托福听力短文 I-12-2

(woman) Last week we talked about Anne Bradstreet and the role of women in the Puritan colonies. Today I want to talk about some other women who've contributed to American history --- some famous and some not-so-famous. The first woman I'd like to talk about is Molly Pitcher¹. Those of you who are familiar with the name may know her as a hero of the American Revolution. But, in fact, there never was a woman named Molly Pitcher. Her real name was actually Mary Ludwig Hays. She got the nickname Molly Pitcher for her acts of bravery during the Revolutionary War.

As the story goes, when Mary's --- or Molly's --- husband, John Hays, enlisted² in the artillery³, Mary followed... like many other wives did. She helped out doing washing and cooking for the soldiers. She was known to be a pretty unusual woman --- she smoked a pipe and chewed tobacco.

Anyway... in the summer of 1778, at the Battle of Monmouth, it was a blistering⁴ hot day --- maybe over a hundred degrees --- and fifty soldiers died of thirst during the battle. Molly wasn't content to stay back at camp. Instead, she ran through gunshots and cannon⁵ fire carrying water in pitchers⁶ from a small stream out to the thirsty American soldiers. The relief that she brought with her pitchers of water gave her the legendary⁷ nickname Molly Pitcher. The story also says that she continued to load and fire her husband's cannon after he was wounded. They say she was so well liked by the other soldiers that they call her "Sergeant⁸ Molly." In fact, legend has it that George Washington himself gave her the special military title.

1 pitcher   

n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手

参考例句：

• He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
• Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。

2 enlisted   

adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持）

参考例句：

• enlisted men and women 男兵和女兵
• He enlisted with the air force to fight against the enemy. 他应募加入空军对敌作战。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

4 blistering   

adj.酷热的；猛烈的；使起疱的；可恶的v.起水疱；起气泡；使受暴晒n.[涂料] 起泡

参考例句：

• The runners set off at a blistering pace. 赛跑运动员如脱缰野马般起跑了。
• This failure is known as preferential wetting and is responsible for blistering. 这种故障称为优先吸湿，是产生气泡的原因。 来自辞典例句

5 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

6 pitchers   

大水罐( pitcher的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Over the next five years, he became one of the greatest pitchers in baseball. 在接下来的5年时间里，他成为了最了不起的棒球投手之一。
• Why he probably won't: Pitchers on also-rans can win the award. 为什麽不是他得奖：投手在失败的球队可以赢得赛扬奖。

7 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

8 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？