READING 2

In 1992, after seven expeditions over a period of 26 vcars, Fiennes and a team of
researchers found the lost Middle Eastern city of Ubar, in Oman. The city had been
covered in sand for over a thousand years. Fiennes said it was just luck that they
found it! The next year, Fiennes and Dr. Mike Stroud, an expert on human health in
extreme conditions, became the first to cross the continent of Antarctica with no
support. It took 93 days and was the longest unsupported polar journey in history.
In 1996, liennes tried to walk to the South Pole alone, this time for charity
However, he was unsuccessful because he got sick and had to return home,

In 2000, Fiennes walked solo and unsupported to the North Pole. but he couldn't
finish it because his sled tell through the ice. When he tried to pull the sled out
of the water, some fingers on his left hand got frostbite. Later, to avoid surgery,
he cut the top part of his fingers off himself.

Three years later, Fiennes had a heart attack, was in a coma' for three days, and
had heart surgery. Before his heart attack, Fiennes had agreed to run in a special
marathont for a heart charity. The marathon was going to be about three and a half
months after his surgery, and it was not one marathon but seven marathons in seven
days on seven continents. At this point, Fiennes didn't want to do the marathon,
but he had no choice. So he had to learn to walk again, to walk uphill, and then to
run. His doctor said he could do the marathons if his heartbeat did not go over 130
beats per minute. Fiennes forgot to take the machine to measure his heartbeat
during the marathons, so he did not know how fast his heartbeat was. Nevertheless
he completed all seven of the marathons!

Fiennes has a fear of heights. He thought if he climbed Mount Everest, he could get
rid of bis fear. In 2005, he climbed Mount Everest, but he couldn't make it to the
top because he didn't feel well and had to go back. Climbing Mount Everest didn't
help him get rid of his fear because he said it wasn't verticals enough. So he
thought he would climb the very vertical Mount Eiger in the Swiss Alps.

Fiennes climbed Mount Eiger, but that did not help him get over his fear of heights
either. However, with that climb, he raised a lot of money for a charity that helps
people with cancer. Fiennes tried to climb Everest again in 2008 but still couldn't
make it. Yet, he did not give up. In 2009, Fiennes climbed Mount Everest and became
the oldest British person to do this and to cross both poles. In 2012, liennes went
on the Coldest Journey expedition, which crosses Antarctica in winter. However, in
February 2013, Fiennes left the expedition, again because of frostbite.

Why has the fearless Fiennes gone on these dangerous expeditions all of his life?
He says he does it to raise money for charities. For him, it's his job, just like
other people who work in an office from 9 to 5.

3 coma: a state of not being conscious; not knowing what is happening around you *
marathon: a race in which people run a distance of 26.2 miles (about 42 kilometers)
5 vertical: standing straight up

Amazing People

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