Before he sailed round the world single-handed, Francis Chichester had already surprised his friends several times. He had tried to 1 round the world but failed. That was in 1931.

    The years passed. He 2flying and began sailing. He enjoyed it greatly. Chichester was already 58 years old when he won the first solo 3race across the Atlantic. His 4dream of going round the world came back, but this time he would sail. His friends and doctors thought it was a(an)5 attempt, as he had lung cancer. But Chichester was determined to 6his plan. In August, 1966, at the age of nearly 65, an age at which many men 7, he began his greatest 8of his life.

    Chichester covered 14,100 miles 9stopping in Sydney, Australia. This was more than twice the distance anyone had previously sailed 10. On shore, he could not walk 11help. Everybody said the same thing: he had done 12; he must not go any further.13  he did not listen.

    After 14in Sydney for a few weeks, Chichester set off once more in spite of lots of 15. The second half of his voyage was by far the more 16 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 nightmare (噩梦). Even a wild horse could not drag me down to Cape Horn and that Ocean 17.”

    Just before 9 o'clock on Sunday evening 28 May, 1967, he arrived 18in England, where tens of thousands of people were waiting to welcome him. Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ honored him with a very valuable sword. The whole voyage from 19and back had covered 28,500 miles. It had taken him nine 20, of which the sailing time was 226 days. He had done what he wanted to accomplish.

    It was a hot day in Bangkok (曼谷). I was walking out of the busy Grand Palace, and some 1Thai teens started asking me questions. Noticing that I was2, they were interested and wanted to know more.

    “Oh, so lonely!” they said to me when they learned I was,indeed,3 solo for the long journey. I smiled and shrugged. They didn't know I've 4 been alone.

    I'm surprised by how much more outgoing I've become. Instead of putting my5down and ignoring the person who may be6me on the sidewalk, now I smile and say hello.

    The only bad thing is the fleeting (短暂的) nature of the relationship one builds on the7. I've felt sad more than a couple of times over parting ways8a fellow traveler. But there are always9friends and possibilities just the next town over.

    Part of the10of taking this trip was the knowledge that I'd be doing this alone. At first, I tried to get friends to11with me for various legs of the journey. I asked close friends, then even not-so-close12, then slowly realized that I might never travel if I13around for a time when a friend of mine would be free to14me.

    If I was really going to do this, it would have to be alone.

    As it turns out, traveling alone is the best15I could have made. You always have to make16considerations for others when you travel with others. Sometimes, you have to do things you don't feel like doing.

    Solo travel is amazing. And really,17I truly want and seek out18, I am never alone. I always have a group. I never feel19. Sometimes, being alone forces you to reach out to people you might not otherwise have ever 20.

    So don't fear traveling alone. It's the best thing there is.

    One year my children came home from school asking where we were going on your summer vacation. It seemed that all the other kids were1 where they were spending the summer. I couldn't 2to take them anywhere but I didn't want to tell them that so I just said, “It's a surprise!” They were 3. That bought me a little more 4.

    I called several amusement 5to see if there was a half-price event during the summer but no such 6. I tried everything, with no success, so I called some of the other moms to find that most were in the same7that I was. We decided to8 something fun for our kids to do. We had a meeting, all five of us, and9 what is now called a “playcation”.

    One mother was a  10, so on Mondays the kids would all go to her house. They would play games using plants and11. They also planted vegetables and12 them grow over the summer.

    Another mother had Bible 13 on Tuesdays. She asked some questions about Bible. The kid who answered  14got a penny, which they all turned in at the end to buy their goodie bags(礼品袋).

    At our house on Wednesdays, I made an outdoor 15training with my spare tires. The kids also walked a balance beam and raced through large cardboard boxes taped together.

    On 16they had arts and crafts across the street. Fridays were17by a wonderful single dad with a metal detector(金属探测器)who took everyone out treasure18 .

    The summer was a big19 . Okay, it wasn't Disney World,20 the kids didn't miss anything. My son actually asked me, “Can we do this again next year?”

