On May 29, in 1953, New Zealand beekeeper Edmund Hillary and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first people to stand on the 8848m summit (顶峰) of the world’s tallest mountain.

They were   1   to be given the chance. Nepal’s government would only allow one expedition (探险) a year,   2   this was a big deal. British expedition leader John Hunt asked Mr Hillary and another New Zealander, George Lowe, to join his   3  . More than 400 people on the expedition climbed the mountain in stages, moving to a   4   camp every few weeks to get used to the high altitude (海拔). At each stage, fewer and fewer people would   5   to climb.

At the final   6  , only two teams were chosen to try for the summit. The   7   team of Tom Bourdillon and Charles Evans got within 91m of the top, but had to   8  . Mr Hillary and Mr Tenzing then   9  . They ran   10   difficulties, including a 12m-high rock wall — later named “Hillary’s Step” — but became the first humans to climb to the top of the world. Because the air was so   11   and it was hard to breathe, they stayed for just a few   12  .

Mr Hillary took a photograph of Mr Tenzing on the summit, not thinking to get one of himself, before   13   pictures of the main ridges (山脊) leading away from Everest, to prove they had reached their goal.

While Mr Hillary always thought their   14   climb would interest other climbers, he did not expect   15   worldwide excitement would follow.

1.1.

A brave

B nervous

C common

D lucky

解析：选D。D 考查形容词辨析。根据后一句“Nepal’s government would only allow one expedition a year”尼泊尔政府每年只允许探险一次，由此可知他们两人能参与该探险活动是幸运的。故选D。

2.2.

A because

B so

C but

D or

解析：选B。B 考查连词辨析。根据前一句，尼泊尔政府每年只允许探险一次，所以这是一件大事情。故选B。

3.3.

A walk

B climb

C fight

D ride

解析：选B。B 考查名词辨析。英国探险队队长约翰·亨特邀请希拉里先生和另一位新西兰人乔治·洛一起加入他的珠峰攀爬。故选B。

4.4.

A bigger

B smaller

C higher

D better

解析：选C。C 考查形容词辨析。根据前文“climbed the mountain in stages”分阶段攀登这座山可知他们每隔几周就搬到“更高的”营地去适应高海拔。故选C。

5.5.

A continue

B refuse

C regret

D promise

解析：选A。A 考查动词辨析。根据下一段中的“only two teams were chosen to try for the summit”只有两组人被选中去尝试登顶可知，越来越少的人会“继续”攀登。故选A。

6.6.

A camp

B land

C river

D mountain

解析：选A。A 考查名词辨析。结合前文出现过的camp可知，此处指在最后一个营地。故选A。

7.7.

A last

B first

C new

D second

解析：选B。B 考查序数词辨析。根据前一句中的“only two teams”可知只有最后两组人被选中去尝试登顶，这两组中的“第一组”就是汤姆·波迪龙和查尔斯·埃文斯。故选B。

8.8.

A turn back

B turn over

C turn off

D turn down

解析：选A。A 考查动词短语。结合前文和后文内容可知，汤姆·波迪龙和查尔斯·埃文斯这组没有登顶成功，在距离顶峰91米的地方，他们不得不“返回”了。故选A。

9.9.

A guessed

B tried

C left

D advised

解析：选B。B 考查动词辨析。结合前文，第一组尝试登顶失败，作为第二组的埃德蒙·希拉里和丹增·诺盖接着去“尝试”登顶。故选B。

10.10.

A off

B on

C from

D into

解析：选D。D 考查介词辨析。run into表示“遇见，碰上”。故选D。

11.11.

A thick

B light

C thin

D fresh

解析：选C。C 考查形容词辨析。根据前文他们二人成功登顶珠穆朗玛峰，再结合后文的“it was hard to breathe”呼吸困难可知，山顶上空气“稀薄”。故选C。

12.12.

A weeks

B days

C hours

D minutes

解析：选D。D 考查名词辨析。结合前文，山顶上空气稀薄，呼吸困难，因此他们二人只在山顶上待了几“分钟”。故选D。

13.13.

A taking

B making

C finding

D showing

解析：选A。A 考查动词辨析。根据前文的“Mr Hillary took a photograph of Mr Tenzing”希拉里给丹增拍了一张照片，并结合后文“to prove they had reached their goal”来证明他们达到了目标（登上了峰顶）可知，希拉里还“拍摄”了一张通往珠穆朗玛峰主要山脊的照片。故选A。

14.14.

A difficult

B relaxing

C successful

D dangerous

解析：选C。C 考查形容词辨析。结合后面的“would interest other climbers”会吸引其他的登山者，可知埃德蒙·希拉里和丹增·诺盖攀登珠穆朗玛峰是“成功的”。故选C。

15.15.

A what

B where

C which

D that

解析：选D。D 考查从句连接词。此题空处后句子结构和意义完整，因此题空处引导宾语从句，用that。故选D。