文章大意:本文是一篇记叙文。文章主要讲述了Mark Fuhrmann在退休后变卖了大部分财产,开始了航行,进入自己人生中新的季节的故事。他的旅程充满了各种曲折,也有与陌生人产生联系的时刻,他享受着与自然相连的经历,期待着在航行中发现真实的自己。
Shortly before he turned 60, Mark Fuhrmann realized what he wanted. He, now, at 65, has just returned from a second voyage. His 6,835 mile-round trip from Nova Scotia took in the great lakes of the US, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic.
Fuhrmann started these journeys “to kickstart retirement” from the maritime PR business he ran in Oslo for the past 30 years. Before he set off, in June last year, he swapped (交换) his house for a flat, and greatly reduced his possessions. “It was good to get rid of all of those things and say: ‘This isn’t a phase; this is a new season,’” he says.
Amazingly, he didn’t plan his trip, beyond committing to fundraise for Medecins Sans Frontières. “I thought: ‘I’ll try to do 40km each day.’ But I never knew where I was going to lay down my head.”
The challenges were psychological, physical, and sometimes life-threatening. In Florida, he was chased by an alligator (短吻鳄), but narrowly escaped from it. In the Boston area, he saw “a black fin moving towards me like a snake”. He lay his oar (划桨) across his lap and waited. “If a great white shark can swim leisurely, that’s exactly what it did. It just passed me,” he says. Ten minutes later, Fuhrmann pulled his kayak (小艇) into a cove, where he ran into a man who invited him into his home for coffee and apple pie. His whole trip was filled with these switchbacks and moments of connection with strangers, which Fuhrmann experienced as “a call to authenticity”.
What does he mean? “Nature is born within us. If you avoid that, you avoid experiencing something that is vital to who you are as a person. I want real things — life isn’t about having more. I think we need to accept where we are at this stage of life, at 60 or 65.”
“I look at retirement as a season,” he says. He started his latest voyage because “I wanted to have a better understanding of who I was. I wanted to have time for my thoughts to wander, to restart, to discover the value and power within myself.”
4. Why did Fuhrmann get rid of most of his possessions?
A.To make donations to charity. | B.To start a new life in retirement. |
C.To make up for his business loss. | D.To collect money for the journey. |
5. What does the underlined word “switchbacks” in paragraph 4 probably mean?
A.Blessings. | B.Ambitions. | C.Defeats. | D.Challenges. |
6. Which of the following might Fuhrmann agree with?
A.The meaning of life is achieving more. |
B.Old people should take things as they are. |
C.It is good to have nature-based experience. |
D.It is advisable for aging people to play safe. |
7. Why did Fuhrmann start his latest voyage?
A.To reflect on his past. | B.To discover his true self. |
C.To relax his mind and body. | D.To be free from the noisy world. |