职称英语阅读理解Narrow Escape

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第四十七篇

Narrow Escape

We

had

left

the

hut

too

late

that

morning.

When

we

stepped

outside,

the

sky

beyond

the

mountains to our east was already livid with colour.

1

It meant the day would be a hot one, and the

warmth would loosen rocks that were gripped by ice.

As soon as we stepped out on to the face, it became obvious this was going to be an awkward

route. The main problem was talus, the debris that collects on mountainsides. Talus is despised by

mountaineers

for

two

reasons.

First,

because

it

can

easily

be

pushed

off

on

to

you

by

people

climbing above. And second, because it makes every step you take insecure.

For about 30 minutes we moved steadily up the face. The rock was in poor condition, shattered

horizontally and mazed with cracks. When I tried to haul myself up on a block of it, it would pull

out towards me, like a drawer opening. My hands became progressively wetter and colder

2

. Then

came

a

shout.

Cailloux!

I

heard

yelled

from

above,

in

a

female

voice.

The

words

echoed down towards us. I looked up to see where they had come from.

There

were

just

two

rocks

at

first,

leaping

and

bounding

down

the

face

towards

us,

once

cannoning off each other in mid-air. And then the air above suddenly seemed alive with falling

rocks, humming through the air and filling it with noise. Crack, went each one as it leapt off the

rock face, then hum- hum-hum as it moved through the air, then crack again. The pause between

the cracks lengthened each time, as the rocks gained momentum and jumped further and further. I

continued to gaze up at the rocks as they fell and skipped towards me. A boy who had been a few

years above me at school had taught me never to look up during a rock fall.

in your face is far less pleasant than a rock on your helmet,

I heard Toby, my partner on the mountain that day, shouting at me. I looked across. He was

safe beneath an overhanging canopy of rock. I could not understand him. Then I felt a thump, and

was tugged backwards and round, as though somebody had clamped a heavy hand on my shoulder

and turned me to face them. A rock had hit the lid of my rucksack.

I

looked

up

again.

A

rock

was

heading

down

straight

towards

me.

Instinctively,

I

leant

backwards

and

arched

my

back

out

from

the

rock

to

try

to

protect

my

chest.

What

about

my

fingers, though, I thought: they'll be crushed flat if it hits them, and I'll never get down. Then I

heard a crack directly in front of me, and a tug at my trousers, and a yell from Toby.

right? That went straight through you.

hoop of my body, between my legs, missing me but snatching at my clothing as it went.

Toby and I had spent the evening talking through the events of the morning: what if the big final

stone hadn't leapt sideways, what if I'd been knocked off, would you have held me, would I have

pulled

you

off?

A

more

experienced

mountaineer

would

probably

have

thought

nothing

of

it.

I

knew I would not forget it.

答案与题解：

1. C

It meant