Alex Honnold – Rock Climber

This man climbs thousands of feet above the ground without a rope
攀岩好手艾力克斯?翰納 . 翰納可以不用繩索就攀離地面數 千英尺高

Why would someone climb straight up a steep rock face without a rope or safety equipment? According to Alex Honnold, who is known internationally for free soloing, it's no big deal! But many in the climbing community disagree. In fact, free soloing is so dangerous that less than 1 percent of climbers ever attempt it.

A natural interest
Honnold grew up in California around a climbing culture and started climbing at 10. He would go to a climbing gym six days a week for three hours a day. Honnold was a straight - A student in school. But climbing was his main interest, and free soloing quickly became his favorite style. Since those early days, the 27-year-old has made over a thousand climbs. He is considered by many to be the best climber in the world. Experienced climber John Long says over half of the well-known free solo climbers are dead. According to him, Honnold's greatest achievement is that he's still alive.

How does he do it?
Honnold climbs by fitting his fingers into the cracks of the rock face. With most of his weight supported by his fingers alone, he pulls himself up. However, his ability to stay focused is as important as his strength.
Other climbers agree that the fear of climbing without a rope is a huge challenge to overcome. Everyone know that a single mistake would probably be a fatal one.

Too dangerous?
One of Honnold's greatest achievements occurred in California's Yosemite National Park. He became the first free solo climber to scale the 2,000-foot northwest face of Half Dome. This and other climbs have made him famous, but along with praise comes lots of criticism. Many accuse him of taking too many risks. Honnold responds by saying, "I don't think I'll do this forever. But I don't think I'll stop because of the risk. I'll stop because I lose the love for it." For now he's continuing to follow his passion and climbing to new heights.

Grammar Tips:
This and other climbs have made him famous, but along with praise comes lots of criticism.
.......but along with .......comes.... ( something else different with first has mentioned.)
Winning the lottery gave Mr. Jenkins the financial security he wanted, but along with wealth came lots of unwanted attention.
The young actress' first few movies were well received, but along with success came lots of pressure from paparazzi.

Vocabulary Tips:
deal -决定，安排，交易。
big deal - very big problem. 事关重大的，了不起的事。
*It's no big deal for Eileen to quit her job. She never keeps a job over three months.
* " I got an A on today's math quiz." "Big deal! I get A's all the time." 好了不起哦（讥讽）意思是没什么了不起。
attempt - want to try it , or try to do it.尝试，企图。（企图或尝试 做某件事在attempt 后面加"to".
* These hikers attempted a climb up to the top of the cliff.
*Quincy attempted to get in contact with his high-school teacher, but failed.
Straight-A - consistently get "A" in all classes.
straight - continue without stop. 连续不断的。
*Eric is a straight-A student. He also plays on the football team.考试都得优等。。
*Tanya's straight-A report card surprised her parents.
free soloing - not use rope or any safety equipment to climb the rock, go higher and higher.
rock face - rock surface.
natural interest - "natural" - just happen, not we try to made it happen.
achievement - something very hard to do but you did it, and did well.
main - most important.
strength -力气，力量。 power.
*After the surgery, Glen didn't even have the strength to get out of bed.
*Charlie is building up his strength of his upper body muscles.
strength -优点，长处。
*A good understanding of English is Ricky's educational strength.
scale - climb. 攀爬，到达顶点。to scale is to climb.
*The mountaineers will scale Mt. Everest tomorrow.
*Gil and his friends are planning to scale this steep cliff next weekend. 攀爬。。
criticism - 批评，指责。rebuke you, not agree with you, think you are poorly or foolish and bad doing.
critic -评论家，鉴定家，苟评家，非难者。
*The new personnel policy drew a lot of criticism
*Sandy finds job performance criticism hard to take.
criticize (v)- 批评，指责
*The article strongly criticized the mayor's comments. 工作上的批评，指责，她难以接受。
crack - rock separates by rain or wind , has small tiny holes on the rock face.
challenge - put a lot of afford and energy, time to work, require a lot of attention to get to success.
fatal - cause to someone die.
could be - more likely will be...
praise - say good things about you.

Chat Room:
early days/early years -早期，早年。
early days - 童年，年轻时的岁月（日子）
the good old days - 过去留下美好回忆的那些日子（时光）。
good old days - 指“过去”的那些美好日子，时光，年代。
golden age - 可指“过去”也可指“未来”的“全胜时期”，在某个领域的黄金时代，或人的黄金岁月.
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high (adj)  / height (n)
high (adj.)- 高，高度 (adj)
The mountain is 3,000 meters high.
height -高度 (n)，高点。
The mountain's height is 3,000 meters.
height -顶峰，顶点。高点。巅峰。
In the height of summer -夏季的（顶）巅峰。
He reached the height of his career when he was 50. 达到他事业的巅峰。
heights - 人成功的巅峰是可以一再被自己突破的，height 所以加上“s ”。一般高度是固定的，不能被突破，height 所以没有“s ”。
For now he's continuing to follow his passion and climbing to new heights. 突破佳绩，再创新的佳绩。攀爬到新的高点。


Attention: 
This article by no means to encourage you to do the rock climbing. nor challenge any rock climber to try free soloing.