Best in the World(b)|世界之最――金氏世界纪录

There seems to be no limit to the things people set records for. A lot of the records in the book are for physical and athletic achievements, such as how long you can hold your breath underwater. In 1959, American Robert Foster held his for 13 minutes and 42.5 seconds. Not many people in the world ever do a single push-up with just one finger. However, in 1992 in London, Paul Lynch showed his strength by doing 124 in a row.

Then there are the more unusual records. The record for the most T-shirts worn at one time was set in Croatia in 2010. The winner managed to wear 245 shirts. In a photo taken with the shirts on, he looks more like a cartoon bear than a human. Records for the longest hair, beard, or fingernails are popular, and you may have already seen photos of these previous record-breakers. How about the record for the most eggs crushed with your head in one minute? That bizarre honor goes to Ashrita Furman, who crushed 80 eggs in New York in 2008.

Take some time to look at the strange facts and photos from Guinness World Records. The photos are full of smiles. Clearly, being the best at something makes people happy. For example, the current tallest man living in the world is Sultan Kösen from Turkey. He says he's had a difficult life, but being the world record-holder makes things a lot better.

1.  What is the main idea in the first paragraph of the article?

(A) Guinness World Records is sold in over 80 countries.

(B) Guinness World Records changed its name twice to break the record.

(C) Guinness World Records has a record for 40,000 things.

(D) Guinness World Records is very popular worldwide.

2.  What gave Sir Hugh Beaver the idea for Guinness World Records?

(A) He wanted to settle an argument with his friends.

(B) He wanted to make the records he broke public.

(C) He wanted to find out all the facts about game birds.

(D) He wanted to know how many world records he and his friends could break.

3.  What did Ashrita Furman do to set a record?

(A) He crushed 80 eggs on people's heads.

(B) He consumed 80 eggs in less than a minute.

(C) He broke 80 eggs with his head in 60 seconds.

(D) He fried 80 eggs in a minute.

4.  At the end of the article, the author _____.

(A) says that record-breakers experience more problems than others

(B) explains that setting a record can make people happy

(C) shows that records are constantly changing

(D) discourages people from breaking records

　　人们所能创下纪录的层面似乎毫无限制。书中有许多纪录是关于体能与运动方面的成就，像是能在水中暂停呼吸多久。1959年，美国人罗伯特．福斯特创下在水中暂停呼吸 13 分 42.5 秒的纪录。世界上没多少人可以单用 1 根手指头做 1 下伏地挺身。但 1992 年，保罗‧林区在伦敦用 1 根手指头连续做了 124 下伏地挺身，展现他孔武有力的一面。

　　书里还有更多奇特的纪录。2010 年在克罗埃西亚创下一次穿最多件 T 恤的世界纪录，纪录保持人设法穿上 245 件 T 恤。从穿着 T 恤所拍摄的照片来看，他看起来不像人类，反倒像只卡通熊。世界最长的头发、最长的胡子或是最长的指甲，都是热门的纪录项目，你可能也已经看过这些先前打破纪录者的照片了。那么，1分钟内用头敲碎最多颗蛋的这项纪录呢？这项古怪的荣誉属于艾西利塔‧佛曼，他于 2008 年在纽约敲碎了 80 颗蛋。

　　花点时间翻翻这本《金氏世界纪录大全》，看看稀奇古怪的纪录与照片。里头的照片充满微笑。显然，在某个领域成为第 1 名会让人开心。举例来说，现今世界上最高的男人是土耳其的 Sultan Kösen。他表示他的人生过得不怎么顺遂，不过成为世界纪录保持人让一切大为好转。

答案：1. (D)2. (A)3. (C)4. (B)

2010 年 1月，日本山口县长门市的市民用 12 万张笑容照片，拼成了当地出身的童谣诗人金子美铃的巨幅肖像。肖像长 42.82 公尺、宽 31.78 公尺，是全球最大的拼画，一举创下金氏世界纪录。

今年 5 月，克罗埃西亚的萨格勒布（Zagreb）主广场出现 768 名穿着黄色雨衣和黑色衣服的民众聚集，排列成一个超巨大的黄色笑脸，刷新之前拉脱维亚首都里加 551人参与的金氏世界纪录。（数据源：NOWnews 今日新闻网）