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Before he sailed round the world single-handed, Francis Chichester had already surprised his friends several times. He had tried to fly round the world but failed. That was in 1931.
The years passed. He gave up flying and began sailing. He enjoyed it greatly. Chichester was already 58 years old when he won the first solo trans-Atlantic sailing race. His old dream of going round the world came back, but this time he would sail. His friends and doctors did not think he could do it, as he had lung cancer. But Chichester was determined to carry out his plan. In August, 1966, at the age of nearly 65, an age at which many men retire, he began his greatest voyage of his life.
Chichester covered 14,100 miles before stopping in Sydney, Australia. This was more than twice the distance anyone had previously sailed alone. On shore, he could not walk without help. Everybody said the same thing: he had done enough; he must not go any further. But he did not listen.
After resting in Sydney for a few weeks, Chichester set off once more in spite of his friends’ attempt to dissuade him. The second half of his voyage was by far the more dangerous 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 horrible dream. Even a wild horse could not drag me down to Cape Horn and that rough Southern Ocean again.”
Just before 9 o’clock on Sunday evening 28 May, 1967, he arrived back in England, where a quarter of a million people were waiting to welcome him. The whole voyage from England and back had covered 28,500 miles. It had taken him nine months, of which the sailing time was 226 days. He had done what he wanted to accomplish.
(1) What is the main idea of the passage? (No more than 10 words)
(2) What did Chichester achieve at the age of 58?(No more than 10 words)
(3) The underlined word “dissuade” in Paragraph 4 can be replaced by _______.(One word)
(4) What did Chichester mean by saying the underlined part in Paragraph 4?(No more than 10 words)
(5) Please explain how you are inspired by Chichester. (No more than 20 words)