每天读一篇英语小故事：Homemade Ship

英语自学网

　　Hans Andersen, a life-long fisherman, had a dream. He wanted to sail around
the world. And he did it. He got several sponsors who subsidized his trip. He
bought a beautiful 40-foot yacht, with all the latest technical and safety gear,
and had a pleasant voyage. Well, except for almost sinking while going around
the tips of South America and Africa.
        　　The voyage went so smoothly that, looking back on it, he felt it was too
easy. He needed a new challenge. He decided to build his own boat. But that was
nothing new. Several people had built their own boats and sailed them around the
world. No, he needed a unique boat. Watching TV commercials one day, he got
it—ice cream sticks! He would be the first man to sail around the world in a
boat built exclusively of ice cream sticks.
        　　He put out the word. Within three years, school children from all over
Holland had sent Hans 15 million ice cream sticks. He used these sticks to build
a 45-foot replica of a Viking ship. After all the sticks were glued together,
Hans took his new boat out to sea on a one-week voyage. “It’s magnificent, and
totally sea-worthy,” he proclaimed.
        　　He plans to set sail in early 2008 with a crew of two. He will sail across
the Atlantic to Canada, and then down to Florida and through the Panama Canal.
Then he’ll travel to Los Angeles, Honolulu, Tokyo, around the tip of Africa, and
back to Holland. “If this trip succeeds,” he joked, “my next goal will be to
build a plane out of ice cream sticks and fly it around the world!”