News 1
A 9-year-old Central California boy braved strong currents and cold water to swim from San Francisco to Alcatraz Island and back.A California television station in Fresno reported Tuesday that James Savage set a record as the youngest swimmer to make the journey to the former prison.
The TV station reported that by completing the swim, the fourth-grader student from Los Banos broke a record previously held by a 10-year-old boy.James said that waves in the San Francisco Bay hitting him in the face 30 minutes into his swim made him want to give up. His father said he had offered his son 100 dollars as a reward. To encourage his struggling son, he doubled it to 200 dollars.James pushed forward, making it to Alcatraz Island and back in a little more than two hours. Alcatraz is over a mile from the mainland.
词汇助析：
1、California /.kælə'fɔ:niə/ 加利福尼亚（美国一个州）
2、San Francisco /sæn frən'siskəu/ 旧金山（美国城市）
3、Alcatraz Island/'ælkətræz 'ailənd/ 阿尔卡特拉兹岛（又称：恶魔岛，是美国旧金山的头号景点，曾是联邦监狱所在地，也是一个野生动物的庇护所）
4、current /'kʌrənt/ n.水流 a.当前的，现在的
5、set a record 创记录
6、break a record 打破记录
8、prison/'prizn/ n.监狱，牢狱
9、wave/weiv/ n.海浪，波涛，波浪 ；汹涌的行动（或思想）态势，心潮，风潮
例: Children were playing in the waves.孩子们在海浪中嬉戏。
A wave of fear swept over him. 一阵恐惧传遍他的全身。
wave v.挥手
wave at/to sb. Why did you wave at him? 你为什么向他招手？
10、struggle /'strʌgl/ v .奋斗，努力，争取；搏斗，挣扎脱身
life as a struggling artist =(one who is very poor)艺术家拮据的生活
11、push /puʃ/ v.推动（人或物）；移动（身体部分）
（using your hands /arms/body in order to make sb./sth. move forward or away from you )
例：You push and I'll pull.你推，我拉。
