Joe Simpson and Simon Yates were the first people to climb the West Face of the Siula Grande in the Andes mountains. They reached the top (41)______, but on their way back conditions were very (42)______. Joe fell and broke his leg. They both knew that if Simon (43)______alone, he would probably get back (44)______. But Simon decided to risk his (45)______and try to lower Joe down the mountain on a rope(绳).
As they (46)______down, the weather got worse. Then another (47)______occurred. They couldn’t see or hear each other and, (48)______,
Simon lowered his friend over the edge of a precipice(峭壁). It was (49)______for Joe to climb back or for Simon to pull him up. Joe’s (50)______was pulling Simon slowly towards the precipice. (51)______, after more than an hour in the dark and the icy cold, Simon had to (52)______. In tears, he cut the rope. Joe (53)______into a large crevasse(裂缝)in the ice below. He had no food or water and he was in terrible pain. He couldn’t walk, but he (54)______to get out of the crevasse and started to (55)______towards their camp, nearly ten kilometers (56)______.
Simon had (57)______the camp at the foot of the mountain. He thought that Joe must be (58)______, but he didn’t want to leave (59)______. Three days later, in the middle of the night, he heard Joe’s voice. He couldn’t (60)______it. Joe was there, a few meters from their tent, still alive.
41. A. hurriedly
B. carefully
C. successfully
D. early
42. A. difficult
B. similar
C. special
D. normal
43. A. climbed
B. worked
C. rested
D. continued
44. A. unwillingly
B. safely
C. slowly
D. regretfully
45. A. fortune
B. time
C. health
D. life
46. A. lay
B. settled
C. went
D. looked
47. A. damage
B. storm
C. change
D. trouble
48. A. by mistake
B. by chance
C. by choice
D. by luck
49. A. unnecessary
B. practical
C. important
D. impossible
50. A. height
B. weight
C. strength
D. equipment
51. A. Finally
B. Patiently
C. Surely
D. Quickly
52. A. stand back
B. take a rest
C. make a decision
D. hold on
53. A. jumped
B. fell
C. escaped
D. backed
54. A. managed
B. planned
C. waited
D. hoped
55. A. run
B. skate
C. move
D. march
56. A. around
B. away
C. above
D. along
57. A. headed for
B. travelled
C. left for
D. returned to
58. A. dead
B. hurt
C. weak
D. late
59. A. secretly
B. tiredly
C. immediately
D. anxiously
60. A. find
B. believe
C. make
D. accept
1. normal adj. 正常的
2. unwillingly adv. 不愿意地
3. regretfully adv. 懊悔地
4. risk ★ n. 风险 v. 冒…的风险
例: When children start smoking, they don’t realize that they’re risking their health. 孩子们学抽烟时并没有意识到这是在拿自己的健康去冒险。
5. fortune n. 运气
6. lower ★ v. 降低
例: Kayla lowered her voice as they approached. 他们走近时,凯拉压低了嗓音。
7. practical adj. 实用的
8. march v. 行军
1. lay down 放下
例: She laid down her knife and fork and pushed her plate away. 她放下刀叉,推开盘子。
2. settle down 定居
例: One day I’ll want to settle down and have a family. 总有一天,我会想要安定下来,成个家。
3. go down 减弱
例: “If we don’t stop them, our country is going to go down ,” said James. 詹姆斯说:“如果我们不阻止他们,我们的国家就要衰退。”
4. by mistake 错误地
例: They got on the No.86 bus by mistake yesterday. 他们昨天误上了86路公共汽车。
5. by chance 偶然地
例: I met him by chance out walking yesterday. 我昨天外出散步时碰巧遇见了他。
6. hold on 继续
例: You helped me to hold on at times when I didn’t think I could even go on trying. 在我认为自己甚至无法继续尝试的时候,你有时候帮我继续坚持了下来。
7. head for ★ 前往
例: It’s amazing how fifteen minor frustrations at the office can add up to one big, bad attitude by the time you head for home. 令很多人惊讶的是,在办公室遇到的15次小小的挫败最后会演变得如此之大,以至于回家的时候你的态度变得极为恶劣。
乔·辛普森和西蒙·叶芝是最先登上安第斯山脉拉格兰德峰西面的人。他们 (41) 成功 到达山顶,但是在他们回程的路上,情况却很 (42) 艰难 。乔摔倒了,并摔断了腿。他们都知道如果西蒙自己一个人 (43) 继续 的话,他可能会 (44) 安全 返回。但是西蒙决定冒着 (45) 生命 危险,努力把乔顺着绳索往下放。
在他们 (46) 往下 走 的同时,天气变得更糟了。然后另外一个 (47) 问题 出现了。他们看不到也听不到彼此。西蒙 (48) 失误 把他的朋友放低到了峭壁的边缘。乔要爬回来或者西蒙把他拉回来都是 (49) 不可能的 。乔的 (50) 重量 正在慢慢地将西蒙拖向悬崖。 (51) 最终 ,在黑暗和冰冻中度过了一个多小时之后,西蒙不得不 (52) 做出 决定 。他含泪剪断了绳索。乔 (53) 掉到 了 (悬崖下面)一个大的冰缝中。他没有食物和水并且处于极度的痛苦之中。他走不了,但他依然 (54) 设法 从裂缝中脱了身,开始朝他们的营地 (55) 移动 。营地大概有10公里 (56) 远 。
西蒙已经 (57) 回到 了 山脚下的营地。他以为乔肯定 (58) 死 了 ,但是他并不想 (59) 马上 离开。三天后,午夜,他听到了乔的声音。他无法 (60) 相 信 。乔就在那儿,离帐篷几米开外,他还活着。