Uluru climbing ban： Tourists scale sacred rock for final time 烏魯魯禁攀令：遊客們最後一次攀登神聖的石頭

【摘要2019.11.5.自由】◎黃靖媗

Huge crowds scrambled up Australia’s Uluru for the final time on Friday, ahead of a ban on climbing the sacred rock. The giant monolith - once better known to visitors as Ayers Rock - will be permanently off limits from Saturday.

週五有大批民眾最後一次攀上澳洲的烏魯魯巨岩，在這顆神聖巨岩的禁攀令上路之前。這顆曾被旅客稱為「艾爾斯岩」的巨岩，週六起將永久關閉。

The final climbers faced a delayed start due to dangerously strong winds - one of many reasons Uluru has been closed to people wishing to reach the top over the years. In Uluru’s history, at least 37 people have died while making the ascent.

由於危險的強風，最後一批攀登者被迫延後攀登；危險的強風也是近年來烏魯魯巨岩不對想登頂的民眾開放的眾多原因之一。在烏魯魯巨岩的歷史中，至少有37人在攀登途中不幸喪生。

One Anangu man told the BBC that Uluru "(is) like our church". Uluru is a sacred site and of great spiritual significance to Australia’s indigenous people.

一名阿南古人告訴英國廣播公司（BBC），烏魯魯巨岩「就像我們的教堂」。烏魯魯巨岩是個神聖的所在，而且對於澳洲原住民而言，具有重大的精神意義。

In 2017, the board of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park voted unanimously to end the climb because of the spiritual significance of the site, as well as for safety and environmental reasons.

基於烏魯魯巨岩的精神意義，以及安全與環境考量，烏魯魯—加他茱達國家公園委員會2017年一致投票贊成禁止攀登。

新聞辭典

ahead of：片語，在⋯之前。例句：She finished her homework ahead of schedule.（她在預定時間之前完成作業。）

sacred：形容詞，神聖的。例句：The Quran is sacred to Muslims.（對穆斯林而言，古蘭經是神聖的。）

unanimously：副詞，一致地。例句：We unanimously agreed that you are the smartest guy in the world.（我們一致同意你是世界上最聰明的人。）