VASpr08 Grade 7 English Part 2

Directions: Read the article and answer the questions that follow.

Touching the Other Shore

1 Diana Nyad once explained that she always
ignored the pain and discomfort that came with
the goals she set for herself. She said it was
important to overcome the barriers she
encountered as she pursued new challenges.
Nyad’s words summed up a lifetime of success
as a long-distance swimmer, journalist, author,
and speaker.

2 Born in 1949, she took an early interest in
swimming as a sport and was a Florida State
High School swimming champion. Like many
young athletes, she had Olympic dreams. Nyad
wanted to be part of the United States swim
team at the 1968 Summer Olympics. A serious
illness kept her from competing, however, so she
went on to finish college instead.

3 The disappointment of not participating in the
Olympics did not stop Nyad, though, from going
forward with her swimming. Instead, she became interested in marathon swimming. The
sport matched Nyad well. A brilliant athlete, she was well-conditioned for spending long
periods of time in the water. Most of all, she was mentally fit for the sport. It takes a
special person to tolerate the demands of swimming for miles in rough, cold water. Nyad
knew she had the skills to compete with others and win. Now, as a long-distance
swimmer, she would compete against herself and the obstacles presented by distance,
danger, cold, and fatigue.

4 For ten years Nyad devoted herself to becoming one of the world’s best long-distance
swimmers. Her first long-distance swim in 1970 was one of her shortest. She swam a ten mile marathon in Lake Ontario, and, even though she did not finish first, Nyad set the
women’s record for the course. After this early success, Nyad took on longer and more
difficult swims. In 1972 she set another record by swimming 102.5 miles from an island in
the Bahamas to the coast of Florida. She travelled the entire distance without using a
shark cage for protection. This feat still stands today as the longest swim of its kind.

5 In 1975 Nyad broke a third record when she swam around Manhattan Island in New York.
By then, she was well known around the world. People admired her ability to go from one
shore to another in long, gruelling swims. Her desire for more challenging events took her
to almost every continent. She swam in the Nile River, the Suez Canal, the North Sea, the
Bay of Naples, and in the waters above the Great Barrier Reef.

6 Nyad attempted to swim the distance between Florida and Cuba in 1978. The span of
water that separates the United States from Cuba is less than one hundred miles wide,
but it is rough and hazardous. For almost two days Nyad battled the treacherous water.
Finally, for the sake of her own health and safety, she had to give up. Although she did
not finish her swim, this is the swim that made her famous. She impressed the world with
her courage and intense desire to succeed. For Nyad her strength of purpose was just as
important as reaching Cuba. That is how she defined success. It did not matter that her
swim came up short. As long as she faced the task with her best effort, she had touched
the other shore.

7 When Nyad ended her career as a swimmer, she continued to try new things. Nyad
travelled the globe as a reporter for radio and television networks, and she won awards for
her work in broadcasting. Nyad has written books, and she often speaks publicly about
her remarkable life. As a reporter and an author, Diana Nyad works to inspire others, just
as she did when she swam the waters of the world.