新西兰英语 767 60 years since Mt Everest success

 　　Sixty years ago today, two men reached the summit¹ of Mt Everest, the highest mountain in the world. They were the first people to do this and return alive. The men were New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Tensing Norgay from Nepal. They were part of a British expedition to climb Mt Everest but only these two men climbed to the top.

　　The news reached England on the day of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation June 2nd 1953. This was a double reason for excitement for British people that day. Britain was excited because the successful expedition was British. New Zealand was excited because Hillary was a New Zealander.

　　Hillary returned to New Zealand and became a hero to most New Zealanders. He was admired for his character and for the work he did with the people in Nepal. He raised a lot of money to build schools and hospitals for the people of Nepal.

　　Today, Hillary’s son Peter, and Norgay’s son Jamling, will attend a celebration in London. There will also be celebrations in Nepal.

　　A new book of George Lowe’s letters has just been published. He was a member of that expedition and a good friend of Hillary. He wrote very detailed³ letters describing their climbs. He died 2 months ago.

　　Note: Mt Everest is on the border between Nepal and Tibet. It is 8850m high.

　　To hear more about Sir Edmund Hillary and Mt Everest, listen to March 22nd 2013, August 13th 2011, and April 3rd 2008

　　Vocabulary

　　?reach – get to a place e.g. reach the summit; news reached England

　　?summit – top of a mountain, peak

　　?expedition – an organised group of people wanting to explore a new place

　　?admired – people had a high opinion of him and respected him

　　?detailed – including all the small things that happened

　　Note: When we use the name of the mountain, we shorten⁴ the word to “Mount²” e.g. Mount Everest (not Mountain Everest).

1 summit   

n.最高点，峰顶；最高级会议；极点

参考例句：

• They climbed up the mountain and reached the summit.他们爬山，最终达到了山顶。
• The summit of the mountain is lost in the cloud and mist.山顶隐没在云雾之中。

2 mount   

n.山峰，乘用马，框，衬纸；vi.增长，骑上（马）；vt.提升，爬上，装备

参考例句：

• Their debts continued to mount up.他们的债务不断增加。
• She is the first woman who steps on the top of Mount Jolmo Lungma.她是第一个登上珠穆朗玛峰的女人。

3 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

4 shorten   

vt.弄短，缩小，减少

参考例句：

• Minor accidents can shorten the life of a car.小事故会缩短汽车寿命。
• My dress is too long I must shorten it.我的连衣裙太长了，我得把它截短些。