Who Was Amelia Earhart 阿梅莉亚·埃尔哈特 Chapter 3 Amelia Chooses a Career

Amelia worked in a Toronto hospital until World War I was over. Then she came back to the United States. She wanted to study science. Maybe she would become a doctor. Amelia decided¹ to enroll² at Columbia University in New York City.

At that time, most men wanted wives who would stay at home. That was fine with most women. But not Amelia. She could not understand why a woman had to give up work just because of a wedding ring.

Amelia wanted a career—she just couldn’t decide what career she wanted. After some time at Columbia, Amelia quit school again. She went to Los Angeles. Amelia’s parents were back together again, and she moved in with them. Amelia’s family was hoping that Amelia would settle down soon.

WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE³ MOVEMENT

Sounds painful, doesn’t it? But the word “suffrage” doesn’t mean “suffering”—it’s about getting the right to vote.

It wasn’t until the 1890s that Wyoming became the first state to let women vote. By 1913—when Amelia Earhart was a high school student—women could vote in only 12 of 48 states. But the voices of protest were getting louder. “Suffragettes” marched in the streets. Many were arrested and put in jail. But the fight continued. Finally, on August 26, 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment⁴ of the U.S. Constitution was passed. Women in every state of the union had won the right to vote.

Amelia was seeing a young man named Sam Chapman. Sam asked Amelia to marry him. But Amelia knew that Sam would not want her to have a career. She said no. Amelia knew what she didn’t want. Still, she was drifting.

Then, on Christmas Day in 1920, her life changed. Twenty-three-year-old Amelia Earhart and her father were with a crowd of people in Long Beach, California. They were all looking up into the sky. Why? An air show was taking place.

Pilots raced each other in their planes. They also did incredible tricks like wing walking.

Amelia was fascinated. She had just one question. How much would it cost to take flying lessons?

At that time, there were no airports or runways. Planes took off from big, empty fields. Three days later, Amelia and her dad went to Rogers Field. It was there that she took her first plane ride.

The flight was ten minutes long. The pilot sat in front. Amelia sat behind him. The cockpit was completely open. Amelia and the pilot wore goggles⁵ to protect their eyes.

The plane bounced across the bumpy⁶ field for takeoff. Then it slowly rose into the air. Right away Amelia was hooked. She later said “As soon as we left the ground, I knew I, myself, had to fly.”

Amelia was not drifting any longer. From that day on, she had a goal. Amelia was going to become a pilot.

At nearby Kinner Airfield⁷, a woman named Neta Snook gave flying lessons. A woman pilot— this was just what Amelia wanted. Neta agreed to teach Amelia to fly. It would cost $1.00 a minute. In 1921 that was a lot of money—but Amelia was willing to pay.

The next day Amelia arrived for her first flying lesson in riding pants, boots, and a jacket. She had walked three miles from the streetcar to the airfield. But she wasn’t tired. She was excited that her dream was about to come true.

That first day, Amelia only taxied the plane on the ground. But it wasn’t long before she was up in the air. Amelia was a good student. She just seemed to know naturally what to do.

Neta and Amelia became good friends. At twenty-four, Neta was only one year older than Amelia. Amelia wanted to learn all about air-planes She pestered⁸ Neta with questions all the time.

When the weather was good, Amelia practiced flying. When the weather was bad, Amelia didn’t waste that time. She read and studied about flying.

Amelia also learned to repair airplanes. She cut her long hair short. She bought a leather jacket. The jacket was soon wrinkled and oil-stained. Amelia didn’t care. Learning about airplanes kept her busy all the time.

Soon Amelia wanted her own plane. With her mother’s help, Amelia bought a small one at Kinner Airfield. Neta thought the plane was too small to be safe. Amelia ignored her. She had her plane painted yellow, and she named it the Canary.

On December 15, 1921, Amelia took the test for her license⁹. It was a little less than one year from when she took her first lesson—but she passed.

Amelia Earhart was now an airplane pilot.

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 enroll   

v.招收；登记；入学；参军；成为会员（英)enrol

参考例句：

• I should like to enroll all my children in the swimming class.我愿意让我的孩子们都参加游泳班。
• They enroll him as a member of the club.他们吸收他为俱乐部会员。

3 suffrage   

n.投票，选举权，参政权

参考例句：

• The question of woman suffrage sets them at variance.妇女参政的问题使他们发生争执。
• The voters gave their suffrage to him.投票人都投票选他。

4 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

5 goggles   

n.护目镜

参考例句：

• Skiers wear goggles to protect their eyes from the sun.滑雪者都戴上护目镜使眼睛不受阳光伤害。
• My swimming goggles keep steaming up so I can't see.我的护目镜一直有水雾，所以我看不见。

6 bumpy   

adj.颠簸不平的，崎岖的

参考例句：

• I think we've a bumpy road ahead of us.我觉得我们将要面临一段困难时期。
• The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track.铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄，成了一条崎岖不平的小径。

7 airfield   

n.飞机场

参考例句：

• The foreign guests were motored from the airfield to the hotel.用车把外宾从机场送到旅馆。
• The airfield was seized by enemy troops.机场被敌军占领。

8 pestered   

使烦恼，纠缠( pester的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Journalists pestered neighbours for information. 记者缠着邻居打听消息。
• The little girl pestered the travellers for money. 那个小女孩缠着游客要钱。

9 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。