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Ed Viesturs grew up in Rockford, Illinois, where the tallest thing on the horizon was the water tower.
But on Thursday, Viesturs became the only American to climb to the top of the world's 14 highest mountains.
His last hike was up Mount Annapurna, in Asia's snowcapped Himalayas. At 26,545 feet, its peak is the
10th highest in the world. It is the mountain that inspired him to start climbing.
"It tends to be the trickiest, the most dangerous," said Viesturs. "There's no simple way to climb it. There
are threatening avalanches (雪崩) and ice falls that protect the mountain."
In high school, Viesturs read French climber Maurice Herzog's tale of climbing the icy Annapurna. Herzog's
story was of frostbite (冻伤) and difficulty and near-death experiences. Viesturs was hooked right away.
Viesturs got his start on Washington's Mount Rainier in 1977, guiding hikes in the summer. Fifteen years
ago, he set out to walk up to the world's highest peaks. Finally, he's done.
The pioneering climber talks about mountains as if they were living creatures that should be treated with
respect. "You have to use all of your senses, all of your abilities to see if the mountain will let you climb it,"
said Viesturs. "If we have the patience and the respect, and if we're here at the right time, under the right
circumstances, they allow us to go up, and allow us to come down."
What's next for a man who can't stop climbing? "I'm going to hug my wife and kids and kind of kick back
and enjoy the summer," says Viesturs. But for a man who's climbed the world's 14 tallest mountains, he will
probably soon set off on yet another adventure.
1. What record has Ed Viesturs set? [ ]
A. He has succeeded in climbing to the world's 14th highest mountain.
B. He has been to the top of the world's 14 highest mountains.
C. He has become the first to climb to the height of 26,545feet.
D. He has become the first man to climb to the top of 14 highest mountains in the world.
2. The underlined word "hooked" in Paragraph 4 can be replaced by "_____". [ ]
A. frightened
B. discouraged
C. interested
D. upset
3. The author used Viestures' words in Paragraph 6 to support a view that _____. [ ]
A. mountain climbing is a dangerous sport
B. mountains should be regarded as living creatures
C. mountain climbing needs more skills than physical energy
D. those who like mountain climbing won't stop climbing
4. What's the next probably plan of Viestures? [ ]
A. Stopping climbing and staying with his family.
B. Climbing to the top of the world's 14 tallest mountains again.
C. Climbing another one of the highest mountains.
D. Writing down the experiences about his adventure.
