(開放試讀) 91分鐘攻頂台北101！不只學單字，教你用 4 個高階文法讀懂這場「世紀壯舉」

Photo: Chiang Ying-ying, AP。2026年1月25日，美國傳奇攀岩家 Alex Honnold 再次震撼世界，他在 Netflix 全程直播下，耗時 91 分鐘成為史上第一位在沒有繩索或安全吊帶的情況下，徒手攀登台北 101 的人。

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　　這場讓董事長賈永婕直呼「令人神經緊繃」（nerve-racking）的壯舉，不僅震撼全台，更是學習高階英文的絕佳素材。本篇精選 5 個關鍵字，帶你掌握描述「世紀壯舉」與「極限張力」的寫作亮點！

原文標題
US climber Alex Honnold free soloes Taipei 101
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’
美國攀岩者 Alex Honnold 無保護單人攀登台北 101。
玩命挑戰：Honnold 表示，攀登台北 101 一直是他的夢想；一名 Netflix 製作人則說，這棟摩天大樓是「這個國家真正的象徵」。

　　以下為英文報導全文：

US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net.
Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix.
Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building.

 

 

At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos.
People watching from inside the building could be seen gawking and tapping at the glass, as Honnold moved past the enclosed observation deck on the 89th floor.
After an hour and a half, he made it to the spire at a height of 508m before triumphantly rappelling down to reunite with his wife, Sanni McCandless Honnold.

 

從這則讓全球媒體關注的國際頭條中，學會 3 種描述「重大成就」與「極度緊張」的高級關鍵字，讓你的英文寫作瞬間升級！

scale｜(v.) 攀登；按比例縮放

▷　老師畫重點：大家都知道 climb 是爬，但 scale 這個字更具「征服高度」的畫面感，常用於描述攀越城牆、高山或摩天大樓。此外，在商業英文中，它還有「擴展規模」（scale up）的意思，是多益（TOEIC）常考字。
• The firefighters had to scale a high wall to rescue the cat.（消防員必須攀越高牆才能救出那隻貓。）
• The startup plans to scale up its business next year.（這家新創公司計畫明年擴大其業務規模。）

embark on｜(phr v.) 著手進行；踏上（旅程/事業）

▷　老師畫重點：這是一個非常漂亮的片語，用來替換簡單的 "start" 或 "begin"。當你要描述開始一段艱難的任務、新的職涯或冒險時，用 embark on 會讓你的文章顯得非常有深度。
• Before you embark on this project, make sure you have enough resources.（在你著手進行這個專案之前，確保你有足夠的資源。）
• She decided to embark on a new career as a writer.（她決定踏上作家的新職涯路途。）

rappel｜(v.) 垂降

▷　老師畫重點：這是攀岩與軍事用語。指利用繩索從高處快速滑下。在動作片電影介紹中常出現。

 

想讓英文脫離「平鋪直敘」，就要學習新聞如何使用精準的動詞來描繪畫面。

spectator (n.) 現場觀眾

原文出處： "Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base..."

▷　老師畫重點：在多益（TOEIC）與新聞閱讀中出現頻率極高。區分不同類型的「觀眾」：
        ▪ spectator: 體育比賽或現場活動的觀眾。
        ▪ audience: 電影、戲劇或演講的聽眾/觀眾（集合名詞）。
        ▪ viewer: 電視或網路影片的收看者。

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gawk (v.) 呆呆地看著；張口凝視

▷　用法比較：不要只會用 look 或 watch。

stare	盯著看（中性或帶有敵意）
gaze	凝視（帶有欣賞或思考）
gawk	傻眼、嘴巴開開地看（帶有驚訝、愚蠢或粗魯的意味）

這裡精準傳達了辦公室裡的人看到窗外有人爬過去的震驚感。

 

必考文法重點：分詞構句

原文出處： "Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face..." （身穿紅色 T 恤和黃色特製攀岩鞋，Honnold 迅速沿著東南面向上移動......）

▷　老師畫重點：這是高中升大學（學測/分科測驗）與多益閱讀中最常見的考點，用來精簡句子，使動作更緊湊。

▷　文法解析：為何這樣用？ 這是一個被動態的分詞構句。 原句應為：Because he was dressed in... 或 Honnold, who was dressed in...。 但在英文中，為了修辭優美，常將連接詞與主詞省略。因為「穿著」在英文邏輯中常視為「被裝扮（be dressed in）」，所以省略 be 動詞後，留下過去分詞 Dressed 開頭。

▷　考試怎麼考？題目常挖空第一個字，要你選 Dressing 還是 Dressed。

    ◦ 關鍵判斷： 看主詞（Honnold）是被動（被穿著/處於穿著狀態）還是主動。但在 "dress" 這個字上，形容「穿著...衣服」習慣用 Dressed in。

 

 

“What a beautiful way to see Taipei,” he told reporters after his mission, which was postponed by a day due to wet weather.
Taipei 101, which dominates the city’s skyline and is a major tourist attraction, was the tallest building in the world from 2004 to 2010, a crown currently held by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The climb took place with full support and permission of Taipei 101 and the Taipei City Government.

 

Alex Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to add scaling Taipei 101 to his list of achievements, adding that he had once thought of climbing the structure without permission.
“But then out of respect for the building and respect for all the people on the team who’d allowed me access to look at it, I was like, well obviously I’m not going to poach this, I’m going to respect the people and just see if it ever comes together,” he said.
Netflix executive producer James Smith said it was rare for a building to trust a climber and allow such an event to take place, calling Taipei 101 “a real icon of this country.”

