2 . Before he sailed round the world single-handed, Francis Chichester had already surprised his friends several times. He had tried to ______ round the world but failed. That was in 1931.

The years passed. He ______ flying and began sailing. He enjoyed it greatly. Chichester was already 58 years old when he won the first solo ______ race across the Atlantic. His ______ dream of going round the world came back, but this time he would sail. His friends and doctors thought it was a(an)______ attempt, as he had lung cancer. But Chichester was determined to ______ his plan. In August, 1966, at the age of nearly 65, an age at which many men ______, he began his greatest ______ of his life.

Chichester covered 14,100 miles ______ stopping in Sydney, Australia. This was more than twice the distance anyone had previously sailed ______. On shore, he could not walk ______ help. Everybody said the same thing: he had done ______; he must not go any further.______ he did not listen.

After ______ in Sydney for a few weeks, Chichester set off once more in spite of lots of ______. The second half of his voyage was by far the more ______ part, during which he sailed round the risky Cape Horn. After succeeding in sailing round Cape Horn, Chichester sent the following radio message to London: “I feel as if I had waken up from a nightmare (噩梦). Even a wild horse could not drag me down to Cape Horn and that Ocean ______.”

Just before 9 o'clock on Sunday evening 28 May, 1967, he arrived ______ in England, where tens of thousands of people were waiting to welcome him. Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ honored him with a very valuable sword. The whole voyage from ______ and back had covered 28,500 miles. It had taken him nine ______, of which the sailing time was 226 days. He had done what he wanted to accomplish.