If you've ever watched Nepalese porters in action, you might think they havesuperhuman strength. How else to explain their ability to carry loads weighing more than 100 pounds (45 kilograms), mile after arduous¹ mile over steep Himalaya terrain²?

如果你曾经看过尼泊尔人是如何背着重物行走的，那么你一定会认为他们拥有超人的力气，他们动辄就能够背起一百多磅的物品在崎岖、陡峭的喜马拉雅山区轻松地行走。尼泊尔人怎么会有如此神奇的力量呢?

Now scientists say they have a clue as to how the porters do it: They use less energy than other people would require for the same work

日前，科学家描述了尼泊尔人背负重物的特点:对于同样的重物而言，尼泊尔人往往用较少的力气就能够将其背负起来。

Norman Heglund, a physiologist³ at Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium,led the study, which was sponsored in part by the National Geographic⁴ Society Committee for Research and Exploration.

这项研究由比利时鲁文天主教综合大学生理学家诺曼·赫格隆德领导，由国家地理协会研究探索委员会负责提供部分研究经费。

Twenty years ago Heglund studied African women in Kenya一who often balance loads atop their heads一to investigate their unique burden-bearing efficiency.

二十年前，赫格隆德曾对居住在肯尼亚的非洲妇女进行了一番研究—这些妇女通常以“头顶”的方式来搬运重物而且能够轻松地掌握平衡—当时那次研究就是为了探究她们这种高效率的负重方式是怎样形成的。

His latest study, now suggests that the porters of Nepal are even more efficient at their tasks. Precisely⁵ why, however, remains⁶ a mystery.

赫格隆德最近一次研究认为尼泊尔人搬运重物时不仅能够表现出惊人的力量，而且还拥有极高的效率。不过，他们拥有这种神奇力量的原因依然是一个谜。

So legendary⁷ are the load-carrying abilities of the Nepalese that the word Sherpa, a term for one of the country's ethnic⁸ groups, has become synonymous with "porter.”

尼泊尔人的负重能力充满了传奇色彩，甚至尼泊尔人已经被称为“夏尔巴族(Sherpa)"—其字面意思就是“行李搬运者”。

A typical Nepalese porter carries a load nearly as heavy as he is. When he does, the porter burns less energy per pound than a backpacker would need to shoulder about half the same weight, Heglund and his colleagues found.

一个普通的尼泊尔人通常能够扛起与其体重相当的物品。研究人员发现，尼泊尔人每背负起一磅重的物品所消耗的体力明显低于其他国家的人。

That remarkable⁹ ability helps porters to earn a living carting goods great distances between markets in the Himalayan nation. A weekly bazaarz in the market town of Namche, for example, serves a gathering¹⁰ point for merchants from all over the Mount Everest region. "Often, you see husband-and-wife trekking¹¹ teams,”Heglund said. Porters stock up on goods in the Kathmandu Valley and carry their loads from dawn to dusk over the course of a week or more to reach Namche,which sits at 11,500 feet (3,500 meters).

这种非凡能力使尼泊尔人能够背负着沉重的货物在喜玛拉雅山附近的集市间跋涉，以卖货谋生。比如，每个星期在纳姆查镇开办的集市已经成为来自喜玛拉雅山附近地区的商人推销产品的集散地，这样一来就为尼泊尔的搬运工提供了大量机会。赫格鲁德说:“你经常可以看到一对对夫妻背负着货物前往集市去卖货。”尼泊尔人通常将货物囤积在加德满都山谷一带，然后再起早贪黑地用一个多星期的时间把这些货物运送到海拔高达3500米的纳姆查镇的一个集市上去—纳姆查镇距离珠穆朗玛峰很近。

En route, the porters traverse more than 60 miles (100 kilometers) along rugged¹² footpaths¹³. During the journey, they climb some 5 vertical¹⁴ miles (8 kilometers) and descend¹⁵ about 4 miles (6.5 kilometers).