 

Taipei 101 chairwoman Janet Chia (賈永婕) shared a short clip on Instagram. As Alex Honnold reached the top, she seemed excited, pumping her fist and shouting: “Success.”
“I’m retiring — that was nerve-racking,” she said.
Taiwanese politicians on social media thanked Alex Honnold and Netflix for putting Taiwan in the international spotlight with such a different perspective.

 

 

“Congratulations to the brave, fearless Alex for completing the challenge,” President William Lai (賴清德) wrote on Facebook.
“Through Netflix’s live broadcast, the world did not just see Taipei 101 — it also saw the warmth and passion of Taiwanese, and the beautiful hills and scenery of this land,” he added.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) congratulated Alex Honnold on his “historic feat” and thanked the organizers and spectators for their support.

 

She said the challenge not only fulfilled Alex Honnold’s dream, but also showcased Taiwan’s “safety, order and prosperity” to the world.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also congratulated Alex Honnold on his “conquering of Taipei 101,” commenting that “true courage knows no limits.”
The American Institute in Taiwan congratulated Alex Honnold’s successful free solo, saying that he not only set a new record but also “introduced many Americans and more global audiences to this iconic landmark in the heart of Taipei.”

 

Alex Honnold has conquered some of the world’s most intimidating rock faces and rose to global fame in 2017 after he climbed Yosemite’s El Capitan, lauded among his peers as the pinnacle of technical difficulty on the massive granite monolith.
This is not the first time Taipei 101 has been scaled.
In 2004, French climber Alain Robert, dubbed “Spiderman” for his ropeless ascents of some of the world’s highest skyscrapers, climbed the building, but used a safety rope because of the rainy conditions, in a time of four hours.

Speaking in a post-climb interview, Sanni McCandless Honnold responded to those who describe her husband as “crazy” or an “adrenaline junkie” by saying that he takes great joy in his climbs.
“It’s almost like a childlike joy,” she said. “I think that was a really cool part of today, that we all got to just watch him have a lot of fun.”

 

從這則讓全球媒體關注的國際頭條中，學會 3 種描述「重大成就」與「極度緊張」的高級關鍵字，讓你的英文寫作瞬間升級！

nerve-racking｜(adj.) 令人神經緊繃的；極傷腦筋的

▷　老師畫重點：這是描述「緊張感」的極佳用字。不同於 nervous 是形容「人」感到緊張，nerve-racking 是形容「事情」讓人崩潰。可以用來形容面試、大考或像看著某人徒手爬 101 這種驚險時刻。
• Waiting for the exam results was a nerve-racking experience.（等待考試結果是一次令人神經緊繃的經歷。）

feat｜(n.) 壯舉；功績；技藝

▷　老師畫重點：在這個情境下，Honnold 的攀登不只是一般的 achievement（成就），更是一項需要非凡勇氣與技巧的 Feat（壯舉）。這個字常出現於體育新聞或歷史回顧中。
• Building the pyramids was an incredible engineering feat.（建造金字塔是一項不可思議的工程壯舉。）

intimidating｜(adj.) 令人心生畏懼的；嚇人的

▷　老師畫重點：當你想形容某個人氣場很強、某項任務太過艱鉅，讓你感到害怕或沒有自信時，intimidating 是最精準的形容詞。
• The sheer size of the project was intimidating at first.（這個專案的龐大規模起初令人感到畏懼。）

icon / iconic｜(n./adj.) 指標；具代表性的

▷　老師畫重點：旅遊、建築、行銷類文章必備。形容某事物非常有名，能代表一個時代或地點。
• The Eiffel Tower is an iconic landmark of Paris. (艾菲爾鐵塔是巴黎的指標性地標。)

nerve-racking｜(adj.) 令人神經緊繃的；極傷腦筋的
▷　老師畫重點：這是描述「緊張感」的極佳用字。不同於 nervous 是形容「人」感到緊張，nerve-racking 是形容「事情」讓人崩潰。可以用來形容面試、大考或像看著某人徒手爬 101 這種驚險時刻。
• Waiting for the exam results was a nerve-racking experience.（等待考試結果是一次令人神經緊繃的經歷。）

 

新聞中引用了 Alex Honnold 的直接引語（Direct Speech），這通常是學習母語人士「口語邏輯」的最佳素材。

poach (v.) 偷獵；（口語）未經許可做某事/竊取點子

▷　亮點解析：大家熟悉的 poach 是「水波蛋」或「盜獵動物」。但在極限運動或職場口語中，poach 可以指「未經許可去使用某場地」或「挖角人才」。Honnold 這裡是指他不想在未經 101 同意下「偷爬」。
• Competitors are trying to poach our best employees. (競爭對手試圖挖角我們最好的員工。)

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pinnacle (n.) 巔峰；極點

▷　考點：抽象名詞的高級用法。原意是小尖塔，引申為成就的「頂峰」。
▷　同義詞替換：peak, summit, apex.

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adrenaline junkie (n. phr.) 腎上腺素成癮者（追求刺激的人）

▷　亮點解析：Junkie 原指毒癮者，但在現代英文中常與 adrenaline（腎上腺素）連用，形容那些熱愛極限運動、不冒險就渾身不對勁的人。這是描述極限運動員最道地的名詞。

 

　　透過這則新聞，我們不只看見了 Alex Honnold 的勇氣（與 101 的壯觀），更學到了如何用英文精確描述挑戰 (Scale/Embark on)、恐懼 (Nerve-racking/Intimidating) 與 關注 (Spotlight)。
下次當你面對一個艱鉅的挑戰時，不妨告訴自己：Although the task is intimidating, I am ready to embark on this journey!（雖然這項任務令人畏懼，但我已準備好踏上這段旅程！）

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