“瘋狂”老爸騎童車

江西萍鄉蘆溪中學 王 影

長大后，你還騎過兒童腳踏車嗎？ 文中的這位爸爸堅持騎行童車200多英里，這是為什么呢？

題材體裁 文章詞數 建議用時約389 7分鐘社會 新聞報道

難詞探意

1. retweet /?ri?twi?t/ v. （在推特社交網站上）轉發

2. wobble /?w?bl/ v. 搖晃

A “mad” dad cycled 220 miles from Glasgow to Greater Manchester on his daughter's small pink bike to raise over ￡6,000 for four Manchester-based charities. It took six days for Wesley Hamnett to complete the ride, which even took him up Shap Summit in Cumbria, and he suffered several blown tyres along the way.

Mr Hamnett, a dad of two, initially planned to cycle from Russia to the UK on his road bike, but he began looking for a new challenge after he had to cancel that trip due to the coronavirus pandemic,the Manchester Evening News reports. He wrote on Twitter that he would ride his daughter's bike if he received 10,000 retweets and ￡1,000 in donations. Twitter users did their part, so the dad borrowed the little bicycle and set off from Glasgow on September 16. His family were waiting for him when he arrived in Wythenshawe six days later. The Manchester Airport worker raised ￡6,700 for Macmillan, the Christie Hospital, the British Heart Foundation and Wythenshawe Hospital. He plans to complete his ride from Russia to the UK next year.

He planned that challenge after losing his last surviving grandparent to cancer last year. Mr Hamnett said, “I had planned everything for my trip to Russia in September and had booked the flights. I had done all my mapping and checked all the hotels but then the pandemic hit and I had to cancel my trip. I thought it was probably a good thing because I shouldn't have really been travelling during coronavirus, but I still wanted to do something.”

Cycling from Glasgow to Manchester on his road bike “didn't seem enough”,so he proposed completing the journey on his daughter's bike. Riding up Shap Summit in Cumbria was one of the hardest things he has done. Mr Hamnett said, “Nothing scares me but coming down that summit was pretty mad. There were various moments along the way when I just burst out laughing. When I got to Wythenshawe, I thought there is no way I have made it.” Halfords staff helped him with several tyre changes along the way due to the weight being put on the bike. He said, “When I was coming into the Civic Centre I could feel the tyre starting to wobble but luckily it just held out for the finish line.”

Reading Check

1. Why did Mr Hamnett cycle 220 miles on his daughter's bike?

A. To keep healthy. B. To play with his daughter.

C. To attract public attention. D. To raise money for charities.

2. What can we know about Mr Hamnett from the second paragraph?

A. Many people supported him.

B. He began his journey from Manchester.

C. He finished his journey on September 24.

D. He bought a bike to complete the journey.

3. Why did Mr Hamnett cancel the ride from Russia to the UK?

A. He was not well prepared. B. He could not book the flight.

C. The coronavirus pandemic hit. D. He could not find hotels to live in.

4. Which of the following may Mr Hamnett agree with?

A. The journey was very easy. B. The journey was successful.

C. The bike was strong enough. D. He thought he made it all by himself.

Language Study

Sentence for writing

There were various moments along the way when I just burst out laughing.

【信息提取】此句中when I just burst out laughing為定語從句，修飾先行詞moments。

【句式仿寫】我會珍惜我們在一起的時光。