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SWIMMING THE CHANNEL

There are many ways to go from England to France. And there are certainly more comfortable ways than swimming.

Still, many people have done it that way. For years now swimming the Channel has been a sport for the strongest, and records have often been broken. Until August 1979 the South African Kevin Anderson had been the youngest ever to have swum the Channel. He was 12 at the time. Then Marcus Hooper took it from him, because he was three months younger than Kevin. It look Marcus 14 hours and 37 minutes to swim from Dover in England to the French coast.

‘I am sorry for Kevin, but I had to do it. I am proud to have brought the record to Britain’, says Marcus. ‘Halfway I was attacked by jellyfish ( = kwal) I was stung four of five times in the face, stomach and legs. It was very painful and I screamed out. But I fought them back. I knew I had to go on.’

He first got the idea of swimming the Channel five years ago after reading about it in a newspaper. Last year his parents gave him permission to do it, and from that moment in he prepared himself very well. He trained a lot and went on a special diet of steak and liver.
Then in August 1997 the big moment was there.

Assisted by his father in a boat, who gave him food every two hours and who would take his son out of the water if it became too dangerous, he left the English coast in the morning. And he succeeded! After more than fourteen hours of swimming he reached France.

His mother, Mrs. Joan Hooper said: ‘We are very proud of Marcus. We plan to give him a big party and take him on holiday. I expect he will want to go somewhere where he can go swimming.

Line 1 tells us that there are … ways to go from England to France:
1. a lot of
2. few
3. fine
4. no
Swimming the Channel ( line 3 / 4 ) is a sport for:
1. all people who can swim.
2. good and well trained swimmers.
3. young swimmers only.
4. very good swimmers.
‘It’ ( line 3 ) means here:
Still, many people have done ‘it’ that way.
1. ways ( line 1 )
2. swimming ( line 2 )
3. still ( line 3 )
4. people ( line 3 )
With ‘it’ ( line 7 ) we mean the :
Then Marcus Hooper took ‘it’ from him,
1. age record
2. French record
3. South-African record
4. speed record
Marcus Hooper is a:
1. British boy
2. Dutch boy
3. French boy
4. South-African boy
The real reason why Marcus was proud ( line 10 ) was that:
1. he swam from Dover to the French coast.
2. it took him more than 14 hours.
3. it was a British record now.
4. it was no longer a South-African record.
The word which tells us that there were more then one jellyfish is:
1. four ( line 12 )
2. five ( line 12 )
3. times ( line 12 )
4. them ( line 13 )
Instead of ‘I had to go on’(line 13) we can also say:
1. I had to go back.
2. I had to go further.
3. I had to return.
4. I had to stop.
His parents gave him permission to do it ( line 15 ) means:
1. They didn’t care.
2. They didn’t like him to go.
3. They said he was forbidden to go.
4. They said it was all right.
The big moment was there( line 17/18 ) means:
1. he brought the record to Britain.
2. he fought and beat the jellyfish.
3. he reached the French coast.
4. he started the crossing.
By ‘who’ ( line 19 ) the writer means:
Assisted by his father in a boat, ‘who’ gave him food every two hours …
1. boat
2. food
3. his father
4. Marcus
He succeeded ( line 21 ) so he:
1. brought the record to Britain.
2. left the English coast.
3. left the French coast.
4. started the crossing.
Mrs. Joan Hooper is very proud of Marcus ( line 23 ) because:
1. he succeeded in crossing the Channel.
2. he will want to go somewhere.
3. they go on holiday together.
4. they‘ll have a big party together.