Inglese attraversa tutta l’Africa di corsa

English man runs entire lenght of Africa

Un 27enne inglese di nome Russ Cook, soprannominato ‘The Hardest Geezer’, ha compiuto un’impresa straordinaria che potrebbe magari diventare un film: ha attraversato l’intera Africa correndo, partendo dal punto più a Sud, in Sudafrica, e arrivando fino al punto più a Nord, a Biserta in Tunisia.

In 351 giorni ha percorso 16.250 chilometri, equivalenti a 385 maratone, praticamente più di una al giorno. durante l’anno trascorso in giro per l’Africa, ha affrontato molti imprevisti e pericoli, come rapine a mano armata e numerosi problemi fisici e burocratici.

Nonostante le vicissitudini, comunque, è riuscito a portare a termine la sua missione, raccogliendo oltre 800 mila euro da donare in beneficienza.

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Keywords

compiere un’impresa: to accomplish a feat

l’ imprevisto: accident, unexpected event

la rapina a mano armata: armed robbery

la vicissitudine: vicissitude, ordeal

donare in beneficienza: to donate to charity

Grammar

Gerundio modale
Gerund to express “how”

“ha attraversato l’Africa correndo”
(he crossed Africa by running)

In this sentence, correndo is the gerund of the verb “correre” (to run).
One of the many uses of gerund, in Italian, is to express the way or manner in which an action is performed, similar to “by doing” or “-ing” in English. For example:

– Ho risolto il problema leggendo il manuale (I solved the problem by reading the manual)
– La ragazza ha imparato l’italiano parlando con gli italiani (The girl learned Italian by speaking with Italians)

Translation

A 27-year-old Englishman named Russ Cook, nicknamed ‘The Hardest Geezer’, has accomplished an extraordinary feat that could potentially become a movie: he crossed the entire Africa by running, starting from the southernmost point in South Africa and reaching the northernmost point in Biserta, Tunisia.

In 351 days, he covered 16,250 kilometers, equivalent to 385 marathons, practically more than one per day. During the year spent traveling around Africa, he faced many unforeseen events and dangers, such as armed robberies and numerous physical and bureaucratic problems.

Despite the adversities, however, he managed to complete his mission, raising over 800 thousand euros to donate to charity.