Teenage Dutch sailor Laura Dekker vows never to return home

A teenage Dutch sailor just one day away from becoming the youngest ever person to sail around the world single-handed has vowed never to return to her native country because she faces being taken into care.
Laura Dekker, 16, has torn down the Dutch tricolor on her yacht Guppy in protest at the social workers who have repeatedly tried to stop her solo voyage to circumvent the globe.
In her last blog posting as she crosses the Atlantic headed for her finish line on the Dutch Caribbean island of Sint Maarten on Saturday, Miss Dekker complains of her "intimidating, frightening and traumatic" treatment.From the moment my plans became public, youth care and other government organisations tried to stop me. They asked the judge to take me away from my father and to lock me up in a secure clinic! By doing this they tried to stop me from sailing.Over a period of 11 months, I was constantly afraid that youth care would lock me up."
The Dutch authorities, who tried to put Miss Dekker into care two years ago over her solo-sailing adventures, have claimed that the teenager is not doing enough school work while piloting her 38 foot yacht through heavy Atlantic seas.When her father refused to make an appointment to discuss it, Dutch truancy officers announced they intended to bring in the social workers once again.
"Now, after sailing around the world, with difficult port approaches, storms, dangerous reefs, and the full responsibility of keeping myself and Guppy safe, I feel that the nightmares the Dutch government organisations put me through, were totally unfair," Miss Dekker wrote.I hear now that the Dutch government organisations have started causing problems again. I am seriously thinking about not returning to the Netherlands."


Question 1. Indicate whether these sentences are true or false. Justify your answers with evidence from the text.

a) Laura promised not to go back to the Netherlands when she finished her voyage.
b) The island of Sint Maarten belongs to the Netherlands.
c) Laura’s father didn’t want to talk about her world tour with the Dutch authorities.
d) Once Laura has achieved her goal, there will be no more objections from the Dutch government organisations.

Question 2. Answer the following questions in your own words.

a) What is Miss Dekker’s great achievement?
b) How did the Dutch authorities react when she announced her plans?

Question 3. Find a word or a phrase in the text that means the same as:

a) without help from others (par.1) b) to go on the way to (par.3) c) unjust (par.5)

Question 4. Rewrite the following sentences without changing the meaning.

a) Laura Dekker has torn down the Dutch tricolor on her yacht.
The Dutch tricolor ......................................................
b) "I feel that the nightmares the Dutch government organisations put me through were totally unfair,”
Laura felt that .................................................
c) She is thinking about not returning to her country because the social workers cause her a lot of problems.
If the social workers .................................................

Question 5. Write a short essay (120-150 words) on the following topic:
Sport records or education.What do you think is more important?