关于＂卡尔布什比28年环球旅行＂的高中英语阅读理解

  卡尔·布什比（Karl Bushby），英国前空降兵、探险家。1998年，29岁的他从智利出发，计划以纯人力方式走回英国赫尔。此后28年，他跨越四大洲，穿过白令海峡，横渡里海和英吉利海峡，最终于2026年11月2日回到家乡，完成了约5万公里的“歌利亚远征”。 

 B 

                          难度：中等偏上　词数：约340词　建议用时：8分钟

   On November 2, 2026, hundreds of people gathered in Hull, England, to welcome home an unusual traveler. Karl Bushby, 57, pushed his equipment cart through the streets before finally arriving at his mother’s house. Their hug marked the end of a 28-year journey covering about 50,000 kilometers—and the completion of a goal that had shaped almost his entire adult life.

  Bushby, a former British paratrooper, set off from Punta Arenas, Chile, on November 1, 1998. He was then 29 and had only about $500. The idea can be traced to a birthday card from his father, which mentioned a question once discussed by soldiers: Could someone walk from London to New York? Rather than treating it as an amusing but impossible idea, Bushby drew a route across a map and decided to discover the answer himself.

   He named the project the Goliath Expedition and established a strict rule: he could not use motorized transport to advance what was intended to be an unbroken route home. He walked north through South and North America before crossing the frozen Bering Strait from Alaska to Russia in 2006. Where water interrupted the route, he depended on human power. He spent 31 days crossing the Caspian Sea and later swam across the English Channel before completing the final walk to Hull.

   Bushby had originally expected the expedition to take about 12 years. Yet extreme weather was only one of many obstacles. Visa restrictions, financial difficulties, international conflicts and the COVID-19 pandemic repeatedly brought him to a halt. Crossing Russia alone took nearly 10 years, largely because of administrative and weather-related problems. Of the 28 years, only about 15 were spent actually traveling. The delay, therefore, was not simply a matter of walking slowly; much of his time was devoted to obtaining permission, raising money and waiting for conditions that would allow him to continue.

   The journey also involved personal sacrifice. His son was eight when he left, and Bushby missed much of his childhood. Upon returning home, he met his 12-year-old granddaughter for the first time.

   Nevertheless, Bushby chose to emphasize the support he had received rather than the hardships he had suffered. Strangers provided food, shelter and encouragement. “They say it takes a village,” he told the crowd. “But literally, it took a world to get me here. I didn’t do this alone. There was a big team—the biggest team: Earth.”

1. What can be inferred about Bushby when he began the expedition?

A. He regarded a theoretical possibility as something worth testing personally.B. He had already obtained enough financial support for the entire journey.C. He intended to demonstrate the value of his military training.D. He had accurately predicted the difficulties involved in crossing borders.

2. What does the underlined word “unbroken” in Paragraph 3 most probably mean?

A. Without any stops for rest.B. Without changes in direction.C. Without gaps in the route.D. Without assistance from others.

3. What can be learned from Paragraph 4?

A. Extreme weather was responsible for nearly all of Bushby’s delays.B. Obstacles unrelated to walking ability greatly extended the expedition.C. Most of the delays resulted from Bushby’s poor physical preparation.D. The COVID-19 pandemic accounted for most of the additional sixteen years.

4. What does the text mainly suggest about Bushby’s achievement?

A. Personal determination alone is enough to overcome every difficulty.B. Its significance lies in both extraordinary persistence and human connection.C. Its value depends mainly on whether others can break his record.D. The sacrifices he made ultimately made the achievement meaningless.

         体裁：夹叙夹议　难度：较高　词数：约390词　建议用时：9—10分钟

   When Karl Bushby returned to Hull, England, on November 2, 2026, it would be easy to present his story as a straightforward victory of endurance. He had spent 28 years completing a journey of about 50,000 kilometers. Yet describing him merely as “a man who walked around the world” overlooks the complexity of the achievement.

   Bushby set off from southern Chile in 1998 at the age of 29. Under the rules of his Goliath Expedition, he could not use motorized transport to move the route forward. He walked through the Americas, crossed the frozen Bering Strait into Russia in 2006, and crossed bodies of water by swimming, including the Caspian Sea and, finally, the English Channel. His goal was to create an unbroken geographical line home. Here, “unbroken” referred to the route rather than to his movement: he could pause and later resume from the same point, but he could not skip a section.

   This distinction helps explain why the expedition lasted 28 years. Bushby had expected to finish in about 12 years, but only around 15 were spent actually traveling. Visa restrictions, financial problems, international conflicts and the COVID-19 pandemic repeatedly forced him to wait. Crossing Russia alone took nearly a decade, partly because of administrative barriers. An explorer of an earlier age might be imagined mainly as someone confronting remote nature. Bushby’s experience suggests that a modern explorer may be stopped less by the absence of a path than by the presence of a border. Persistence included remaining committed while standing still.

