VOA常速：走近攀岩

燕山大学 刘立军 供稿

【TRANSCRIPT】

Really, I think I was born to be an off-width climber. That was what my body was designed for. And clearly it was what my personality was designed for, because it requires an ability to believe in yourself, beyond your physical capacity.

My name is Pamela Shanti Peck, and I'm a professional rock climber. Utah is my favorite place to climb because we have these massive sandstone cliffs, and often I'm the very first person to climb those particular cracks, so it's like being some sort of an explorer.

I climb in a traditional-style, which means that I have specific gear that's designed for placing in a crack, and as I climb, that gear catches me if I fall. Choosing when to place the gear, whether you're going to place the gear, what are the chances you're going to fall, it just adds the component of reading the space as I climb and that makes it a little more exciting for me.

Being a professional rock climber as a woman is relatively new. When I started in this particular style, it was 2010. I was the first woman to devote myself to off-widthclimbing, and there was a lot of resistance to that and I was criticized for everything.It didn't matter whatI was criticize,for wearing my hair down. I was criticized for what I wore when I climbed. Ultimately, all that criticism really inspired me to continue climbing.

All right, good to go.

It is a dangerous sport, so there's a lot that goes into it. I've climbed despite having broken ribs and various other injuries. In a way, maybe that's a form of meditation. I'm able to put the pain in the background, and I will make myself climb and allow myself to feel that pain after I finished the climb. And then this is an unpleasant moment where I am getting some blood work done after falling and needing to have surgery on my kidney. I've had two really bad injuries. The one was a fall where I had kidney surgery, and then the other was that one where I had the back injury. It's always historically been, maybe, the least popular style of climbing there's ever been, because of the physical brutality of this style. But I very quickly realized that it was a technically brilliant style and an artful style, and that I could change it, that I could find new routes, and that I could establish new techniques, and my focus, as I said many times, is to bring grace to the grovel.

I think my greatest passion or obsession as a climber, aside from just you know climbing off-width, is looking for routes that are improbable. I'll drive down these canyons and I'll look for routes that no one else has seen before, and it takes a certain eye, a lot of imagination, a lot of creativity. It's like being an artist, having the idea of a book, the idea for a painting, and I'm just seeking out those ideas and then I'll create them. My emphasis is on finding lines that tell a really good story.

One of the joys of establishing a route is then you get to name the route. One of them is named the Kill Artist, so that probably gives you a little bit of an idea of what that experience is like. I think as far as first ascents now, I've lost track but oh well over a 100 at this point.

My father, Robert Pack, is a poet and he wrote this poem for me to express his apprehensions about my climbing but also to express his understanding for what I do.

"Down on firm planet earth, my wife and I share apprehensions, that are easy to explain, as dread of helplessness, and yet without the ecstasies in disciplined suspension of her breath, are almost weightless floating there, perhaps the vast, unfathomable, uncertainty of parenthood possesses in its dark dismal depths of mad exhilaration of its own".

Adapted from http://www.kekenet.com/broadcast/201912/602697.shtml

【VOCABULARY】

1. capacity n. the ability to understand or to do sth 领悟（或理解、办事）能力。例如：

l She has an enormous capacity for hard work. 她特别能吃苦耐劳。capacity for sth

l Limited resources are restricting our capacity for developing new products. 有限的资源正制约着我们开发新产品的能力。capacity for doing sth

l your capacity to enjoy life 你那享受生活乐趣的能力capacity to do sth

l intellectual capacity 智能

2. meditation n.（不可数名词）the practice of thinking deeply in silence, especially for religious reasons or in order to make your mind calm 冥想；沉思；深思。例如：

l She found peace through yoga and meditation. 她通过瑜伽和冥想找到了宁静。

l He was deep in meditation and didn't see me come in. 他正在沉思，没有看见我进来。

3. brutality n. a brutal act 野蛮行径。例如：It is best defined by two words: speed and brutality. 它可以通过两个词来定义：速度和野蛮。

4. grovel v.（+副词或介词短语）to move along the ground on your hands and knees, especially because you are looking for sth 爬行，匍匐（尤指找东西）

5. obsession n.（可数名词）a person or thing that sb thinks about too much 使人痴迷的人（或物）。例如：Fitness has become an obsession with him. 他迷上了健身。

6. improbable adj. seeming strange because it is not what you would expect 奇异的；荒谬的。例如：Her hair was an improbable shade of yellow. 她的头发带有怪怪的黄色。

7. ascent n.（可数名词, 常用单数形式）the act of climbing or moving up; an upward journey 上升；升高；登高。例如：

l the first ascent of Mount Everest 首次攀登珠穆朗玛峰

l The cart began its gradual ascent up the hill. 运货马车开始缓缓上山。

l The rocket steepened its ascent. 火箭飞速升空。

8. ecstasy n. a feeling or state of very great happiness 狂喜；陶醉；入迷

9. unfathomable adj. too strange or difficult to be understood 难以理解的；莫测高深的。例如：an unfathomable mystery 难以解释的奥秘

10. exhilaration n.（不可数名词）激动心情。例如：the exhilaration of performing on stage 在舞台上演出的激动心情

【QUESTIONS】

Read the passage. Then listen to the news and fill in the blanks with the information (words, phrases or sentences) you hear.

Really, I think I was born to be an off-width climber. That was what my body was designed for. And clearly it was what my (Q1) ________________ was designed for, because it requires an ability to (Q2) _____________________ yourself, beyond your physical capacity.

My name is Pamela Shanti Peck, and I'm a (Q3) __________________ rock climber. Utah is my favorite place to climb because we have these massive sandstone cliffs, and often I'm the very first person to climb those particular cracks, so it's like being some sort of an (Q4) __________.

