Girl becomes youngest sailor to circumnavigate globe single-handed

Level 3

Advanced

1 Key words
Fill the gaps in the sentences using these key words from the text. well-wisher solitude 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. embark on reef run-up traumatic circumnavigate leg willpower drenched

To _____________________________ means to sail or fly completely around something, especially the world or an island. A ______________________________ experience makes you feel very upset, afraid or shocked. A ______________________________ is someone who expresses their good wishes or sympathy, often to someone they do not know. A ______________________________ is a part of a journey. If you ______________________________ a journey or voyage, you start it. If you are ______________________________, you are thoroughly wet. A ______________________________ is a long line of rock or coral in the sea, with its top just below or just above the surface. ______________________________ is the state of being completely alone, especially when this is pleasant or relaxing. ______________________________ is the ability to control your thoughts and behaviour in order to achieve something.

10. The ______________________________ to an event is the period of time just before it.

2 What do you know?

Decide whether these statements are true (T) or false (F). Then check your answers in the text. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. The island of St Maarten is in the Caribbean Sea. The youngest person to sail round the world alone was just 17 years old when she completed her voyage. It is possible to sail a yacht from South Africa to the Caribbean in 41 days. It takes more than a year to sail around the world single-handed in a yacht. Laura Dekker didnt enjoy being on her own at sea.

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Girl becomes youngest sailor to circumnavigate globe single-handed

Level 3

Advanced
at the age of ten. She celebrated her 16th birthday during the trip, eating doughnuts for breakfast after spending time at port with her father and friends in Darwin, Australia. 7 The journey included stops in the Canary Islands, Panama, the Galpagos Islands, Tonga, Fiji, Bora Bora and Australia. She told how her boat was drenched by a whale in South Africa and a flying fish slapped into her head in the Caribbean.I became good friends with my boat, she said. I learned a lot about myself. 8 Her story is just amazing, said one of Dekkers fans, ten-year-old Jody Bell of Connecticut, who was in St Maarten to witness her arrival. I cant imagine someone her age going out on the sea all by herself. My daughter and I have been following Lauras story, and we think its amazing and inspiring, added Deena Merlen, Jodys mother. 9 Dekker set sail two months after Abby Sunderland, a 16-year-old US sailor, was rescued in the middle of the Indian Ocean during a similar attempt. Jessica Watson of Australia completed a 210-day solo voyage at 16, a few months older than Dekker. 10 The Dutch government was not kind to me, Dekker wrote on her blog last week. It was never my intention to be the centre of world news. From the moment my plans became public, Youth Care and other government organizations tried to stop me. During the first court case, in August 2009, they asked the judge to take me away from my father and to lock me up in a secure clinic. 11 Now, after sailing around the world, with difficult port approaches, storms, dangerous reefs, and the full responsibility of keeping myself and Guppy safe, I feel that the nightmares the Dutch government organizations put me through were totally unfair. I am seriously thinking about not returning to the Netherlands. Of course I will discuss this with my parents. 12 In contrast with her discomfort at the interventions of the authorities, she said that at sea she felt at rest. I especially enjoy the long passages over the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, she said.
N T O FR BE C O DO O M W P W N IA EB LO B SI A L TE DE E D

Dutch girl, 16, becomes youngest sailor to circumnavigate globe single-handed

Robert Booth 22 January, 2012 1 Laura Dekker, a 16-year-old Dutch sailor who has become the youngest person ever to circumnavigate the globe single-handed, has threatened never to return to the Netherlands because of the governments resistance to her adventures. 2 Dekker arrived on the Caribbean island of St Maarten aboard her 38-foot boat, Guppy, and admitted she sometimes wondered what she was doing during her voyage. She also described her battles with the Dutch authorities, who wanted to prevent her setting sail, as a frightening and traumatic experience and said she was discussing with her parents the possibility of moving abroad, most likely to New Zealand. 3 When Dekker sailed into harbour at the St Maarten Yacht Club, aged 16 years and 123 days, she was met by crowds of well-wishers and stepped on to the dock accompanied by her mother, Babs Mller, her father, Dick Dekker, and her sister and grandparents. 4 There were moments where I thought, What the hell am I doing out here? but I never wanted to stop, she told reporters after struggling against high seas and heavy winds on the final 41-day leg from Cape Town, South Africa. Its a dream, and I wanted to do it. 5 Courts in the Netherlands originally refused to allow Dekker to embark on the voyage when she was 14, and she was put under the guardianship of Dutch protection agencies on the grounds that she was too young to look after herself at sea. She finally won her battle with the courts in July 2010 and set sail from St Maarten on 20 January 2011. 6 Dekker was born to parents living on a boat near the coast of New Zealand and first sailed solo at six years old, around which time her parents divorced and she went to live with her father. Friends have described her as intelligent, independent and disciplined. She has said her dream of crossing the globe began

