環(huán)球英語 1300 Philippe Croizon’s Amazing Swim
Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Robin Basselin.
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And I’m Bruce Gulland. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand - no matter where in the world they live.
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Philippe Croizon is swimming in very cold water. The sea is dark. The waves are high. He is in the far north, in the Bering Strait. Finally, he reaches dry land. It has been the most difficult swim in his life. But he has completed it. He has crossed the seas separating five continents.
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It is a major success for anyone. But it is an even greater success for Philippe Croizon. Croizon has no arms, and no legs! Today’s Spotlight is on Philippe Croizon. His achievements show that we can all achieve great things - no matter who we are.
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Philippe Croizon was 26 years old when he had an accident. He was working to fix a television wire. He climbed on top of his house. But a power line touched him. And he received a severe electric shock. Twenty minutes later, a neighbour found him. Croizon was burned very badly. The doctors tried to save his arms and legs. But they could not. The doctors had to remove both of his arms and both of his legs. They left parts of both arms and legs - but not enough to walk, or use his arms. Croizon had been a healthy young man. But he was now disabled. Talking about this much later, Croizon told the BBC:
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‘When they cut off my last leg I wanted to die. I suffered great depression. My spirit was as low as you can get. But you have to choose - and I chose to live!’
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While he was recovering in hospital, Croizon saw a television programme. It was about a woman who had been swimming across the English Channel. This is the sea that separates France from England. After watching the programme Croizon wondered:
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‘Could I do that? Could I swim the English Channel? I do not know why, but I could not stop thinking about it.”
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He decided to do it. It would take two years to prepare - and it would be a lot hard work. He began to exercise every day to make him strong. And he spent a lot of time in water. He used special equipment to act as his hands and feet. The equipment attached to his stumps - what remained of his arms and legs. This helped him to push against the water and swim. He would swim for about five hours every day.
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Finally in 2010, Croizon was ready. He entered the cold, grey sea of the English Channel. He was now 42 years old. It took him from early morning until night to swim the distance. He felt a lot of pain. But he had become the first person without arms and legs to swim between France and England. Croizon had achieved his dream. But he did not stop there. He looked for a new goal.
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Early in 2012 he announced a new project. It was called the Intercontinental Straits Swimming Challenge. He planned to swim across the seas that join five major continents. His friend, Arnaud Chassery, would join him. Chassery was experienced in swimming long distances. The two men trained hard together. They worked as a team. Croizon told the BBC:
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‘When it comes to training Arnaud has to put my special equipment on me. On land I am just a big baby. But a big part of this project is the way we unite. What I do, Arnaud does. What he does, I do. We remove what makes us different. In the water we are the same. We are both human.’
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During the next few months the two men swam many kilometres. They swam between the four continents of Australia, Asia, Africa and Europe. And finally they swam in the cold, cold waters of the Bering Strait between America and Russia. This swim was between the continents of Asia and the Americas. Croizon and Chassery had successfully completed the project. They had swum between five continents. Croizon hopes his success will change attitudes. He wants people to have better attitudes towards those who are disabled. He told the BBC:
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‘We want to show people something. If disabled people have courage and a lot of training they can do the same things as those who are not disabled’
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Croizon has encouraged many people. But one of them is special to him. It is his son, Gregory. Gregory is 17. He was born two months after his father’s accident. He told the BBC:
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‘I am very proud of my father. He is amazing. My father is a big example to me. He is showing me that everyone can achieve great things. I have severe dyslexia. This means I find it very difficult to write and read. But I see that my father managed to swim the English Channel. And so I think: I will fight for it! I will work hard at school and I will make it! And it is working. Since last year I have received only good results. I am top of my class.’
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Those who support disabled people hope Croizon’s success will have an effect all around the world. Elizabeth MacNairn leads Handicap International. It is an organization that helps disabled people. This organisation supported Croizon’s swimming project. MacNairn wrote about Philippe Croizon in The Huffington Post:
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‘The swim gives him a chance to show the world the many things that disabled people can do. They can take risks too. Philippe is changing the way people think about being disabled. I hope that someone living with a disability will see news of his swim and think, why not me?’
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Philippe Croizon worked hard to show that disabled people can do amazing things. He told AFP that he wanted to encourage other disabled people:
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‘I tell them: 'Everything is possible. Everything can be done.’ We are all equal - disabled and non-disabled people on all continents.’
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The writer of this programme was Alan Harris. The producer was Nick Mangeolles. The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom and the United States. All quotes were adapted for this programme and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this programme again, and read it, on the internet at www.radioenglish.net. This programme is called ‘Philippe Croizon’s Amazing Swim’.
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