非凡的攀登

山東 孫啟祿

殘疾女孩埃萊夫塞里婭一直夢想著登頂奧林匹斯山。 長跑運動員馬里奧斯與其團隊準備了特制背包，背著女孩爬到了山頂，讓埃萊夫塞里婭成為第一個從奧林匹斯山山頂俯瞰希臘的殘疾人。

Marios Giannakou had already climbed to the top of Mt. Olympus 50 times, but he says his 51st trip is his most memorable and meaningful.That's because he spent more than 10 hours climbing the mountain with a woman, Eleftheria Tosiou, on his back.

Eleftheria is 22 years old and had been always dreaming of seeing the peak of Mt. Olympus but she had been unable to make the hike by herself due to a disability that affects her mobility. So, when she shared this dream with Marios, he stepped up to help her make her dream come true.

Marios didn't need to train for the hike,because he has an incredible athletic record.From running a 93-mile race in Antarctica(which he won) to hiking more than 160 miles in the Al Marmoum Desert, he was already in shape and ready for the new challenge. About a month after the two met and began planning their adventure, they were off!

Eleftheria rode on Marios' back in a special carrier that is designed specifically for long hikes. The pair were joined by eight guides and they all stopped to make camp and rest about halfway through before finishing up the more than 10-hour hike to the highest peak, which is more than 9,000 feet up.

Eleftheria was obviously thrilled to be able to live out her dream, but Marios seemed to have been equally affected by the adventure. He said, “For me, all international races, the medals and the distinctions so far, mean little compared to that goal.”

The pair and their guides, successfully made their descent back down Mt. Olympus, and have an incredible story to tell. After it was all over, Marios said of the accomplishment, “There is nothing more real than the dream.” Hopefully,this means that this hike was just the first of many adventures they will go on together.

Reading Check

1. Why does Marios say his 51st was the most memorable and meaningful?

A. The trip took the longest time.

B. He had climbed the mountain 50 times.

C. The trip took him more time than expected.

D. He helped a disabled girl realize her dream.

2. What can we infer about Marios from the third paragraph?

A. He was an experienced hiker.

B. He and Eleftheria were old friends.

C. He never stopped to rest halfway.

D. He was unwilling to carry Eleftheria at first.

3. How was Eleftheria feel about the climb?

A. Exhausted. B. Frightened.

C. Excited. D. Bored.

4. What does the underlined sentence imply?

A. Marios thought that he did the right thing.

B. Marios learned more from this adventure than before.

C. Marios couldn't look back on the journey he had taken.

D. Marios came across the difficulty he had never experienced.

Cultural Background

奧林匹斯山

奧林匹斯山，又譯作奧林波斯山，是希臘最高的山，位于愛琴海塞爾邁灣北岸，距希臘第二大城塞薩洛尼基約100千米。 奧林波斯山由52座山峰組成，其中最高峰“Mytikas”意為前端突出部，海拔為2,917米。

1913年8月2日，瑞士作家Daniel Baud-Bovy和瑞士攝影師Frédéric Boissonnas在希臘登山向導Christos Kakkalos的帶領下，三人第一次登上頂峰，這是人類首次登頂。 2018年8月2日，Google在部分國家的首頁以首頁涂鴉紀念首次登頂105年。

在希臘神話中，奧林波斯是神的山，“奧林波斯”的原意是“光之處”。 在希臘神話中它的地位相當于天堂，眾神、半神和他們的仆人都居住在這里。