阅读理解。
When she looked ahead,Florence Chadwick saw nothing but a solid wall of fog.Her body was
numb (麻木的).She had been swimming for nearly sixteen hours.Already she was the first woman
to swim the English Channel in both directions.Now,at age 34,her goal was to become the first
woman to swim from Catalina Island to the California coast.
On that fourth morning of July in 1952,the sea was like an ice bath and the fog was so dense
that she could hardly see her support boats.Sharks cruised (巡游)toward her lone figure,only to
be driven away by rifle shots.Against the frigid grip of the sea,she struggled on-hour after hour-while
millions watched on national television.
Alongside Florence in one of the boats,her mother and her trainer offered encouragement.They
told her it wasn't much farther.But all she could see was fog.They urged her not to quit.She never
had...until then.With only a half mile to go,she asked to be pulled out.
Still thawing (使变暖和)her chilled body several hours later,she told a reporter,"Look,I'm not
excusing myself,but if I could have seen land I might have made it." It was not tiredness or even the
cold water that defeated her.It was the fog.She was unable to see her goal.
Two months later,she tried again.This time,despite the same dense fog,she swam with her faith
intact and her goal clearly pictured in her mind.She knew that somewhere behind that fog was land
and this time she made it!Florence Chadwick became the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel,
eclipsing the men's record by two hours!
1.Why didn't Florence swim across the Catalina Channel for the first time?
A.Because she was too tired to go on swimming.
B.Because the fog was so thick that she lost heart at the sea.
C.Because she couldn't see her goal:the land.
D.Because the sea water too cold to bear.
2.What does "She never had..." mean?
A.She had never been so desperate.
B.She had never thought of giving it up.
C.She had never seen such thick fog.
D.She had never swum across the strait before.
3.Which of the following is NOT true?
A.Florence Chadwick spent less time to swim across the Catalina Channel than any man.
B.Florence Chadwick succeeded in swimming across the Catalina Channel in September,1952.
C.People had to use guns to drive away some flesh-eating fish in the sea.
D.No women but Florence Chadwick were able to swim across the English Channel in both directions.
4.Which of the following is the best title?
A.Keep Your Goals in Sight
B.Swim Across the Catalina Channel
C.The Fog Defeated Her
D.Set a Goal for Yourself
