节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-10-18
难易度:Low
关键字:strength, challenge, scale, criticism, Half Dome
Welcome back, everybody.
What challenges do free soloists face when they climb?
Besides loose rock, seeping water and sudden changes in weather, probably the
biggest challenge is overcoming fear.
Climbers need to be mentally tough.
They need to have an extraordinary ability to focus and concentrate.
OK. Let's wrap up this lesson's reading now under the heading - Too dangerous?
Alex Honnold - Rock Climber.
Too dangerous?
One of Honnold's greatest achievements occurred in California's Yosemite
National Park.
He became the first free solo climber to scale the 2,000-foot northwest face of
Half Dome.
This and other climbs have made him famous, but along with praise comes lots of
criticism.
Many accuse him of taking too many risks.
Honnold responds by saying, "I don't think I'll do this forever.
But I don't think I'll stop because of the risk.
I'll stop because I lose the love for it." For now he's continuing to follow his
passion and climbing to new heights.
Free soloing is extremely dangerous.
And Alex Honnold is the world's most famous free solo climber.
Now we're discussing just how dangerous it is that it takes all the strength in
his fingers to overcome the challenge of climbing without a rope.
Yeah. We know that all it takes is one small mistake, and he slips and falls and
there's no rope to catch him.
And that could be fatal.
That's right.
So if it's fatal, is that too dangerous?
"Too" meaning extremely, or too much, or over.
Mmhm, OK.
So is this more dangerous than it should be?
Well, one of Honnold's greatest achievements actually occurred in California's
Yosemite National Park.
OK. Now Ryan, have you been to Yosemite?
I have.
Yosemite is a park that is below the height of the ground, so there are very
tall mountains all around, beautiful rivers.
And there's one rock face there that is considered one of the most amazing ones
to climb.
That's right.
And that's what we're talking about.
Now Alex Honnold went to this park, the National Park Yosemite in California,
where he became the first free solo climber to scale the 2,000-foot northwest
face of Half Dome.
OK. Friends, I know what Half Dome is, so I'm going to let you know right now.
"Half Dome" is a rock or really a mountain in Yosemite National Park that is
shaped like a dome.
A dome is a round shape.
And if ever you have seen a picture of this mountain, you will remember it
because it is very round, and then drops off on one side.
And it's very, very high.
Now this is difficult to climb with ropes, and he did it without ropes.
He was the first one to scale this.
Now to "scale" something means to climb..., makes sense, a steep surface.
Now that means he's going straight up.
You can scale a wall, if that helps you understand.
A person who does a lot of scaling would be Spider Man.
He climbs up straight surfaces.
And so this is what Alex Honnold did - Half Dome would be definitely scaling.
Yes, definitely, because it goes up on one end, it's just straight up and down,
and it is 1,444 feet high.
Wow!
Yeah.
Well, we said it's about 2,000, so good job with your numbers there.
Yeah.
So it's extremely high and it's extremely dangerous.
Most people that climb it use, well, ropes.
And this climb, because of how dangerous it is, had... has made him famous.
But along with that fame, with... a lot of that fame comes a lot of praise, but
also a lot of criticism.
OK. So he's received praise, that means people say good things about him.
But he's also received criticism.
"Criticism" would be the opposite of praise.
That means people are saying negative or bad things about you.
And "praise" means you're doing really well.
So "criticism" means they think you're doing very poorly or being maybe a little
foolish or stupid to try these things.
But this phrase here "along with praise comes lots of criticism" is our Grammar
on the Go.
So let's visit Liz.
Hello, friends.
Greetings from Yosemite National Park in California, USA.
My name is Liz.
And it's time for Grammar on the Go.
This is where climber Alex Honnold climbed the famous Half Dome without any
safety equipment.
We read in today's article:
This and other climbs have made him famous, but along with praise comes lots of
criticism.
That's our Grammar Tip sentence.
Today our focus is on the pattern: but along with something comes something
else.