在途中，这些尼泊尔搬运工需要走60英里的盘山路，还要经过5英里的上坡路和4英里的下坡路。

After the porters sell their goods in Namche, they race home unencumbered for more cargo¹⁶.

到达目的地之后，他们会在纳姆查卖货，哪怕回家时需要背负更多的货物，他们也会能够做到轻松自如。

"They literally¹⁷ run down the mountain,”Heglund said. "They can get home in about two days.”

赫格隆德说:“下山时，他们几乎是一路小跑，大概需要两天的时间，他们就能够到家了。”

During their field research, Heglund and his teammates flagged down porters and weighed the loads of study volunteers on the approach to Namche one day.More than 500 men and about 100 women carried about 30 tons of material to the market that day, the researchers estimated

经过现场研究调查之后，赫格隆德和他的队友们要求一些尼泊尔搬运工暂时停下来，对他们所背负的物品进行测重。依据他们的侧算来看，500多名男子和近100名妇女一共向纳姆查镇运输了30吨重的货物。

On average, the men and women respectively bore 93 percent and 66 percent of their body weight, the researchers report.

据研究人员计算，平均每个尼泊尔搬运工都要背负相当于自身体重66%.r93%的货物。

"It’s quite impressive to see those guys walking with such heavy loads,”said Heglund’s teammate Benedicte Schepens. She added that the feat¹⁸ is particularly impressive because "they’re generally not very well equipped and have very bad shoes."

赫格隆德的同事斯切佩恩斯感慨地说:“看这些人背着这么重的货物在山路上行走，真是给我们留下了极为深刻的印象。”她还补充说，使她印象最为深刻的就是“这些人根本没有特殊的运输装备，所穿的鞋子也十分破旧”。

A porter’s gear is simple but effective: The load goes into an oversized basket, or doko, which rests against the back. A strap¹⁹ runs underneath²⁰ the doko and over the crown of the head, which bears most of the weight. Each porter also carries a T-shaped walking stick called a tokma.

通常情况下，尼泊尔搬运工都会“轻装上阵”，但他们做事的效率却相当高。他们先将货物放进一个大筐里，然后将这个大筐放在背上。他们将一根皮带由筐底部穿过，再穿过头顶上的“王冠”健顶“王冠”为他们负担了相当一部分重量)。这种“装备”被当地人称作“多科”。每个搬运工还会携带一根被称为“托麻”的手杖。

When on the move, porters sometimes pause more than they walk. "On a steep incline,”Heglund said, "they’II walk for as little as 15 seconds and rest for 45." At each stop, they use their tokma to support their load, which allows a standing²¹ rest.

在他们行进时，往往会适时停下一会儿，然后再继续前行。赫格鲁德说:“当他们遇到陡坡时，通常会走走停停，走15秒，休息45秒。”每休息一次，他们就会用那根T形手杖来帮他们负重，这可以让他们站在原地休息下会儿。

Around the world, many people use their heads to bear burdens, said Rodger Kram, an expert on human and animal locomadon6 at the University of Colorado in Boulder²². "It’s amazing how universal carrying loads on the head is一except in Western Europe and North America,”he said. But their "enormous loads" set the Nepalese apart, Kram added. "It’s a goad²³ scientific puzzle, how they conserve²⁴ energy when walking.”

美国科罗拉多大学人类与动物运动专家罗杰·克拉姆说:“在世界各地，依然有许多人习惯用头部和双肩来搬运货物，最令人称奇的就那些能够用头部来搬运货物的人—在西欧和北美洲尤为盛行，但是尼泊尔人的负重能力却堪称独一无二，这已经成为了科学上一个十分有趣的课题，那就是他们如何在行走时依然能够保存体力?”

African women use a particular gait to conserve up to 80 percent of each stride’s momentum²⁵, Heglund has found. But it only works on flat ground, and there’s little of that in Nepal.

赫格隆德发现，非洲妇女在行进时，她们所迈的步子80%以上的步调都采用了一种特殊的步态，不过她们仅在平地行走时才会采用这种步态。而在尼泊尔则几乎没有这种现象。