Five Tips for Success
with Bonita Norris, Who Climbed Qomolangma Aged Just 22

22岁女孩勇攀珠峰，分享取得成功的5条经验

刘立军 供稿

TRANSCRIPT 

When you see the sun rise from the top of the world, it was just the most
beautiful thing you could imagine.

My first tip would be to just start. The
difference between most successful people and unsuccessful people is that
successful people just give it a shot, and they just take that first step.
Small steps make the biggest difference. There were so many moments, when I’ve
been in the Himalayas, where I’ve felt like I couldn’t take another step; I
couldn’t do anything more. And it’s so easy to get paralyzed by the enormity of
the challenge, and lose sight that the step in front of you is all you have
to ever worry about. 

My next tip: visualize. I’d make a playlist of music
that will transport me to the mountain as soon as I put it on, shut my eyes,
and I can imagine myself climbing that peak, just taking the time to really
visualize what it means to achieve it. I think that most people give up because
they lose sight of … of their dream, they forget why they started. 

Spend more
time in nature. I always run as … as a way to get fit and I would go to the
forest, the things that became really highly emotional and … and I’d get really
upset about suddenly weren’t such a big deal. 

Stop letting your ego get in the way. Your ego can be the
biggest wall that you have to climb. The most successful people in life are the
ones who are able to be honest, and vulnerable with others. The more you build
up a wall around you, the more you have to pretend to be someone that you’re
not. I don’t think that just getting to the top of a mountain makes you a … a
good person, or a successful person. For me, success comes down to — can you get to that point by
being a compassionate person to others, by being in touch with yourself, and
being respectful of the environment around you? I don’t believe that you have
to be ruthless to get what you want in life.

My final tip is you have to
trust in something. Whether it’s in yourself, whether it’s in God, whether it’s
in nature or the universe, but just having that trust that it will work out
somehow, and if it doesn’t work out in the way I want, then maybe I’ll learn
something from it. When you have been to the top of the world, you appreciate
such simple things, you … you don’t want to have power, or money, or status, or
material items. You want to have great connections with your family because
when you do think you’re going to die, they’re all you think about. You want to
feel that feeling when you’ve been on your feet for 24 hours and you’re still
climbing, and you think, “Wow, the human body is amazing.” 

Those are the
moments, I think, that have made me feel most successful, and, ultimately,
those are, in some ways, some of the hardest moments in life to … to find. 

VOCABULARY

1. paralyze v. to
make sb. unable to feel or move all or part of their body 使瘫痪；使麻痹。例如：The accident left him paralyzed from the waist down. 那场事故使他腰部以下都瘫痪了。

2. enormity n. the very great
size, effect, etc. of sth.; the fact of sth. being very serious 巨大；深远影响；严重性。例如：the enormity of the task 任务的艰巨性

3. ego n.
your sense of your own value and importance 自我价值感。例如：Winning the prize really boosted her ego. 获得这个奖项大大增强了她的自信心。

QUESTIONS 

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

When you see the sun rise from the top of the world, it was just the most
beautiful thing you could imagine.

My first tip would be to (Q1)
_____________. The difference between most successful people and unsuccessful
people is that successful people just (Q2) ________________, and they just take
that first step. Small steps make the biggest difference. There were so many
moments, when I’ve been in the Himalayas, where I’ve felt like I couldn’t take
another step; I couldn’t do anything more. And it’s so easy to get paralyzed by
the enormity of the challenge, and lose sight that the step in front of you is
all you have to ever worry about.

My next tip: (Q3) ____________. I’d make a
playlist of music that will transport me to the mountain as soon as I put it
on, shut my eyes, and I can imagine myself climbing that peak, just taking the
time to really visualize what it means to achieve it. I think that most people
give up because they lose sight of … of their (Q4) ____________, they forget
why they started.

(Q5) ____________________________. I always run as … as a
way to get fit and I would go to the (Q6) ____________, the things that became
really highly emotional and … and I’d get really upset about suddenly weren’t
such a big deal.

(Q7) _________________________________. Your ego can be the
biggest wall that you have to climb. The most successful people in life are the
ones who are able to be (Q8) __________________. The more you build up a wall around
you, the more you have to pretend to be someone that you’re not. I don’t think
that just getting to the top of a mountain makes you a … a good person, or a
successful person. For me, success comes down to — can you get to that point by being a compassionate
person to others, by being in touch with yourself, and being respectful of the
environment around you? I don’t believe that you have to be ruthless to get
what you want in life.

My final tip is you have to (Q9) _____________________.
Whether it’s in yourself, whether it’s in God, whether it’s in nature or the
universe, but just having that trust that it will work out somehow, and if it
doesn’t work out in the way I want, then maybe I’ll learn something from it.
When you have been to the top of the world, you appreciate such simple things,
you … you don’t want to have power, or money, or status, or material items. You
want to have great (Q10) _________________ with your family because when you do
think you’re going to die, they’re all you think about. You want to feel that
feeling when you’ve been on your feet for 24 hours and you’re still climbing,
and you think, “Wow, the human body is amazing.” 

Those are the moments, I
think, that have made me feel most successful, and, ultimately, those are, in
some ways, some of the hardest moments in life to … to find. 

KEY 

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

When you see the sun rise from the top of the world, it was just
the most beautiful thing you could imagine.

My first tip would be to (Q1) just start. The difference
between most successful people and unsuccessful people is that successful
people just (Q2) give it a shot,
and they just take that first step. Small steps make the biggest difference.
There were so many moments, when I’ve been in the Himalayas, where I’ve felt
like I couldn’t take another step; I couldn’t do anything more. And it’s so easy
to get paralyzed by the enormity of the challenge, and lose sight that the step
in front of you is all you have to ever worry about.

My next tip: (Q3) visualize. I’d make a playlist
of music that will transport me to the mountain as soon as I put it on, shut my
eyes, and I can imagine myself climbing that peak, just taking the time to
really visualize what it means to achieve it. I think that most people give up
because they lose sight of … of their (Q4) dream,
they forget why they started.

(Q5) Spend
more time in nature. I always run as … as a way to get fit and I would
go to the (Q6) forest, the
things that became really highly emotional and … and I’d get really upset about
suddenly weren’t such a big deal.

(Q7) Stop
letting your ego get in the way. Your ego can be the biggest wall that
you have to climb. The most successful people in life are the ones who are able
to be (Q8) honest, and vulnerable
with others. The more you build up a wall around you, the more you have
to pretend to be someone that you’re not. I don’t think that just getting to
the top of a mountain makes you a … a good person, or a successful person. For
me, success comes down to, can you get to that point by being a compassionate
person to others, by being in touch with yourself, and being respectful of the
environment around you? I don’t believe that you have to be ruthless to get
what you want in life.

My final tip is you have to (Q9) trust in something. Whether it’s yourself, whether it’s in
God, whether it’s in nature or the universe, but just having that trust that it
will work out somehow, and if it doesn’t work out in the way I want, then maybe
I’ll learn something from it. When you have been to the top of the world, you
appreciate such simple things, you … you don’t want to have power, or money, or
status, or material items. You want to have great (Q10) connections with your family because when you do think
you’re going to die, they’re all you think about. You want to feel that feeling
when you’ve been on your feet for 24 hours and you’re still climbing, and you
think, “Wow, the human body is amazing.” 

Those are the moments, I think, that
have made me feel most successful, and, ultimately, those are, in some ways,
some of the hardest moments in life to … to find.

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