Ali waited until Mortenson caught his breath， then instructed him to look at the view. The air had the fresh-scrubbed clarity that only comes with altitude. Beyond Korphe K2， the ice peaks of the inner 8）Karakoram 9）knifed 10）relentlessly into a 11）defenseless blue sky. A thousand feet below， Korphe， green with ripening barley fields， looked small and vulnerable， a life raft adrift on a sea of stone.
Haji Ali reached up and laid his hand on Mortenson’s shoulder. “These mountains have been here a long time，” he said. “And so have we.” He reached for his rich brown 12）lambswool topi， the only symbol of authority Korphe’s nurmadhar ever wore， and centered it on his silver hair. “You can’t tell the mountains what to do，” he said， 13）with an air of 14）gravity that 15）trans xed Mortenson as much as the view. “You must learn to listen to them. So now I am asking you to listen to me. You have done much for my people， and we appreciate it. But now you must do one more thing for me.”
“Anything，” Mortenson said.
“Sit down. And shut your mouth，” Haji Ali said. “You’re making everyone crazy.”
“Then he reached out and took my plumb line， and my level and my account book， and he walked back down to Korphe，” Mortenson says. “I followed him all the way to his house， worrying about what he was doing. He took the key he always kept around his neck on a leather 16）thong， opened a cabinet decorated with faded Buddhist wood carvings， and locked my things in there， alongside a 17）shank of 18）curing 19）ibex， his prayer beads， and his old British 20）musket gun. Then he asked Sakina to bring us tea.”
Mortenson waited nervously for half an hour while Sakina 21）brewed the paiyu cha. Haji Ali ran his fingers along the text of the 22）Koran that he cherished above all his belongings， turning pages randomly and mouthing almost silent Arabic prayer as he stared out into inward space. When the porcelain bowls of 23）scalding butter tea steamed in their hands， Haji Ali spoke. “If you want to thrive in 24）Baltistan， you must respect our ways，” Haji Ali said， 25）blowing on his bowl. “The first time you share tea with a Balti， you are a stranger. The second time you take tea， you are an honored guest. The third time you share a cup of tea， you become family， and for our family， we are prepared to do anything， even die，” he said， laying his hand warmly on Mortenson’s own. “Doctor Greg， you must make time to share three cups of tea. We may be uneducated. But we are not stupid. We have lived and survived here for a long time.”