Back to School

    I had always longed to get a degree, but raising a family had come first. Now with my last1in middle school, I thought, why not try to2something while I still had the opportunity. When I told my husband Bob my idea, a broad smile lit up his face. “If that's what you3 we'll make it work.”

    When we asked the kids for advice, they had mixed4Our daughter, already in college, thought it a great idea while John, in high school, was5that we might be in college at the same time. James, our youngest, wanted to know who would take him to football practice. I6that things would be a little different7 if everyone contributed, it wouldn't be difficult.

    The next day we drove to the community college and after a careful research, I chose to8in occupational therapy (康复理疗) . Days passed in excitement, enrolling in classes, shopping for9and attending orientation(入学指导). I felt like a kid again, but as the first day of classes drew near, I became10I was simply too old. People would laugh at me. Finally, with encouragement from my family and friends, I stuck with my11

    As I entered my classroom that first morning, I chose a seat in the back, hoping to12attention. For the rest of that day, I did what I saw the other students do, and gradually, my self-consciousness faded. I found the classes and assignments13 and I left that day feeling I might survive. By the end of the first week, I had made a few friends.

    Studying and keeping up with my duties at home was14No sooner had I begun to study than it was time to drive the kids to their activities. Math and science were15my strong subjects, so I devoted more time to those. When the first semester16 I had a 4.0 GPA and was placed on the Honor Roll.

    By the second year, Bob and the kids were all doing their17 and I had learned how to comfortably18my school and home life. My hard work paid off. I was awarded a scholarship and got the bachelor's degree.

    As I drove away on the last day of school, I thought about what a difference returning to19had made in my life. I looked much younger and I had more20and enthusiasm for life. I even became a therapist. It's never too late to try again.

    Until a few years ago, I had what most people would call a good life. I had a 1job that paid the bills; I had a good family that I was close to, and I had a place to live and money in the bank for trips and 2, and there was nothing much wrong in my life.3, I was bored.

    I wanted 4. I wanted to live brightly and loudly and make sharp memories instead of the 5 ones of everyday life. But I was 6. I've never had any7in myself. As a child, even buying something in a shop caused me a great deal of 8, and even though I did get better as I got older, I never really9 that childhood shyness.

    And I tried everything, like reading books about confidence. I took tiny steps leading to my goals. But none of them really10.

    So I 11 that the small steps weren't enough. I signed up for an internship（实习期）teaching English in Vietnam, an12 huge step, one that13 me as much as it excited me. And then the day came and I left my home and my loved one. I was alone in a country where the food was14 and the streets were dirty. I had no idea whether I would be able to 15everything this very strange environment would16 at me.

    I spent five months in Vietnam, teaching and exploring and laughing. I'd learned to 17 myself, my skills, my abilities and my decisions. I returned home 18, even to myself, let alone to others. The19 that had controlled my life and the self-doubt completely20.

    That one big chance changed everything for me, and in me.

    Years after graduation, I tried to maintain the little bit of French I learned in school, but eventually I was 1 that new languages are best learned when young and our ability to learn 2 with age.

    However, before my 50th birthday, I signed up for French classes and was 3 in the class for basic level. Contrary to my 4 that learning a new language was tough, I was 5 by the number of students learning French as a third, or even fourth language when I first 6 my class.

    Still, I found it was really 7 that certain linguistic（语言学的）abilities decline with age. 8 I'd always regarded myself as a quick learner, that was no longer the 9.

    I absorbed new vocabulary very10. What I learned one week before seemed to 11 away as soon as I learned the next skill. I 12 the same words and language structures in the dictionary again and again.

Despite the 13, I make it and can listen to the news in French and catch 90 percent of it on the first 14. I can catch up a conversation that doesn't go too fast.

    Who knows what I might still 15? I've learned so much beyond grammar and vocabulary. I meet people from around the world and all walks of life（各行各业的）who have the 16to make fools of themselves to learn something new. I've been taught by inspirational teachers from many corners of the world. Listening to the news as it is 17 to the people of France, I have a newer understanding of how something can look 18 different from another perspective. I've learned a language is not just a set of 19, but a way of thinking. But above all, I've learned it is never too 20 to learn something.