万花筒 2009-09-05&09-07 世界最年轻的环球航海家

Mike Perham was only 16 years old when he set off on a quest to become the youngest sailor to circumnavigate the globe. Starting at Lizard¹ point off the English coast, he sailed around the southern tip of Africa, crossed the south seas of the Pacific, came through the Panama Canal, and even met up with Hurricane Bill last week in the Atlantic. Nine months and 30,000 miles later, Mike is now 17, and has made it back to England and the record-breaking sailor is now docked in Portsmouth. Mike, congratulations!

"Thank you! Thank you very much!"

You've spent the past nine months at sea, I gotta ask how it feels to finally be docked this morning on terra firma, and how do you plan to celebrate.

"It feels absolutely incredible, I mean, when I came in here, the crowds were lining² the dock completely, I was just overwhelmed really, it does feel really great to be back on solid ground. I am looking forward to a bed which doesn't move during the night."

It will probably feel strange to you. I mean, sailing around the world is a feat³ in and out of your cell, but you were 17, or 16 and turned 17, you were all alone, what were some of the biggest challenges you've faced as you were navigating⁴ the seas?

"The biggest ongoing⁵ challenge is that you are completely alone. There was no one to help you, there would been hundreds of tons during this trip alone, just for handle a sail. Let's say, you know, every job you have to do, and then you have to fix sleeping and eating into that as well."

Yeah, how do you sleep? Cause I understand you have some problem with your autopilot, so tell me how you slept during these nine months.

"I sleep in first 40 minutes, and I only got about four hours a night on average, because I kept very busy sailing the boat, so it's actually quite startling just how busy you kept, because it is quite handful."

Yeah, I mean you ran into your fair share rough seas on your blog that you kept in your jouney, here is what you wrote, you describe surfing down 50-foot-waves at breakneck speeds. What was it like facing those conditions alone? Did you ever think at a certain point: you know what, I am not gonna make it, this isn't gonna work?

"No, I was always bet set on the finish, but there was certain sometimes wherefore I'm cranky: 'what am I doing here?' That's... Some of the best moments were the exhilarating moments, surfing down massive waves and big storms, you know, it's wet, it's cold, it's windy, but it's absolutely brilliant."

So you've accomplished⁶ this at 17, what's next for you? Besides probably sleeping for the next nine months, do you just go back to be a regular teenager or do you have your sights set on something else?

"I am looking forward to going back into college, cause I got a year left, but at the same time, I'm looking for bigger, you know, bigger challenges, and there, there's definitely gonna be something next, that's for sure."

Does it involve sailing? I know, you've been sailing since you were seven.

"It will probably involve sailing, that's I'm sure."

All right, Mike Perham, congratulations once again, glad you are back, safe and sound, thank you for joining us.

"Thank you!"

 

1 lizard   

n.蜥蜴，壁虎

参考例句：

• A chameleon is a kind of lizard.变色龙是一种蜥蜴。
• The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect.蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。

2 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

3 feat   

n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的

参考例句：

• Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
• He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。

4 navigating   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的现在分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• These can also be very useful when navigating time-based documents, such as video and audio. 它对于和时间有关的文档非常有用，比如视频和音频文档。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Vehicles slowed to a crawl on city roads, navigating slushy snow. 汽车在市区路上行驶缓慢，穿越泥泞的雪地。 来自互联网

5 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

6 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。