1 . Free solo climbing is a risky form of rock climbing where the climber makes the climb alone without ropes or any other protective things. In June 2017, Alex Honnold completed an ultimate free solo climb up El Capitan, a 3,000-foot wall in Yosemite National Park.

On a freezing November morning in 2016, Alex determined to take up a challenge-a free solo climb of the world’s most famous vertical（垂直的）cliff. Every step, he had to be extra careful to keep the balance. All the time he had to shine his headlamp on the cold, smooth part of stones to decide where he could next place his foot. Unlike parts of the climb higher up that Alex could climb with his strong fingers, this lower part he must manage with a perfect balance of fine skills and confidence.

Every move tied people’s hearts. The cameraman said. “Every time I got no response, I thought Alex was bailing. But it turned out that I was wrong-He was still moving on.”

More physically challenging parts wait for him to climb up with his feel and hands pressing the rock. The Free blast is the most frightening part. In 2016, after several failures, Alex knew he would try again. His foot tap-tap-tapped against the wall as if he was feeling his way into the huge rock, but he wouldn’t turn back this time. And then, he stood on the top and he made it!

People view free soloing differently. Critics regard it as risky, considering the long list of those who’ve died attempting it. Others, myself included, recognize it as the sport's truest expression. Such was the attitude of Austrian climber Paul Preuss, the father of free soloing. He believed that the spirit of mountain-climbing was to master a mountain with wonderful physical and mental skill.

It has been a great pleasure to hear from you.     1     既然中国很多景点都已经被你游览过了，这次我决定向你推荐留园（the Lingering Garden）。（现在完成时的被动语态，recommend）

    2    无论游客什么时候来到留园，他们都会被那里的景色深深地吸引。（-ever让步状语从句）    3     只有通过设计师们的努力，中国的园林（the Chinese gardens）才能结合古代的美丽和现代的技术。（only部分倒装，combine）    4     重要的是，你要知道它们都是中国的工人用手创造出来的。（it形式主语，主语从句）

    5     门票已经提前预定好了，我现在非常渴望你的到来。（with的复合结构，eager）Please inform me of your flight information, and I’ll be glad to pick you up at the airport! See you soon!

Yours,

Li Hua

The Secrets of Your Memory

We remember things     1     have strong connections in our mind,     2     (especial) emotional connections. Childhood memories are often very     3     (emotion). This is    4     when we experience things for the first time, we often have strong feelings of fear or    5     (excite). Also, interesting or funny stories from our childhood are often told again and again. As a result, we remember them much better, as     6     (retell) events helps fix experiences in our memories. What can we learn from all this? When     7     (remember) something new, try to connect it to our emotions. It is important    8     (connect) it with what we already know. Also, we can try to retell     9     we have learnt to a few others.

A person    10     a photographic memory could remember every detail of a picture, a book or an event many years later,     11     no one has proved that there are people who really have photographic memories. Yet, there are some people who do have     12     (amaze) memories. For example, Daniel Tammet can remember the first 22,514 digits of pi (π) and Stephen Wiltshire can draw a     13     (detail) picture of a city from memory after flying    14     it in a helicopter. They are both good at     15     (remember) particular things for a limited time. As most of us do not have amazing memories like them, when memorising detailed learning materials, we     16     (simple) need to focus on the important ideas and be curious    17     what we learn.     18     (ask) questions about what we learn also helps with memorisation. Another     19     (effect) technique to remember things is to group similar ideas or information together so that they can be easily     20     (connect) to things that are already known.

Don’t worry. This is natural for many people. In1885, Hermann Ebbinghaus published a book    22     (call) Memory and presented a famous forgetting curve. According to him, the     23     (sharp) loss of memory occurs during the very early period after learning. This means timely review during this period, with a few revisits to what is learnt, can     24     (significant) help us to remember the information. Therefore, one of the golden     25     (rule) to increase how much we remember is to review the material periodically, especially during the first day after learning. This “spaced review” soon after learning helps build stronger memories and it is     26     (effective) than waiting to review everything before exams.

    27     (definite) not. Our memory reaches     28     (it) full power at the age of 25. At that point, we can remember up to 200 pieces of information     29     a second. After this age, however, the brain starts to get smaller. By the age of 40, we lose 10,000 brain cells every day. By middle age, our memory is significantly     30     (bad) than when we were young. So take it easy. You are at a good age     31     terms of your memory. Make good use     32     it!