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Girl becomes youngest sailor to circumnavigate globe single-handed

Level 3

Advanced
advised Laura and her father during the run-up to the trip, in an interview with a Dutch newspaper. Her wish to do this was something that came from her heart and soul and no-one was going to stop her.
Guardian News & Media 2012 First published in The Guardian, 22/01/12

13 Her entry on Christmas Day explained her love of solitude: This way I dont have to go visit the family and be so kind to everyone, I dont have to eat dinner, even a good one, if I dont feel like it just to be polite, and what about all that talking, talking Here Guppy is a very good listener and she never contradicts me. 14 Laura has tremendous willpower and ambition, said lawyer Peter de Lange, who

3 Comprehension check
Choose the best answer according to the text. 1. a. b. c. 2. a. b. c. 3. a. b. c. 4. a. b. c. Why doesnt Laura want to return to the Netherlands? because she enjoys St Maarten so much because the authorities there tried to stop her sailing round the world because she thinks living in the Netherlands is a nightmare How long had Laura dreamt of circumnavigating the world? all her life since she was ten years old for about three years Why did Laura especially enjoy the long passages over the Indian and Atlantic Oceans? because she hates Christmas Day because she has tremendous willpower and ambition because she enjoys solitude Why, according to her lawyer, did Laura go ahead with the trip? because she has tremendous willpower and ambition because no-one was going to stop her because she was old enough to look after herself at sea

4 Find the word

Find the following words and phrases in the text. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. a two-word adverb meaning done by one person without help from anyone else (title) a two-word expression meaning to begin a journey across water (para 2) a four-word expression meaning for the legal reason that (para 5) a two-word phrasal verb meaning to hit someone quickly with a flat object (para 7) an adjective meaning making you feel enthusiastic or excited about something (para 8) a two-word phrasal verb meaning to make someone do or experience something unpleasant (para 11) a noun meaning a set of information that is part of a series of things written in a diary, blog or database (para 13) a verb meaning to say that the opposite of what someone has said is true (para 13)
CA O CA O N T N T O O FR BE C FR BE C O DO O O DO O M W P M W P W N IA W N IA EB LO B EB LO B S A L SII A D L TE E E TE DE E D D

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Girl becomes youngest sailor to circumnavigate globe single-handed

Level 3

Advanced

5 Words followed by prepositions

Complete the phrases from the text using prepositions. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. struggle __________________ resistance __________________ embark __________________ the possibility _________________ moving abroad accompanied __________________ be kind __________________ someone

6 Word-building
Complete the sentences using the correct form of the word in brackets at the end of each sentence. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Laura Dekker felt extreme __________________________ at the interventions of the Dutch authorities. [COMFORT] She was put under the __________________________ of Dutch protection agencies. [GUARD] Friends have described her as _________________________. [DISCIPLINE] She may never return to the Netherlands because of the governments __________________________ to her adventures. [RESIST] Some people find Lauras story __________________________. [INSPIRE] Courts in the Netherlands __________________________ refused to allow her to set sail. [ORIGIN]

7 Discussion
Do you think someone as young as Laura should have been allowed to embark on this adventure? Why? Why not?

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2012 NEWS LESSONS / Girl becomes youngest sailor to circumnavigate globe single-handed / Advanced

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Girl becomes youngest sailor to circumnavigate globe single-handed

Level 3 KEY

Advanced

1 Key words
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. circumnavigate traumatic well-wisher leg embark on drenched reef solitude willpower run-up

5 Words followed by prepositions

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. against to on of by to

6 Word-building
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. discomfort guardianship disciplined resistance inspiring originally

2 What do you know?

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. T F T F F

3 Comprehension check
1. 2. 3. 4. b b c a

4 Find the word

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. single-handed set sail on the grounds that slap into inspiring put through entry contradict

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NEWS LESSONS / Girl becomes youngest sailor to circumnavigate globe single-handed / Advanced

O FR BE C O DO O M W P W N IA EB LO B SI A L TE DE E D