As a mountain, 1,642-foot Squaw Peak isn't that impressive. But its views attract many hikers（远足者）. Henry Grant, a college student at Ithaca College, was one of them.

While waiting for his mother one day in August, 2019, Grant watched other hikers enjoy the view. One hiker, dressed in pink, was looking over the lip of the cliff（悬崖）with her husband. 

When Grant's mother rejoined him, the two continued on their way. Suddenly, he heard something scaring: "Paula! Paula!" a man shouted crazily. Grant turned around quickly. ____

Several hikers immediately started looking for her, but their view was screened by trees. Uncertain they could help, Grant and his mother headed down the trail. But when he saw some hikers still searching, he decided to lend a hand. After promising his mother that he would be safe, he went on alone.

After 15 minutes of climbing over large rocks, pushing past bushes, and slipping（滑） down loose earth, Grant found a pink figure. The woman had fallen about 75 feet. Luckily, she was alive. 

"Paula! Paula!" Grant shouted. The woman didn't reply. She was badly hurt. Grant called the police to report her location. She kept trying to move, and every time she moved, she slipped a little more. Afraid that in her unclear state of mind she might fall off the rock to her death, Grant climbed on all fours up a tight, narrow path by digging into the earth with his fingers and feet until he reached Paula.

Paula was moaning, almost senseless. Grant gently put her hand in his, trying to keep her mind off the pain by keeping asking her questions: "Where are you from? Do you have kids?" Soon, they were joined on their perch（歇脚处）by another hiker named Simon.

About 45 minutes later, first rescuers（救援者）arrived. Paula and her husband were flown to a hospital. Five hours after the woman in pink had fallen, Grant was back on top of Squaw Peak.

"How are you? " is a nice question. It's a friendly way that people in the USA greet each other. But "How are you? " is also a very unusual question. It's a question that often doesn't need an answer.

The person who asks "How are you? " hopes to hear the answer "Fine"，even if the person's friend isn't fine. The reason is that "How are you? " isn't really a question and "Fine" isn't really an answer. They are simply other ways of saying "Hello" or "Hi".

Sometimes，people don't say exactly what they mean. For example，when someone asks "Do you agree? "，the other person might think， "No，I disagree. I think you're wrong. " But it isn't very polite to disagree so strongly，so the other person might say "I'm not sure. " It's a nicer way to say that you don't agree with someone.

People don't say exactly what they are thinking when they want to finish talking with other people. For example，many talks over the phone finish when one person says "I've got to go now. " Often，the person who wants to hang up gives an excuse： "Someone's at the door. " "Something is burning on the stove. " The excuses might be real or not. Perhaps the person who wants to hang up simply doesn't want to talk any more，but it isn't polite to say that. The excuse is more polite，and it doesn't hurt the other person.

Whether they are greeting each other，talking about an idea，or finishing a talk，people don't say exactly what they are thinking. It's an important way that people try to be nice to each other，and it's part of the game of language.