Lesson 11
Let’s Climb Popo
Guidance
Mexico is the most beautiful country I’ve ever seen. Do you know what interests me most? It’s unbelievable—Popo. 去墨西哥，波波山是个不错的选择，你想去冒险吗？
1 Mexico has beautiful people, beautiful flowers and forests, towns and villages. Above all, it has beautiful mountains. I think that Mexico’s giant peaks are among the most beautiful mountains in the world.
2 Let us go now to Mexico to see this wonderful Popo for ourselves.
3 Come with me and we shall climb Popo. We shall start out climbing about three o’clock in the morning. We must get as high up as we can before dawn, for the sun will burn our faces terribly at his high altitude. The snow, too, will begin to melt and become slippery and treacherous.①
4 Remember, we’re going to climb almost eighteen thousand feet. No one but good climbers with strong hearts and lungs should challenge Popo. Still want to try? Well then—don’t forget your climbing staff and sunglasses. Here we go to the peak, and never give up!
5 Our trail, straight up the steep slope, is deep in volcanic ash（火山灰）. We sink ankle-deep（齐脚踝深的）in cinders as we climb. Our progress is very slow. More and more frequently we stop to rest and get our breath. We can see our goal nearly two miles above.
6 Dawn begins to break, and the sky grows red behind the peak of Orizaba, a hundred miles away. As we go higher, the wind and snow began. We had to crawl. The rising sun burns our eyes, although we wear glasses.
7 We sink into the snow to rest. The altitude has caused a serious problem in our heads. We are seventeen thousand feet above the sea, and the air is so thin that we gasp for breath. Taking three steps in the snow, then three minutes rest, we struggle on.②
8 Suddenly a black hole appears before us. The crater! We have reached the top. We forget the struggle up the mountain. We feel as if we were on the roof of the world.③ We are eighteen thousand feet up. Winds rage about the crater, and the cold cuts through us. But we can stand it, for now we are warmed by the joy of a battle won.
9 We must not stay too long, or we’ll be frozen by the cold wind. We take a picture of the smoking, snow-swirling crater.
10 Now that it’s all over, are you half dead? Is your face cooked? Is your nose frozen? Perhaps your muscles will be so stiff tomorrow that you won’t even be able to walk…
(423 words)
Word bank
Notes
① The snow, too, will begin to melt and become slippery and treacherous. 雪很快会融化，变得很滑且非常危险。
② Taking three steps in the snow, then three minutes rest, we struggle on. 走三步，歇三步，我们继续挣扎着往前走。
③ We feel as if we were on the roof of the world. 我们感觉似乎我们站在世界的屋脊上。
Practice
Ⅰ. Reading comprehension
1. “More and more frequently, we stop to rest and get our breath.” What does the underlined word “frequently” mean here?
A. Sometimes.
B. Always.
C. Often.
D. Hardly ever.
2. “Perhaps your muscles will be so stiff tomorrow that you won’t even be able to walk…” What’s the meaning of the underlined word?
A. 严厉的
B. 僵硬的
C. 呆板的
D. 顽固的
3. “…and the air is so thin that we gasp for breath.” What’s the Chinese meaning of the underlined word?
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4. The writer sink into the snow to rest. Why has the altitude caused a serious problem in his head?
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5. “Winds rage about the crater, and the cold cuts through us. But we can stand it.” Do you know why they can stand it?
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Ⅱ. Writing practice
Have you ever had such an exciting experience? Please share it with your friends, then try to write down a short period of it.
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