Question

Down on the beach of Dover, 56-year-old Channel swimmer Jackie Cobell bravely set off for Calais. The time was 6:40 am. 28 hours and 44 minutes later the exhausted, successful mother from Kent crawled (爬行) to the shore and walked proudly into the record books. After five years in training, Mrs Cobell became the slowest person to cross the Channel under her own steam. The previous record for the slowest crossing, set by Henry Sullivan at 26 hours and 50 minutes, has stood for 87 years before Mrs Cobell started at Dover Saturday morning.

   She had struggled through changing tides that swept her first one way, then the other. It turned the 21-mile crossing into a 65-mile one. She declared, “Time and tide wait for no man—and they certainly didn’t wait for me. I was fully expecting it to get dark before I got to Calais but I never imagined I’d also see the dawn again. But I wasn’t going to give up.”

   Her feat(壮举) raised more than $2,000 in charity sponsorship for research into Huntingdon’s disease, a sum that was continuing to grow as news of her achievement spread. That was why she did it. “I don’t really know myself,” she said. “ I just kept thinking of all the people I’d be letting down if I stopped.”

 Mrs Cobell took to the water so well at school. But after bringing up two daughters, she started to gain weight. Five years ago she took up swimming again and decided to prepare for the Channel challenge to lose weight. She became much fitter. Then came the big swim. “I practiced on Windermere lake,” she said. “it’s about half the distance of the Channel so I just doubled it, added some extra time, and worked out I could probably get to Calais in about 16 hours.”

Her husband David, trainer, official observer and friend sailed alongside her on a boat. She said, “I sang to keep myself going. When they told me I was a record breaker I thought they were just having a joke—until I realized it was the record for the slowest crossing. But maybe next time I might be a bit quicker.”

1.According to Paragraph 1, Mrs Cobell_____________.

   A. started to learn swimming five years ago

   B. arrived at Calais on late Sunday morning

   C. wanted to break the record for the slowest crossing

   D. was too exhausted to move after crossing the Channel

2.Why did Mrs Cobell spend so much time crossing the Channel?

   A. Because the tides changed her direction.

   B. Because she was not in good condition.

   C. Because she wasn’t good at swimming.

   D. Because the winds kept her from swimming fast.

3.Mrs Cobell crossed the Channel for the main purpose of____________.

   A. taking a risk

   B. losing more weight

   C. raising money for charity

   D. becoming famous worldwide

4. How did Mrs Cobell feel about the record she set?

   A. Dissatisfied        B. Excited         C. Annoyed         D. Proud

 

Answer 1

【答案】

 

1.B

2.A

3.C

4.A

【解析】为了给慈善事业募捐， 英国56岁的老妇横渡英吉利海峡，意外的是，她创造了最慢的记录

1.推理判断题。根据第一段The time was 6:40am. 28 hours and 44 minutes later 和Mrs Cobell started at Dover Saturday morning 可判断

2. 细节理解题。根据第二段She had struggled through changing tides that swept her first one way, then the other，可知

3.细节理解题。根据第三段Her feat (壮举) raised more than $2,000 in charity sponsorship 和 That was why she did it.可知

4.判断推理题。 根据末段But maybe next time I might be a bit quicker 可推断，她对这个记录不满意。