2007年VOA标准英语-Teen Climbs Mt. Everest

By Paul Sisco
Washington
25 May 2007
 

Americans have a new real-life, adventure hero to talk about -- a California teen who has climbed the world's highest peaks with her father. VOA's Paul Sisco introduces us to her.

Sir Edmund Hillary made the first successful summit of Mt. Everest on 29 May 1953.  Today, Samantha Larson, 18, can say she has been there, too.

Mt. Everest

Larson on May 17 became the youngest American to reach the spectacular peak. "It was a beautiful day so the views were fantastic," she describes, "and it was an incredible feeling getting to the top."

After graduating from high school, the California native took a year off from school to train and accomplish the feat¹.

In doing so, she also became youngest person to climb the "seven summits," the tallest peaks on each continent. Her stepmother, Janet Moore says, "When we found on Wednesday night our time (May 16), the first feeling is, 'Fantastic! she's made it!"

Standing² at 8,850 meters (29,035 feet), Everest is by all accounts the top of the world.

"It's definitely physically³ the hardest thing I've ever done," says Larson. "It's much harder than any of the other seven summits."

Larson was twelve when she climbed Africa's Mount Kilimanjaro with her father.  A year later, they climbed South America's Aconcaqua.

It was Mount Elbrus in Russia at 14.  Then Alaska's Mount McKinley or Denali, and Australia's Mount Kosciuszko in 2005.

Antarctica's highest mountain is Mount Vinson-Massif.  She climbed it December 2005, and  finally completed the seventh summit goal on Everest just last week. "When she started climbing (Mount Kilimanjaro), I never thought that the end of that road would be Everest," says Stepmother Moore.

Apparently⁴ it is not over yet for this climbing family. Even her younger sister, Emma, is planning a trip. "I'm climbing the first of the seven summits in 2009, Kilimanjaro. I'll be 10 years old,"

Emma plans on following in her big sister's steps.

 

1 feat   

n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的

参考例句：

• Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
• He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。

2 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

3 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

4 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。