How do students spend their spare time after finishing their homework? Watch TV, play computer games, or go outside to relax? Here's a good example.
Tim and Kerry Meek are both teachers. They live in the UK with their two daughters: eleven-year-old Amy and nine-year-old Ella. Recently, the Meek family has become the focus of the whole country after they completed 100 different outdoor activities in one year.
The Meek couple didn't want their children to spend all their free time in front of the TV and become "couch potatoes". So about one year ago, the Meeks decided that watching TV and playing computer games were not permitted. Instead, they set 100 tasks for the two girls to do outside. Although Mr. and Mrs. Meek are not outdoor activity fans, they took part in all the activities to encourage their daughters. It turns out that the two sisters really had a good time joining activities.
Every holiday and weekend, whether it's sunny, rainy or snowy, the Meeks' would set off to try the activities on their list, including hiking, sailing, climbing, skiing, and so on. The two little girls not only had a wonderful time, but also learned a lot of skills from the activities. They were even able to stand up in front of their school to give a talk for charity. "Our friends spend a lot of their free time doing things which are harmful to their health. Luckily, we've had the chance to experience something different." Amy and Ella also helped their parents to draw up a new list of challenges for the next 12 months.
1. Why did the Meeks become the focus of the UK? (no more than 10 words)2. What does the underlined phrase "couch potatoes" mean? (no more than 15 words)
3. When did the Meeks go out to do the activities? (no more than 5 words)
4. What did the two little girls learn from the activities?(no more than 5 words)
5. What have you learnt from the story? (no more than 25 words)
2 . Diana Nyad, born in 1949, is one of the world's greatest long-distance swimmers. She started as a speed swimmer, winning races in high school and dreaming of the Olympics. However, Nyad fell ill with heart disease before she could compete in the 1968 Olympic Games and had to spend three months in bed. By the time Nyad was better, she was unable to swim as fast as she had previously.
Nyad then turned from speed swimming to distance swimming. Her first race was 10 miles in the cold waters of Lake Ontario. Even though she came in tenth place, she was the first woman ever to complete the course. In 1974, Nyad set a record while swimming a 22-mile race in the Bay of Naples, Italy. That same year she tried to swim back and forth across Lake Ontario, a total of 64 miles. Nyad made it across the lake, but on the return trip, she lost consciousness and had to be pulled from the water. In 1975, she swam around Manhattan Island, a distance of 28 miles, in a record of 7 hours and 57 minutes. Three years later she swam 102 miles from the Bahamas to Florida.
In 2010, at the age of 61, Nyad announced she would swim from Cuba to Florida. In order to train, Nyad spent as many as 14 hours a day swimming in the ocean. The swim from Cuba to Florida would last at least 60 hours and cover 103 miles. Unfortunately, bad weather forced Nyad to wait until the next year. In 2011, Nyad attempted the swim but was blown off course after being in the water for 29 hours. Nyad attempted the swim again a few months later, but she had to stop because of too many jellyfish stings (海蜇蜇伤）.
Despite these setbacks, Nyad continues to preserve and plans to eventually make the Cuba-to-Florida swim. She has made a vow (誓言）to never stop swimming and wants other older Americans to understand that it is never too late to make one's dreams come true.
1. What made Nyad fail to participate in the 1968 Olympic Games? (No more than 5 words)2. What does the second paragraph mainly talk about? (No more than 10 words)
3. How did Nyad make preparations for her swimming from Cuba to Florida? (No more than 15 words)
4. What does the underlined word “setbacks” in the last paragraph mean? (Only 1 word)
5. What inspiration do you learn from Nyad’s stories and experiences? (No more than 25 words)
Born in 1949, Diana Nyad took an early interest in swimming as a sport and was a Florida State High School swimming champion. Like many young athletes, she had Olympic dreams, but a serious illness kept her from competing in the Games. The disappointment didn’t stop her from going forward. Instead, she became interested in marathon swimming. A brilliant athlete, she was well-conditioned for spending long periods of time in the water. As a long-distance swimmer, she would compete against herself and the obstacles presented by distance, danger, cold, and exhaustion.
For ten years Nyad devoted herself to becoming one of the world’s best long-distance swimmers. In 1970, she swam a ten-mile marathon in Lake Ontario, setting the women’s record for the course. In 1972 she set another record by swimming 102.5 miles from an island in the Bahamas to the coast of Florida. Then she broke a third record when swimming around Manhattan Island in 1975.
Nyad attempted to swim the distance between Florida and Cuba in 1978. Though the span of water is less than 100 miles wide, it is rough and dangerous. After battling the water for two days, she had to give up for the sake of her own health and safety. Even so, she impressed the world with her courage and strong desire to succeed. For Nyad her strength of purpose was just as important as reaching Cuba. That is how she defined success. It did not matter that her swim came up short; she believed she had touched the other shore.
When Nyad ended her career as a swimmer, she continued to try new things---travelling the world as a reporter, writing books and giving public speeches about her life. Diana Nyad works to inspire others, just as she did when she swam the waters of the world.
1. What prevented Nyad from taking part in the Olympic Games? (Not more than 5 words)_______________________________________________________________________
2. What does the underlined word “obstacles” mean? (1 word)
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3. What achievement did Nyad make in 1970? (Not more than 10 words.)
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4. Why did Nyad believe that she had touched the other shore? (Not more than 10 words)
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5. Please explain how you are inspired by Nyad. (Not more than 20 words)
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