When people hear that I’m the youngest person to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean, they all have the same question: How did a 22-year old woman row a 19-foot boat for 70 days through high winds and crashing waves? Well, the biggest 36 for me wasn’t physical. By the time I decided to do the 37 row, I had already biked 3,300 miles cross-country, run across the Mojave Desert, and 38 the 325-mile length of the Allegheny River. However, the tough part would be 39 : How would I handle the 40 , the boredom of the vast sea?
I 41 on January 3, 2010. I set my sights on (下决心) getting past the quarter-way
42 , which would take about 20 days.
Day 20, January 22, was gray and cloudy. I could have done something to 43 , such as 44 myself to a chocolate bar. 45 I didn’t.
I was suffering from terrible loneliness. I hadn’t seen 46 over two weeks. Every day was beginning to feel the same. Eating, rowing, sleeping, watching the sky, watching the ocean.
Then, around sunset, I saw something move on the horizon. They were dolphins! They
47 my boat. Suddenly I felt so grateful. They had come to help me celebrate, just 48
I needed them. I rowed at full 49 for the next 20 minutes with the dolphins around. By the time we went our 50 ways, I was no longer lonely. Better yet, I knew I would be okay.
I did make 51 , all 2,817 miles. I hit the coast of Guyana, South America, on March 14, after 70 days and five hours at sea. My ocean row 52 $70,000 for the Blue Planet Run Foundation, which funds drinking water programs around the world. I know some athletes spend the entire journey imagining the end, and that helps them get 53 . But for me, the secret is to focus on the 54 , where you experience the personal growth — those moments of awareness of being connected to the sun, the weather, and the waves. And, on the best day of my life, those dolphins, which freed myself 55 terrible loneliness.
36. A. request B. challenge C. thought D. promise
37. A. ocean B. river C. lake D. channel
38. A. measured B. swum C. dug D. proved
39. A. technical B. practical C. environmental D. mental
40. A. sickness B. business C. loneliness D. weakness
41. A. set off B. took off C. paid off D. broke off
42. A. rule B. port C. mark D. level
43. A. settle B. cerebrate C. bargain D. interrupt
44. A. devoting B. adapting C. pointing D. treating
45. A. For B. So C. But D. Or
46. A. rain B. sand C. flight D. land
47. A. circled B. bit C. left D. sank
48. A. till B. when C. unless D. though
49. A. speed B. price C. size D. length
50. A. separate B. interesting C. dangerous D. useful
51. A. one B. it C. myself D. them
52. A. lacked B. raised C. needed D. cost
53. A. off B. through C. in D. away
54. A. moment B. week C. month D. year
55. A. below B. in C. on D. from