It was early morning. Peter Corbett helped Mark Wellman out of his wheelchair an

Itwas early morning. Peter Corbett helped Mark Wellman out of his wheelchair andonto the ground. They stood before El Captain, a huge mass of rock almostthree-quarters of a mile high in California’s beautiful Yosemite Valley. It hadbeen Mark’s dream to climb El Captain for as long as he could remember. But howcould a person without the use of his legs hope to try to climb it?

Markknew he couldn’t finish the climb alone, but his friend Peter, an expert rockclimber, would be there to lend a helping hand. He and Mark thought it wouldtake seven days to reach the top.

Peterclimbed about 100 feet up and hammered a piton(岩钉）into the rock. Fastening one end of a 165-foot rope to the piton, he let oneend of the rope fall down. Mark caught the rope and fastened it to his beltwith a special instrument. This instrument would allow Mark to move upward, butwould prevent him falling even as much as a single inch. He next reached abovehis head and fastened a T shaped bar to the rope, using the same kind of instrument.

Marktook a deep breath, pushed the T-bar up almost as far as his arms could reach,and began the first of 7 000 pull-ups needed to reach the top. High above,Peter let out a cheer, “You are on your way. ”

Sevenyears before, at the age of twenty-one, he had fallen while mountain climbing,injuring his backbone. The fall cost him the use of his legs, but he never losthis love of adventure or his joyful spirit.

Forthe first four days the two men progressed steadily upward without incident.But on the fifth day an unbearably high wind began to blow, and as time wentby, it became stronger and stronger, causing Mark to sway violently on hisrope. But Mark kept on determinedly pushing up the T-bar and pulling himselfup. In spite of that, he had to admit that he felt a lot better when the windfinally died down and his body touched solid rock again.

Ittook them one day more than they had expected, but on July 26th at 1:45 in theafternoon the crowd of people waiting on the top went wild with joy as the twoheads appeared. Mark Wellman had shown that if you set your heart and mind on agoal, no wall is too high, no dream impossible.

1.What had Mark Wellman long desired to do?

A.To finish one of the most difficult rock climbs in the world.

B.To be the first to climb El Captain.

C.To climb the highest mountain in California.

D.To help his friend climb El Captain.

2.How did Mark climb the mountain?

A.He fastened the rope to his wheelchair.

B.He hammered in pitons so that he had something to hold on to.

C.He held on to the T-bar and Peter pulled him up.

D.He pulled himself up using a T-bar and special equipment.

3.How did Mark lose the use of his legs?

A.He lost his footing and fell from the side of a mountain.

B.He fell during his first attempt on El Captain.

C.His legs were broken by falling rocks.

D.While working out in the gym, he injured his backbone.

试题答案

答案：1A2D3A