   Nor should this achievement be romanticized as cost-free. Bushby’s son was eight when he left, and Bushby missed much of the boy’s childhood. On returning home, he met his 12-year-old granddaughter for the first time. These facts do not erase the accomplishment, but they prevent a personal choice from being turned into universal advice.

Bushby himself offered another way to understand the journey. Although it was often described as a solo expedition, he repeatedly acknowledged the strangers who had provided food, shelter and encouragement. “There was a big team,” he said, “the biggest team: Earth.” One person supplied the footsteps, but countless others helped make those footsteps possible.

   The expedition is therefore best understood not as proof that a determined person needs no one else, but as evidence of what sustained purpose and collective goodwill can achieve.

1. What does the underlined word “unbroken” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A. The route never changed its general direction.B. The route contained no skipped section.C. The expedition avoided all populated areas.D. The journey continued without any pause.

2. Why does the author contrast an explorer of an earlier age with Bushby?

A. To show that physical barriers no longer matter in modern exploration.B. To indicate that legal and social barriers can be as significant as natural ones.C. To prove that traditional explorers received less public attention.D. To argue that international borders should no longer exist.

3. What is the author’s attitude toward Bushby’s achievement?

A. Admiration accompanied by an awareness of its personal costs.B. Complete approval of it as an example everyone should follow.C. Disappointment that it took much longer than originally planned.D. Doubt about whether the reported distance is accurate.

4. Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the text?

A. Bushby’s expedition combined personal perseverance with the support of others.B. Administrative problems have made modern expeditions almost impossible.C. A long journey abroad will inevitably damage a person’s family relationships.D. Swimming across open water is the greatest challenge in global travel.

1.根据第二段“Rather than treating it as an amusing but impossible idea, Bushby drew a route across a map and decided to discover the answer himself.”可知，Bushby没有把“从伦敦走到纽约”这个看似不可能的想法当作玩笑，而是亲自去验证，对应A选项“他把一个理论上的可能性当作值得亲自验证的事”。B选项错误，原文提到他出发时只有约500美元，并非有足够资金；C选项错误，文中未提及他想展示军事训练的价值；D选项错误，他后来遇到诸多未预料到的困难，说明并未准确预测过境难题。

2.根据第三段“he could not use motorized transport to advance what was intended to be an unbroken route home”，结合他全程依靠人力（步行、人力渡河等）完成路线，可知“unbroken”指路线没有因使用机动交通而出现缺口，对应C选项“路线没有缺口”。A选项“不休息”、B选项“不改变方向”、D选项“不求助他人”均不符合语境。

3.根据第四段“Visa restrictions, financial difficulties, international conflicts and the COVID-19 pandemic repeatedly brought him to a halt... much of his time was devoted to obtaining permission, raising money and waiting for conditions that would allow him to continue.”可知，签证、资金、国际冲突等与行走能力无关的障碍，极大延长了探险时间，对应B选项“与行走能力无关的障碍极大延长了探险”。A选项错误，极端天气只是众多障碍之一，并非导致几乎所有延误；C选项错误，文中未提及延误源于身体准备不足；D选项错误，疫情只是众多障碍之一，并非额外16年的主要原因。

4.根据全文，Bushby用28年完成旅程体现了非凡的坚持，最后他强调“it took a world to get me here. I didn’t do this alone”，体现了人际支持的重要性，对应B选项“其意义在于非凡的坚持与人际联结”。A选项错误，他强调自己并非独自完成，说明仅靠个人决心不够；C选项错误，文中未提及成就的价值取决于他人打破记录；D选项错误，他的牺牲并未让成就失去意义，反而凸显了坚持与支持的价值。

1.根据第二段中“Here, ‘unbroken’ referred to the route rather than to his movement: he could pause and later resume from the same point, but he could not skip a section.”可知，“unbroken”指路线没有跳过任何部分。故选B。

2.根据第三段中“An explorer of an earlier age might be imagined mainly as someone confronting remote nature. Bushby's experience suggests that a modern explorer may be stopped less by the absence of a path than by the presence of a border.”可知，作者对比早期探险家和Bushby，是为了说明法律、社会等障碍（如边界）和自然障碍一样重要。故选B。

3.根据第四段“These facts do not erase the accomplishment, but they prevent a personal choice from being turned into universal advice.”可知，作者既赞赏Bushby的成就，也意识到其背后的个人代价（如错过家人成长）。故选A。

4.文章既讲述了Bushby个人的坚持，也强调了陌生人提供的帮助，最后一段点明“the expedition is best understood not as proof that a determined person needs no one else, but as evidence of what sustained purpose and collective goodwill can achieve”，即探险结合了个人毅力与他人支持。故选A。