世界上最大的洞穴，更大了？
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Thanks to discoveries made during a recent expedition in Vietnam, it appears the world's largest cave, Son Doong, is even bigger than previously thought.
根据最近一次在越南探险时的发现，世界上最大的洞穴“宋洞”似乎比之前想象的还要大。
Last month, a trio of British divers -- the same divers who aided in the rescue of the trapped soccer team in Thailand in 2018 -- ventured to Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, in the jungle-filled Quang Binh Province of central Vietnam, to explore the cave's waterways.
上个月，三名英国潜水员冒险前往位于越南中部广平省的奉那客邦国家公园，探索洞穴的水道，而2018年时，正是这三名潜水员帮助营救了被困的泰国足球队。
During the groundbreaking dive, they discovered a new underwater tunnel that connects Son Doong (meaning "Mountain River Cave") with another enormous cave called Hang Thung.
在这次突破性的潜水中，他们发现了一条新的水下隧道，它连接了宋洞(意为“山河洞”)和另一个巨大的洞“坑洞”。
Son Doong currently measures a total of 38.5 million cubic meters (about 1.35 billion cubic feet). When it's officially connected with Thung Cave, it will add an additional 1.6 million cubic meters in volume.
宋洞目前的体积测量值为3,850万立方米(约13.5亿立方英尺)，当它与“坑洞”正式连接后，它将增加160万立方米的体积。
"It would be like someone found a lump on top of Mount Everest, making it another 1,000 meters higher," says Howard Limbert, technical advisor of the Quang Binh-based Oxalisadventure tour company and one of the cave experts who helped organize the dive.
“这就像有人在珠穆朗玛峰顶上发现了一个肿块，使它又升高了1000米，”霍华德·林伯特说，他是位于广西滨的草甸探险旅游公司的技术顾问和帮助组织这次潜水的洞穴专家之一。
He tells us, "Any cave in the world will be able to fit comfortably inside Song Dong when it's connected -- it's just outrageous in size."
他告诉我们，“世界上任何一个洞穴连起来后都能很容易地放进宋洞里——它的大小令人难以置信。”
Oxalis, which is the only company licensed to bring travelers into Son Doong Cave, invited the British divers -- Jason Mallinson, Rick Stanton and Chris Jewell -- to visit the cave following the Thai rescue expedition.
Oxalis是唯一一家获准将游客带入宋洞洞穴的公司，它邀请了英国潜水员杰森·马林森、里克·斯坦顿和克里斯·朱厄尔在泰国救援探险队之后探索了这个洞穴。
"The divers did an amazing job rescuing the children in Thailand. We invited them on a trip to Son Doong to thank them for their great effort," says Limbert.
“潜水员在泰国营救儿童的工作非常出色。所以我们邀请他们去宋洞旅行，以此感谢他们的努力。”林伯特说道。
"They wanted to do something interesting during the trip, so we came up with this idea of diving Son Doong, which had never been done before."
“他们想在旅行中做一些有趣的事情，所以我们想出了潜水的主意，这是以前从未有人做过的。”
Limbert says that the Oxalis team already knew that the water from Son Doong joined Thung Cave, through dye-testing, but no human has ever gone into these subterranean rivers.
林伯特说，利用染色测试，Oxalis的研究小组已经知道，来自宋洞的水进入了坑洞洞穴，但是从来没有人进入过这些地下河流。
During the mission, divers were able to reach a depth of about 78 meters while diving on air (oxygen and nitrogen) before turning around.
在这次任务中，潜水员在上浮之前能够依靠空气(氧气和氮气)潜水，达到大约78米的深度。
"When the divers reached 78 meters, they plumbed the depth below using a line and a lead weight. ”
“当潜水员到达78米的时候，他们会用一根线和一个铅锤来探测水下的深度。”
"ence, they believe the offshoot reaches a depth of 120 meters and continues for about 1 kilometer," explains Limbert.
“因此，他们得出这个分支的深度达到120米，并持续约1公里。”林伯特解释道。
The team wasn't expecting the tunnels to be so deep, because the other caves in the area are quite shallow.
研究小组没想到隧道会这么深，因为该地区的其他洞穴都很浅。
"Now that we know how deep it is, we'll bring the special gases [oxygen-helium mixture] with us next time to enable long, deep dives," adds Limbert.
“现在我们知道它有多深了，下次我们会带上特殊的气体(氧氦混合物)来进行长距离的深海潜水，”林伯特补充说。
The divers plan to return in April again next year.
潜水员们计划明年四月再来测一次。
This is the best time of year to dive, because water levels are relatively low, and visibility is better than usual -- though still only about one to two meters.
这是一年中潜水的最佳时间，因为水位相对较低，能见度也比平时好，不过仍然只有一到两米。
"I think it's incredible that something as important as the world's largest cave is still being explored and better understood," says Limbert.
“我认为像世界上最大的洞穴这样重要的东西居然仍待探索和更好地理解，这令人难以置信，”林伯特说。
"No one had ever set foot inside Son Doong until 2009 ... and this latest discovery shows there are still an awful lot of things to uncover on this planet. It's really exciting."
“在2009年之前，从来没有人踏进过宋洞……这一最新发现表明，在这个星球上还有很多东西有待发现。太有意思了。”
One of the world's most precious natural wonders, Son Doong was inadvertently discovered by Vietnam resident Ho Khanh in 1990.
作为世界上最珍贵的自然奇观之一，宋洞于1990年被越南居民霍康无意中发现。
"While hunting in the jungle, Khanh came across the opening. He felt a blast of wind and heard the rush of a river inside...
