2 . Days after Argentina (阿根廷) canceled all international flights to protect the country firom COVID-19, Manuel Ballesiero ______ his journey home. He stepped aboard his small ______ for an 85-day journey back.

The 47-year-old sailor could have stayed on the tiny Portuguese island of Porto Santo, to ______ the time of lockdowns (封锁) in a scenic place largely free of the ______. But the ______ of living away from his family, especially his father who was soon to turn 90, was ______. So he loaded his 29-foot boat with canned food and ______ in mid-March.

A particularly ______ aspect of this awful period was the inability (不能) of an untold number of people to rush home to help loved ones. Friends tried to ______ Mr. Ballestero from starting the risky journey and the ______ in Portugal (葡萄牙) warned him he might not be allowed to re-enter if he ran into trouble and had to ______. But he was determined.

Sailing across the Atlantic is challenging in the best of circumstances. The added ______ of doing it during a pandemic became ______ after three weeks into the trip. On April 12, the autborities (当局) in Cape Verde ______ him to dock at the island nation to get a new supply of food and fuel. He was experienced in spending long time at sea, but being ______ on the open ocean is frightening to even the most experienced sailor.

Learning about his ______, people bored at home were impressed. He ______ created a Faccbook account to ______ the final leg of the trip. “Entering my port where I learned how to sail gave me the taste of a(n) ______ completed,” Juan said.

______ Mr. Ballestero didn’t get to celebrate his father’s 90th birthday in May, he did make it home in time for Father’s Day.