This pattern is usually used when we want to talk about how a situation brings
certain qualities or results plus other unexpected or opposite qualities and
results.
In the case of today's sentence, Honnold's climbs have brought him praises, but
these climbs also brought him criticisms.
And praises and criticisms are very different.
Let's have a look at some example sentences with this pattern.
Winning the lottery gave Mr. Jenkins the financial security he wanted, but along
with wealth came lots of unwanted attention.
Or: The young actress' first few movies were well received, but along with
success came lots of pressure from paparazzi.
If you'd like to see some more example sentences, then check out today's Grammar
Tip section in your Studio Classroom magazine.
That's it for today.
This is Liz with Grammar on the Go signing off.
Bye-bye.
Alex has been climbing steep cliffs without the use of ropes for many, many
years.
And one of his greatest achievements, as we saw, was in Half Dome, or in
Yosemite National Park.
Now many people do accuse him of taking way too many risks.
That's right.
"Accuse" means they think... they make it his fault.
They think that this is something bad that he has been doing, so they say he
takes too many risks.
But Honnold replies, or responds, by saying: I don't think I'll do this forever,
but I don't think I'll stop because of the risk.
I'll stop because I lose the love for it.
Oh. Well, OK. It sounds like he thinks he'll get bored with climbing without all
these ropes.
So he says: Well, I'm not going to stop just because it is dangerous for my
life.
I'll just stop if I don't like it anymore.
Now, well, for now he's continuing to follow his passion and keeps climbing to
new heights.
OK, so his passion, that's something he enjoys and it's a goal for him.
So he's going to keep enjoying climbing - and we see this phrase - climbing to
new heights.
That phrase "climbing to new heights" means you are progressing, you're getting
better at something.
But here it has a double meaning of he's doing more impressive climbs as well as
he's getting to very high altitudes.
I don't think I'll be trying this anytime soon.
And friends, I hope you don't either.
Instead, let's go to the Chat Room.
Hey, Bryan. Do you have a minute?
I'd like to ask you a question.
OK. What's your question?
Well, I'm reading about a dancer named Catherine Moore.
The last sentence reads: Moore says she plans to continue practicing and working
to reach new heights.
Now I thought "height" was a measurement of how tall someone is, but I don't
think her goal is to grow taller.
No. That's not what she means.
The word "height" can mean a high level of success.
So she's saying that she will work to become even more successful.
Oh, is that why there's an "S" on the end of heights?
Yes. Good observation, Ken.
When it's referring to a measurement, height is usually singular, so there's no
"S" at the end.
But in this case, it's talking about levels of success, so there is an S.
So when "height" means a high level, is there always an "S" at the end?
Almost always.
The only exception I can think of is in the pattern: the height of something.
So how would I use that pattern?
It means the most successful or most advanced point.
So the height of someone's career is the time when they're the most famous or
successful.
The height of a storm is the point when it is strongest or most intense.
So could we say that the time when most people are traveling is the height of
the tourist season?
Yes. That's a very common phrase.
Speaking of height, many of my friends who are learning English get it confused
with the word: high.
Yes. Those words do sound alike, but they are different parts of speech, right?
That's right.
"Height" is a noun, but "high" is an adjective.
So I could say that a mountain is 3,000 meters high, but that its height is
3,000 meters.
You've got it, Ken.
I see you are continuing to reach new heights in your study of English.
Thanks, Bryan.
(Chinese).
(Chinese).
And time really flies.
I'll see you next time.
Bye-bye.
Rock climber Alex Honnold climbs thousands of feet above the ground without any
safety equipment.
Honnold's ability to stay focused is just as important as his strength and
ability to climb rocks.
Friends, we hope that Alex Honnold's story inspires you to reach for your goals
and overcome new challenges.
But we, by no means, are encouraging you to go out and start climbing rocks
without any safety equipment.
So until we meet again, go out, speak a little English and be safe.
We'll see you tomorrow.