I climb in a traditional-style, which means that I have specific (Q5) ____________ that's designed for placing in a crack, and as I climb, that gear catches me if I fall. Choosing when to place the gear, whether you're going to place the gear, what are the (Q6) ________________ you're going to fall, it just adds the component of reading the space as I climb and that makes it a little more exciting for me.

Being a professional rock climber as a woman is relatively new. When I started in this particular style, it was 2010. I was the first woman to devote myself to off width-climbing, and there was a lot of (Q7) ___________________ to that and I was criticized for everything, it didn't matter what. I was criticized for wearing my hair down. I was criticized for what I wore when I climbed. Ultimately, all that (Q8) ____________________ really inspired me to continue climbing.

All right, good to go.

It is a (Q9) ________________ sport, so there's a lot that goes into it. I've climbed despite having broken ribs and various other injuries. In a way, maybe that's a form of meditation. I'm able to put the pain in the background, and I will make myself climb and allow myself to feel that pain after I finished the climb. And then this is an unpleasant moment where I am getting some blood work done after falling and needing to have surgery on my kidney. I've had two really bad injuries. The one was a fall where I had kidney surgery, and then the other was that one where I had the back injury. It's always historically been, maybe, the least popular style of climbing there's ever been, because of the (Q10) _________________________ of this style. But I very quickly realized that it was a technically brilliant style and an artful style, and that I could change it, that I could find new routes, and that I could establish new techniques, and my focus, as I said many times, is to bring grace to the grovel.

I think my greatest passion or obsession as a climber, aside from just you know climbing off-width, is looking for (Q11) ____________________ that are improbable. I'll drive down these canyons and I'll look for routes that no one else has seen before, and it takes a certain eye, a lot of imagination, a lot of creativity. It's like being an artist, having the idea of a book, the idea for a painting, and I'm just seeking out those ideas and then I'll create them. My emphasis is on finding (Q12) __________ that tell a really good story.

One of the (Q13) ________________ of establishing a route is then you get to name the route. One of them is named the Kill Artist, so that probably gives you a little bit of an idea of what that experience is like. I think as far as first ascents now, I've lost track but oh well over a 100 at this point.

My father, Robert Pack, is a poet and he wrote this poem for me to express his (Q14) ____________ about my climbing but also to express his (Q15) ____________________ for what I do.

"Down on firm planet earth, my wife and I share apprehensions, that are easy to explain, as dread of helplessness, and yet without the ecstasies in disciplined suspension of her breath, are almost weightless floating there, perhaps the vast, unfathomable, uncertainty of parenthood possesses in its dark dismal depths of mad exhilaration of its own."

【KEY】

Read the passage. Then listen to the news and fill in the blanks with the information (words, phrases or sentences) you hear.

Really, I think I was born to be an off-width climber. That was what my body was designed for. And clearly it was what my (Q1) personality was designed for, because it requires an ability to (Q2) believe in yourself, beyond your physical capacity.

My name is Pamela Shanti Peck, and I'm a (Q3) professional rock climber. Utah is my favorite place to climb because we have these massive sandstone cliffs, and often I'm the very first person to climb those particular cracks, so it's like being some sort of an (Q4) explorer.

I climb in a traditional-style, which means that I have specific (Q5) gear that's designed for placing in a crack, and as I climb, that gear catches me if I fall. Choosing when to place the gear, whether you're going to place the gear, what are the (Q6) chances you're going to fall, it just adds the component of reading the space as I climb and that makes it a little more exciting for me.

Being a professional rock climber as a woman is relatively new. When I started in this particular style, it was 2010. I was the first woman to devote myself to off width-climbing, and there was a lot of (Q7) resistance to that and I was criticized for everything, it didn't matter what. I was criticized for wearing my hair down. I was criticized for what I wore when I climbed. Ultimately, all that (Q8) criticism really inspired me to continue climbing.

All right, good to go.

It is a (Q9) dangerous sport, so there's a lot that goes into it. I've climbed despite having broken ribs and various other injuries. In a way, maybe that's a form of meditation. I'm able to put the pain in the background, and I will make myself climb and allow myself to feel that pain after I finished the climb. And then this is an unpleasant moment where I am getting some blood work done after falling and needing to have surgery on my kidney. I've had two really bad injuries. The one was a fall where I had kidney surgery, and then the other was that one where I had the back injury. It's always historically been, maybe, the least popular style of climbing there's ever been, because of the (Q10) physical brutality of this style. But I very quickly realized that it was a technically brilliant style and an artful style, and that I could change it, that I could find new routes, and that I could establish new techniques, and my focus, as I said many times, is to bring grace to the grovel.

I think my greatest passion or obsession as a climber, aside from just you know climbing off-width, is looking for (Q11) routes that are improbable. I'll drive down these canyons and I'll look for routes that no one else has seen before, and it takes a certain eye, a lot of imagination, a lot of creativity. It's like being an artist, having the idea of a book, the idea for a painting, and I'm just seeking out those ideas and then I'll create them. My emphasis is on finding (Q12) lines that tell a really good story.

One of the (Q13) joys of establishing a route is then you get to name the route. One of them is named the Kill Artist, so that probably gives you a little bit of an idea of what that experience is like. I think as far as first ascents now, I've lost track but oh well over a 100 at this point.

My father, Robert Pack, is a poet and he wrote this poem for me to express his (Q14) apprehensions about my climbing but also to express his (Q15) understanding for what I do.

"Down on firm planet earth, my wife and I share apprehensions, that are easy to explain, as dread of helplessness, and yet without the ecstasies in disciplined suspension of her breath, are almost weightless floating there, perhaps the vast, unfathomable, uncertainty of parenthood possesses in its dark dismal depths of mad exhilaration of its own."