vocabulary
endurance--the ability to continue doing something difficult or painful over a long period of time..
lethal--causing death,or able to cause death
feat--something that is an impressive(令人钦佩的) achivement,because it needs a lot of skill,strenght,etc to do.
odyssey--a long journey with a lot of adventures or difficulties
repellent--a substance(物质) that keeps insects or other unwanted creatures away.
bicep--a large muscle on front of your upper arm
don--to put on,wear
pre-reading question
- can you swim?
- have you ever swim in the ocean?
- do you know any senior citiens(people over the age of 60)who have active lifestyles?
- are you afraid of shark?
- have you ever been stungs by a jellyfish?
- what is your achiles heel?that means ,what is your weak spot？
- have you ever heard native speakers say:"age is but a number"what do you think it means?
perseverance
You have heard stories of elderly people doing amazing things.....but this one takes the cake.Diana nyad in her sixties,is an endurance from American .she braved sharks,lethal jellyfish and lighting storms in an attempt to become the first person ever to swim the 103 miles between cuba and florida .Nyad has attempt this feat four times already.Her first unsuccessful attempt was in 1978 at the age of 29.her second attempt was unsuccessful because of shoulder pain and jellyfish stings.
dangers
swimming a distance of 103 miles is easier said tha done.not every tom ,dick and harry would be able to do it .diana however,didn't let her age stand in her way .at a pace of 50 strokes a minute.the odyssey was expected to take 60 hours.diana was escorted by a kayaker.equipped with an electronic shark repellent.at night.jellyfish stings were a major problem.and diana had to don a protective suit with holes(洞) only for her eyes to avoid being stung.the curtain came down when diana was pulled from the water beause the journey became too dangerous.
going the distance
diana suffered from severe(严峻的) sunburn and her tongue had become swollen(浮肿的) because of the salt water.，a strained(紧张的，拉伤) bicep muscle appeared to be her achilles heel(致命弱点).In an interview after another unsuccessful attemp.diana metioned that she was very disppointed ,it wasn't the fatigue(疲劳)，the pain ,the hungeror even the circling sharks but the jellyfish that did her in.though,still believe she can go the distance.
The next week ,diana celebrated her 63 birthday.
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