When people hear that I’m the youngest person to row
solo across the Atlantic Ocean, they all have the same question: How did a
22-year old woman row a 19-foot boat for 70 days through high winds and
crashing waves? Well, the biggest difficulty for me wasn’t physical. By the
time I decided to do the ocean row, I had already biked 3,300 miles
cross-country, run across the Mojave Desert, and swum the 325-mile length of
the Allegheny River. No, the tough part would be mental: How would I handle the
loneliness, the boredom of the vast sea?
I set off on January 3, 2010. I set my sights on
getting past the quarter-way mark, which would take about 20 days.
Day 20, January 22, was gray and cloudy. I could
have done something to celebrate, such as treating myself to a chocolate bar.
But I didn’t.
I was suffering from terrible loneliness. I hadn’t
seen landing over two weeks. Every day was beginning to feel the same. Eating,
rowing, sleeping, watch the sky, watch the ocean.
Then, around sunset, I saw something move on the
horizon. They were dolphins! They circled my boat. Suddenly I felt so grateful.
They had come to help me celebrate, just when I needed them. I rowed at full
strength for the next 20 minutes with the dolphins around. By the time we went
our separate ways, I was no longer lonely. Better yet, I knew I would be okay.
I did make it, all 2,817 miles. I hit the coast of
Guyana, South America, on March 14, after 70 days and five hours at sea. My ocean
row raised $70,000 for the Blue Planet Run Foundation, which funds drinking
water programs around the world. I know some athletes spend the entire journey
imagining the end, and that helps them get through. But for me, the secret is
to focus on the moment, where you experience the personal growth — those
moments of awareness of being connected to the sun, the weather, and the waves.
And, on the best day of my life, those dolphins, which freed myself from
terrible loneliness.
1.Which is the step taken as part of preparation for
the tough row?
A.swimming the
325-mile length of the river
B.a(chǎn)nswering the
same question raised by people
C.running 3,300
miles cross-country
D.biking across
the Mojave Desert
2.What does the underlined part mean?
A.I didn’t have any chocolate bar for energy.
B.I wasn’t in the mood to celebrate my first goal.
C.It’s a pity not to celebrate my passing the quarter of
the way
D.It’s a pity not to treat myself to a chocolate bar on Day
20.
3.What can be implied from the last two paragraphs?
A.Imagination
was an effective way to help me get through.
B.The Blue
Planet Run Foundation helped me a lot.
C.The dolphins
accompanied me to reach my destination
D.The
unexpected dolphins swept away my loneliness
4.Which can be the best title of the passage?
A.The day I
stopped being lonely
B.The only
challenge for a 22-year old
C.How to
overcome loneliness at sea.
D.How to row
alone across the Atlantic