Britain’s Solo Sailor

　　Ellen MacArthur started sailing when she was eight，going out on sailing trips with her aunt.She loved it so much that she saved her money for three years to buy her first small sailing boat.When she was 18，she sailed alone around Britain and won the“Young Sailor of the Year”award.

　　But Ellen really became famous in 2001.Aged only 24，she was one of the only two women who en-tered the Vendee Globe round the world solo race，which lasts l00 days.Despite many problems，she came second in the race out of 24 competitors and she was given a very warm welcome when she returned.

　　Ambition and determination have always been a big part of Ellen’s personality.When she was youn-ger，she lived in a kind of hut(棚屋)for three years while she was trying to get sponsorship to compete in a transatlantic race.Then she took a one-way ticket to France，bought a tiny seven meter Class Mini yacht(游艇)，slept under it while she was repairing it，and then she raced it 4，000 kilometres across the Atlantic in 1997，alone for 33 days.

　　Ellen has had to learn many things，because sailing single—handed means that she has to be her own captain，electrician，sailmaker，engineer，doctor，journalist，cameraman and cook.She also has to be very fit，and because of the dangers of sleeping for long periods of time she’s in the middle of the ocean，she has trained herself to sleep for about 20 minutes at a time.

　　And she needs courage.Once，in the middle of the ocean，she had to climb the mast(桅杆)of a boat to repair the sails—at four o’clock in the mornin9.with l00kph winds blowing around her.It took her many hours to make the repairs;Ellen says：“I was exhausted when I came down.It’s hard to describe how it feels to be up there.It’s like trying to hold onto a big pole，which for me is just too big to get my arms around，with someone kicking you all the time and trying to shake you off”.

　　But in her diary，Ellen also describes moments which make it all worthwhile(值得的)：“A beautiful sunrise started the day，with black clouds slowly lit by the bright yellow sun.I have a very strong feeling of pleasure，being out here on the ocean and having the chance to live this.I just feel lucky to be here”.

　　31.In the Vendee Globe race.Ellen won

　　A.the second place.

　　B.a gold medal.

　　C.the“Young Sailor of the Year”award.

　　D.the“Best Woman Sailor”award.

　　【正确答案】：A

　　解析：题意：在“旺底(帆迪)环球航海赛”中，艾伦赢得了第二名。 文中第二段谈到她是进入这场比赛的两名女选手中的一个，在24个竞争对手中.她赢得了第二名，故选A。

　　32. Ellen lived in a kind of hut for three years

　　A. while she was learning how to repair sail

　　B. because she was ambitious for the coming rac

　　C. while she was trying to get financial support for a rac

　　D. because she was interested in country lif

　　【正确答案】：C

　　解析：句意：当她努力地要为比赛获得资金支持的时候，艾伦在一种棚屋里住了三年。 文中第三段第二句谈到“当艾伦还很年轻的时候，她就在一种棚屋里住了三年,那时她正在努力地想要获得进行横渡大西洋比赛的奖金”，故选C。

　　33. The word“solo’’in the title could be best replaced by

　　A. single-hande

　　B. self-mad

　　C. one performe

　　D. self-starte

　　【正确答案】：A

　　解析：句意：题目中的单词“solo”，可以被“single-handed”代替。 文中第四段第一句提到“艾伦必须学会许多事情，因为单独航行意味着……”。故选A。

　　34. According to paragraph 4，which of the following statements is NOT true?

　　A. She has to learn to repair sail

　　B. She has to be her own teache

　　C. She has to be very fi

　　D. She has trained herself to sleep for about 20 minutes at a tim

　　【正确答案】：B

　　解析：句意：根据第四段，下列哪种说法是不对的?她是她自己的老师。 文中第四段提到“艾伦必须学会许多事情，因为单独航行意味着她必须是自己的船长、电工、修帆工、工程师、医生、记者、摄影师和厨师。她也必须非常适合这些工作，并且由于在海洋中长时间睡觉会非常危险.她就训练自己每次睡觉时间大约为20分钟”，故选B。

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（实习编辑：高奕飞）