当他在丛林里打猎时，偶然发现了这个洞口。他感到一阵狂风，听到里面有条河在奔流……
But after he left, he couldn't find it again, because it's surrounded by foliage," says Limbert, who was part of the British Cave Research Association (BCRA) team that first set foot inside Son Doong.
“但是在他离开后，他再也找不到它了，因为它被树叶包围着。”林伯特说道，他是英国洞穴研究协会(BCRA)团队的成员，该团队是涉足宋洞的第一批人。
"Khanh spent many, many years trying to rediscover the mouth of this cave and, finally, in 2009, he led us there. We realized right away that it was major."
“康花了很多很多年的时间试图重新发现这个洞穴的入口，最后，在2009年，他带我们到了那里。我们马上意识到这是件大事。”
After the BCRA explored and measured the cave, they proclaimed it the largest in the world in 2010 -- so big that you could fit a New York City block with 40-story skyscrapers inside it, according to Oxalis's estimations.
在BCRA对这个洞穴进行了勘探和测量之后，他们在2010年宣布它是世界上最大的洞穴——据Oxalis的估计，它大到可以容纳一个包含40层摩天大楼的纽约街区。
Within the immense limestone cavern, there are various microclimates and diverse scenery including two jungles, made possible by dolines -- openings created by collapsed ceilings -- where sunlight streams in.
在这个巨大的石灰岩洞穴里，有各种各样的小气候和不同的风景，包括两个丛林，这是由洞穴造成的，洞穴的开口是由坍塌的天花板形成的，阳光从洞穴中照射进来。
"So far we've only explored about 30% of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, so there's a lot more to be discovered," says Limbert.
林伯特说:“到目前为止，我们只探索了丰那克邦国家公园的30%左右，所以还有很多有待发现的地方。”
Opened to tourists in 2013, the three-million-year-old river cave is easily one of the most beautiful places on Earth.
这个有着300万年历史的河流洞穴于2013年向游客开放，是地球上最美丽的地方之一。
"People love it because they've never done anything like it before," says Limbert.
“人们喜欢它，因为他们从来没有做过类似的事情，”林伯特说。
"Obviously, you have amazing stalactites and the world's largest stalagmites (up to 80 meters high). They are so spectacular."
“很明显，这里有惊人的钟乳石和世界上最大的石笋(高达80米)。它们太壮观了。”
To explore, travelers must book a guided excursion through Oxalis.
为了探索它，旅行者必须预订一个通过Oxalis经手的导游之旅。
From river crossings to jungle treks and a harnessed ascent up the 80-meter-high "Great Wall of Vietnam" to nightly campsites, the four-day experience traverses 25 kilometers (about 15.5 miles) of jungle trails and nine kilometers inside the caves.
从渡口到丛林徒步旅行，再到80米高的“越南长城”，再到夜间露营地，为期四天的体验跨越了25公里(约15.5英里)的丛林小径和9公里的洞穴。
"This is definitely not just a stroll. There are lots of river crossings, superb jungles, mountains and cliffs all around, plus lots of wildlife ... like birds and monkeys that are endemic to this area," says Limbert.
“这绝对不只是散步。这里有很多的渡口、美丽的丛林、高山和悬崖，还有许多野生动物……就像这个地区特有的鸟类和猴子一样，”林伯特说。
"A lot of people find the scenery as spectacular as the cave itself."
“很多人觉得这里的景色和洞穴本身一样壮观。”
It's certainly physically challenging, but Limbert says the trek is accessible to anyone who is reasonably fit and doesn't mind getting muddy.
这当然是一项体力挑战，但林伯特说，只要身体健康，不介意泥泞，任何人都可以去徒步旅行。
And you will get muddy.
去的话确实会走泥路。
The first 1.5 days are spent trekking through Hang En Cave -- the third-largest cave in the world -- to reach ultra-remote Son Doong.
最初的一天半里，我们要徒步穿越世界第三大洞穴——坑洞，才能到达极其偏远的宋洞。
The next few days are spent exploring the otherworldly landscapes of this remarkable cave, sleeping at a different campsite each night.
接下来的几天里，我们每天晚上都要睡在不同的营地，探索这个非凡洞穴的超凡脱俗的风景。
Among the many highlights of the trip, Limbert says there's one experience in particular that everyone goes "wild about."
林伯特说，在这次旅行的许多亮点中，有一个特别的经历是每个人都“为之疯狂”的。
"There's a passage that has beautiful, 400-million-year-old fossils. We take travelers to see these fossils and, once you're down there in the dark, there's a place where you can go swimming," says Limbert.
“有一条通道里有美丽的4亿年前的化石。我们带游客去看这些化石，一旦你在黑暗中到了那里，就有一个地方可以游泳，”林伯特说。
"Everyone loves the experience of swimming in the dark in the cave -- it's a really unusual experience."
“每个人都喜欢在黑暗的洞穴里游泳的体验——这真的是一种不寻常的体验。”
Available from January to August, the US$2,990 tours are limited to just 10 people at a time, with a maximum of 1,000 travelers each year.
从1月到8月，价值2990美元的旅行团一次只能接待10人，每年最多只能接待1000名游客。
Accompanying each group is a 27-person strong support team, including porters, cooks, safety assistance, BCRA-trained guides and caving experts.
每个小组都有一个27人的强大支持团队，包括搬运工、厨师、安全援助、以及BCRA培训的导游和洞穴专家。
"At this point, more people have climbed Mount Everest than have gone into Son Doong," says Limbert.
林伯特说:“从这一点来说，登上珠穆朗玛峰的人都比进入宋洞的人还多。”
"And even those who have summited Everest say that exploring Son Doong is outrageous -- that it's the best place they've ever been in their life."
“甚至那些已经登顶珠峰的人也说，探索宋洞是不可思议的——这是他们一生中去过的最好的地方。”