There are an estimated 110 million landmines left in the world, unexploded and just waiting for the wrong person to wander by,
据估计,世界上还有1.1亿枚地雷未爆炸,只是在等待某人经过,
sometimes even decades after the conflict that saw them laid down is over.
有时甚至是在看到埋下地雷的冲突结束几十年之后。
Mines don't discriminate, and kill long after the fighting has stopped.
地雷没有分辨能力,而且在战斗停止很久之后还会杀人。
They are difficult to detect, even more difficult to safely clear out,
人们很难发现地雷,甚至更难安全将它们清除,
and often their presence alone simply forces people to abandon entire towns and villages.
而且往往仅是它们的存在就迫使人们放弃整个城镇和村庄。
In Afghanistan, some areas of the country have been mined so frequently by different powers that the mines lay in layers like geological layers of the earth,
在阿富汗,很多国家都在这里频繁布雷,那里的地雷像地球的地质层一样层层堆积,
and in the former Yugoslavia you can still find mines disguised as children's toys along stream banks,
在前南斯拉夫,你仍然可以在河岸边发现伪装成儿童玩具的地雷,
with soldiers releasing them by the dozens into the fast flowing waters so they would kill and maim their enemies downstream.
士兵们把它们一打打地放进湍急的水流中,这样它们就能在下游杀死或炸伤敌人。
If you're a world traveler, there's always the risk of stepping off the beaten path and into a literal danger zone,
如果你是环球旅行者,总是另辟蹊径,进入危险地带,
and today we're going to find out how you can get yourself out of a minefield.
今天我们就来看看如何让自己走出雷区。
Mines come in a variety of different types, some are designed to destroy vehicles and others are meant to kill or maim personnel.
地雷有各种不同的类型,有些用来摧毁车辆,有些用来伤人。
In combat, a wounded enemy is better than a dead enemy,
在战斗中,受伤的敌人胜于死去的敌人,
because the casualty will force other soldiers to risk their lives to save their comrade,
因为伤亡将迫使其他士兵冒着生命危险去救战友,
thus many anti-personnel mines aren't made to outright kill an individual, but rather just to simply maim them.
因此许多杀伤人员的地雷不是为了彻底杀人,而只是为了使他们致残。
Anti vehicle mines are designed to take out heavy trucks and tanks,
攻击车辆的地雷被设计用来摧毁重型卡车和坦克,
and you could stand on top of one or even do jumping jacks and never set it off.
你可以站在一个上面,甚至做开合跳,但它也永远不会引爆。
Even more sinister, some mines are designed to detonate only on the second, or third activation,
更为险恶的是,有些地雷被设计成只在第二次或第三次引爆时爆炸,
thus killing or wounding soldiers who travel along paths thought safe from mines.
从而杀死或炸伤沿着被认为安全的路径行进的士兵。
Generally speaking mines come in two varieties.
一般来说,地雷有两种。
Anti-vehicle mines direct an upwards explosive blast meant to penetrate the soft underside of a vehicle,
攻击车辆的地雷直接向上爆炸,意在穿透车辆较软的底部,
while anti-personnel mines explode and generate a great deal of shrapnel so as to inflict maximum injury.
而杀伤人员的地雷爆炸会产生大量弹片,以便造成最大伤害。
Some mines such as the American claymore mine are set up above-ground,
一些矿井,如美国克莱莫尔煤矿,建立在地面上,
but most mines are buried by dirt layers so as to make them more difficult to spot.
但大多数矿井埋在泥土层,使它们更难以发现。
Modern mines can be deployed by aircraft, and some are even able to self-bury in loose soil a few inches.
现代地雷可以用飞机部署,有些甚至可以自行埋在几英寸厚的松土里。
Other mines, typically those employed by terrorist or asymmetrical forces, are little more than disguised IEDs,
其他地雷,通常是恐怖分子或非对称部队使用的地雷,只不过是伪装的简易爆炸装置,
and historically these have taken the form of children's toys or objects that appear valuable-
从历史上看,这些地雷采取儿童玩具的样子或看起来很值钱的物品。
these are designed to kill and wound civilian populations rather than military personnel, and are particularly insidious in their design.
这些地雷的目的是杀死和伤害平民而不是军人,其设计特别阴险。
The average mine responds to downwards pressure,
普通地雷响应向下的压力,
triggering off a pound-per-square inch sensitivity limit that is preset by the manufacturer or the mine layer.
触发一磅每平方英寸灵敏度限制,这是由制造商或矿层预设。
Some modern mines can have their sensitivity adjusted so that they only respond to greater amounts of pressure-
一些现代地雷可以调整敏感度,使它们只对更大的压力作出反应——
this way they avoid being detonated by small animals or children, and will instead detonate when a soldier steps on them.
这样它们就避免被小动物或儿童引爆,而是在士兵踩到它们时引爆。
Most mines simply detonate their explosive while on the ground, while others contain a small amount of explosive charge which boosts the mine up into the air
大多数地雷只是在地面引爆炸药,而另一些则含有少量炸药,
before a secondary explosion in the main body showers the area in lethal shrapnel.
在主体发生二次爆炸并形成致命的弹片之前将地雷推向空中。
The infamous German S-mine, or Bouncing Betty, from World War II is the best example of one of these self-elevating mines,
二战中臭名昭著的德国S型地雷,或称弹跳贝蒂,就是这些自升式地雷中最好的例子,
and proved to be wickedly effective at causing mass casualties.
并被证明在造成大规模伤亡方面非常有效。
These mines generally achieve a lower absolute kill count,
这些地雷的绝对杀伤数通常较低,
but instead achieve a far greater casualty count, and often this is the preferred outcome.
但伤亡人数却远大于此,通常这是首选结果。
In combat, it's better to wound many enemies than kill a few,
在战斗中,多伤敌人比少杀敌好,
as it will lower the amount of firepower your enemy can bring to bear and force him to divert resources to care for the wounded.
因为这会降低敌人可以承受的火力,迫使其转移资源照顾伤员。
So what could you do if you found yourself stuck in the middle of a minefield?
那么,如果你发现自己被困在雷区中央,该怎么办?
How could you get out and survive with most of your limbs intact?
怎样才能逃出来,而且大部分四肢都完好无损?
First is the most obvious- turn around and retrace your steps,
显然应该先掉头,沿着来时的脚步走,
making sure that you step exactly in the same spot you did when you were blindly walking into the mine field.
确保完全与无意中走进雷区时的位置完全相同。
This of course is not a foolproof strategy, as mentioned before some mines are designed to detonate only on the second activation,
当然,这并不是万无一失的策略,正如前面提到的,有些地雷只设计在第二次激活时引爆,
and so just because you didn't blow up the first time you wandered into the mine field,
所以仅因为你没在第一次闯入雷区时引爆,
it's no guarantee you won't blow yourself to bits on the way out.
不能保证你不会在出去的路上把自己炸成碎片。
The best thing to do is to stand absolutely still and call for help.
最好的办法是站着一动不动,呼救。
If you've wandered into a mine field then there's probably a good chance that there's someone in the local area whose job it is to clear mines.
如果你走进一个雷区,那么很可能当地有人是干排雷的。