It's 4:54 a. m. on a November morning in 2016 in Yosemite National Park, the United States. The moon shone over the south-west face of El Capitan. Alex Honnold was alone. He held on tightly to the rock with nothing but the tips of his fingers and two thin edges of shoe rubber. He was trying to do something that had been considered impossible-a "free solo" (徒手攀岩) up the world's most dangerous cliff.
Some people think free soloing is a meaningless sport. The sport, they say, has claimed the lives of many professional climbers. Others think mastering a mountain with only excellent physical and mental skill is the essence of climbing. Such was the attitude of Paul Preuss. Preuss was the father of free soloing. By the age of 27, he had made about 150 ropeless climbs He was admired (钦佩) throughout Europe. Then, on October 3,1913, he fell to his death while free soloing a cliff in the Alps (阿尔卑斯山).
But Preuss's ideas lived on. They have influenced generations of climbers. In the 1960s, the "free climbing" movement was born. The movement supports using ropes and other gears (设备) but only as safety devices. The next serious free soloist appeared in 1973. Henry Barber climbed a 460-meter-tall rock in Yosemite without a rope. In 1987, Peter Croft, a Canadian, free soloed two of Yosemite's most dangerous routes in one day.
Croft's achievement stood until 2007. That year, 22-year-old Honnold showed up in Yosemite. He surprised the world by repeating Croft's masterpiece. The next year, he free soloed two famously difficult routes in America. The routes were so dangerous that no one had imagined they could be climbed without a rope.
Now, as fans celebrate his achievements, Honnold is preparing for his next big goal. Thousands of moves are still to come. Honnold is on his way to completing the greatest rock climb in history.
【小题1】How many ropeless climbs had Paul Preuss made by the age of 27?【小题2】On October 3,1931, Preuss
【小题3】The "free climbing" movement was born
【小题4】Alex Honnold repeated Peter Croft's masterpiece
【小题5】Now, Honoold is on his way to
Do you know the Silk Road has been a bridge between East and West for more than 2,000 years? The Silk Road is not a single route! It is a series of trade and culture transmission (传送) routes. It began during the Han Dynasty. The trade route starts from the city of Xi’an in Shaanxi Province and ends in Eastern Europe, near today’s Turkey (土耳其) and Mediterranean Sea (地中海).
The Silk Road was about 6,500 kilometers long. It went across one-fourth of the planet. The Silk Road got its name because Chinese silk used to be carried along this road. Besides silk, jade (翡翠), ceramics (陶瓷) and iron went to Rome. From the West came glass, gems (宝石) and food like carrots and sesame.
The Silk Road was very important to both China and the rest of the world. Trade, knowledge about science, arts and literature, as well as crafts and technologies were shared across the Silk Road. In this way, languages and cultures developed and influenced each other.
Today, places along the Silk Road are great places of interest, such as Terracotta Warriors (兵马俑) in Xi’an and Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu. Now, beginning in August, a new train line, the New Orient Express (新东方快车), runs from Beijing across the Silk Road.
Title: | |
| Introduction | A bridge between East and West for |
| Details | It began during the Han Dynasty. The Silk Road |
| Things carried | From east to west: silk, jade, ceramics and iron. From west to east: glass, gems and food like carrots and sesame. |
| Importance | |
| Road today | Places of interest are along the road. A new train line runs from |
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