A geography wiz kid shares his story

2023-11-04涂丽平

疯狂英语·新悦读 2023年9期

主题语境：自然地理篇幅：350词建议用时：7分钟

1“Did you know that the deepest location on Earth is more than 36,000 feet below the Pacific Ocean? It's called the Mariana Trench,”says Kaylan Patel.The 16-year-old from Florida is a two-time state Geography Bee winner.Now a children's book author,Kaylan is sharing his knowledge of the world with children across the state of Florida.

2Kaylan's passion for geography started when he was about three years old.“I just had an affection for looking at maps and different atlases (地图集) that we had when I was growing up,”he said.When Kaylan was in middle school,he won his state's Geography Bee.He then advanced to the national competition,placing in the top 10 among students in the United States.Now a junior in high school,Kaylan stressed that having a basic understanding of our world allows us to think about innovative solutions to the challenges we face.

3Although his competing days are over,Kaylan hopes to inspire kids to learn more about geography through his new book series.CalledKobe'sWorldAdventure,the books follow the adventures of a boy named Kobe who travels the world with his family and learns new geographical facts along the way.The first book is about Kobe and his family exploring the US.Young readers will find many of the facts Kaylan has learned over the years,along with colorful illustrations (插图).The second book of the six-book series will be published in the fall.

4Kaylan has also started an organization called Lending Hands Global Foundation.Through the non-profit organization,he has been sharing copies ofKobe'sWorldAdventurewith students in several poor communities in Florida.So far,he has donated about 1,500 books.

5Kaylan recently read to a group of children at the Boys & Girls Club of Central Florida.He enjoys working with the nationwide organization,which provides after-school programs for kids.Seeing the kids' responses toKobe'sWorldAdventurewas rewarding.“I can tell that some of the students that I'm reading to arepicking up onthe topic,”Kaylan said.

Reading

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Detail 1.What can we know about Kaylan?

A.He wrote many books for children.

B.He was uninterested in geography as a junior.

C.He won Geography Bee twice.

D.He thought highly of the Mariana Trench.

Gist 2.What does paragraph 3 mainly talk about?

A.The deepest location on Earth.

B.Some different atlases.

C.A national competition in America.

D.A new book series.