Mount Everest, standing at a height of 8854 meters, is the
highest mountain in the world. An expedition to such a ___1___
mountain requires a lot of preparation. Mountaineers need to get
___2___ to the cold and
freezing temperatures before ___3___
to scale the mountain. They need to wear special clothing to ___4___
themselves warm. their clothing needs to be lightweight too.
Then they also need to ___5___
along special mountaineering equipment and a warm and
lightweight sleeping bag to ___6___
them from the freezing winds at night and probably even in the
day. The first ten ___7___
to the summit of Mount Everest failed. The eleventh trip ___8___
a team of the world's best climbers was led by Colonel John
Hunt. It was not free from ___9___.
At one point of their climb a member fell into a crevasse, but
fortunately all the members of the ___10___
were attached together by a rope and he was pulled out.
Edmund Hillary from New Zealand and Tensing Norgay from Nepal
were the first climbers to reach the ___11___.
They made the attempt on a clear and bright day. that day was
May 29 1953. Since that first attempt many teams of mountaineers
___12___ various countries
have reached the top of Mount Everest, including the Malaysian
team which reached the ___13___
of the world in 1997. |