Frenchman sets sail across Atlantic in a barrel

黑龙江讷河市第一中学 周凯利

乘坐着自己设计的木桶，一名71岁的法国老人希望借助洋流独自横渡大西洋。

题材文章词数冒险308 难度 ★★体裁建议用时新闻5′

海词积累

1.resin n.树脂；合成树脂

2.plywood n.胶合板

3.orca n.虎鲸

4.bunk n.卧铺

5.foie gras鹅肝酱

6.quip v.打趣

7.confinement n.禁闭

A 71-year-old Frenchman set sail across the Atlantic on Wednesday in a barrel-shaped orange capsule,hoping to reach the Caribbean within three months depending mainly on ocean currents by himself.He showed great courage despite much discouragement from his relatives and friends.

“The weather is great—I've got a wave of one metre and I'm moving at two or three kilometres an hour,”Jean-Jacques Savin told AFP by telephone after setting off from El Hierro in Spain's Canary Islands.

“For the time being my capsule is behaving very,very well and I've got favourable wind forecast until Sunday.”Savin had worked on his vessel for months in the small shipyard of Ares on France's southwest coast.Measuring three metres long and 2.10 metres across,it is made fromresin-coatedplywood,heavily reinforced to resist wavesand potentialattacksbyorcawhales.

Inside the capsule,which weighs 450 kilograms when empty,is a six-square-metre living space which includes a kitchen,sleeping bunk and storage.A porthole in the floor allows Savin to look at passing fish.

Savin has served in Africa as a pilot and a national park ranger.He has prepared a block offoie grasand a bottle of Sauternes white wine for New Year's Eve,along with a bottle of red Saint-Emilion for his 72nd birthday on January 14.

Savin hopes currents will carry him naturally to the Caribbean without the need for a sail or oars—“maybe Barbados,although I'd reallylike itto be a French island like Martinique or Guadaloupe,”hequipped. “That would be easier for the paperwork and for bringing the barrel back.”

Along the way,Savin will be dropping markers for the international marine observatory to help its scientists study the currents.And he himself will be the subject of a study on the effects of loneliness in closeconfinement.

Reading Check

1.What can be inferred about Savin's adventure according to the text？

A.The winds were helpful with the adventure all the way.

B.The supplies were well prepared and had many varieties.

C.The destination of the adventure was Spain's Canary Islands.

D.The leading driving force was ocean currents instead of man power.

2.What does the underlined word “reinforced”in Para.3 mean？

A.To put something into use.

B.To fasten something tightly.

C.To make something stronger.

D.To fix something in a right way.

3.Which of the following can best describe Savin's characteristics according to the text？

A.Courageous,humorous and thoughtful.

B.Determined,generous and active.

C.Energetic,considerate and calm.

D.Fearless,faithful and modest.

Language Study

Complete the following sentences in correct forms with the words given or with a proper word.

1.A 71-year-old Frenchman set sail across the Atlantic on Wednesday in a barrel-shaped orange capsule,__________（hope） to reach the Caribbean within three months depending mainly on ocean currents by himself.

2.Jean-Jacques Savin told AFP by telephone after _________（set） off from El Hierro in Spain's Canary Islands.

3_________._（measure） three metres long and 2.10 metres across,it is made from resin-coated plywood,heavily reinforced to resist waves and potential attacks by orca whales.

4.Inside the capsule,__________weighs 450 kilograms when empty,is a six-square-metre living space which includes a kitchen,sleeping bunk and storage.