Who Was Eleanor Roosevelt 安娜·埃莉诺·罗斯福 Chapter 3 All Alone

Shortly after her seventh birthday, Eleanor’s life suddenly changed.

When she was a child, many of the medicines we have today had not yet been discovered. Many diseases² that now can be cured often killed people. One such disease¹ was diphtheria. People with the disease ran high fevers and had trouble breathing. They grew weaker and weaker. Often they died.

In the fall of 1892, when Eleanor was eight, her mother had to have an operation. Afterward³, she was very weak. Then she got diphtheria. She became so ill that Eleanor was sent to live with relatives. Her father was away, too, once again trying to stop drinking. Eleanor was all alone. What would happen? Would her mother get well?

On December 7, 1892, Eleanor’s mother died. Eleanor was only eight years old. Eleanor wrote about that terrible day. She was standing⁴ by a window in her aunt’s house. Her aunt came into the room to tell Eleanor what had happened. Eleanor wrote, “Death meant nothing to me, and one fact wiped out everything else—my father was back and I would see him very soon.”

Eleanor was a shy, lonely girl. She knew that she had never pleased her mother. And now, she would never have the chance to do so. It made her miss her father more than ever. Eleanor hoped she and her brothers would now live with him.

But that was not to be. Eleanor and her baby brothers were sent to their mother’s mother, Mrs. Hall. The family felt that Eleanor’s father could not care for the children. His drinking had gotten worse. And so, Eleanor began a new life with her strict grandmother.

All Eleanor had of her father were his letters. She looked forward to them, cherished⁵ each one, and wrote back immediately.

Eleanor’s aunts and uncles still lived at home with her grandmother. They were not much older than Eleanor and treated her as a younger sister. They loved sports and taught her to play tennis. They also loved music and languages. Eleanor’s grandmother had her tutored⁶ in French, German, and piano.

Then on August 14, 1894, the worst thing that Eleanor could imagine happened. Her father died. He had just sent Eleanor a letter. He wrote, “I hope my little girl is well … and never forget I love you …” Eleanor kept this letter for years.

It was her grandmother who broke the news. Eleanor was almost ten. Everyone thought that Eleanor would weep and shut herself in her room for days. But she didn’t. After she was told, she was quiet as a mouse. All she said, in a whisper, was, “I did want to see him again.”

Eleanor was now an orphan⁷. No mother. No father. And then, shortly after her father’s death, her brother Elliott died of diphtheria. Just as their mother had. Eleanor was just a child, yet already there had been so much sadness in her life. From then on, Eleanor watched over her baby brother, Hall. She became like his mother. She taught him things and tried to protect him for the rest of his life.

For the next four years, Eleanor retreated⁸ into a dream world. In this world, she lived with her father and was pretty and happy. When she was not dreaming, Eleanor escaped into books. One of her favorite places to read was high up in a tree. Eleanor felt safe there.

One bright spot in her life was visiting Long Island. That’s where her Uncle Teddy Roosevelt lived. He was her father’s older brother. He was a rising star in politics in New York. He was full of life and adored⁹ the lonely Eleanor.

When Eleanor came to visit, he would greet her with a big bear hug and tell her that she was his very favorite niece. He loved that Eleanor tried hard at games even though she was sometimes clumsy¹⁰ and fearful¹¹.

Eleanor would leap into piles of hay¹² from the barn¹³ loft¹⁴ or she would run straight into the ocean. Uncle Teddy made Eleanor forget that she was a plain, unusually tall, and gawky girl. Instead, she felt special. But her grandmother Hall did not really like her Uncle Teddy, so as time passed, Eleanor got to spend less and less time on Long Island.

And so, Eleanor passed her days at her grandmother’s home in New York City. She studied. She read. She went to the theater with her aunts. But Eleanor wanted more. She wanted to explore the world. And finally, when she was fifteen, she got her wish. Eleanor’s grandmother agreed to send her to school in England. For Eleanor, this was her chance to make a new life for herself.

THEODORE ROOSEVELT

THEODORE ROOSEVELT WAS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES FROM 1901 TO 1909. HE WAS A WEAK CHILD AND OFTEN SICK, BUT WORKED TO MAKE HIMSELF STRONG. HE SPENT LONG HOURS LIFTING WEIGHTS AND POUNDING A PUNCHING¹⁵ BAG. HE ALSO LOVED THE OUTDOORS. AS AN ADULT, HE LIKED TO RIDE, SWIM, AND HUNT. ROOSEVELT WAS A MAN OF ACTION. HE BUILT THE UNITED STATES INTO A WORLD POWER. MANY PEOPLE THOUGHT HE WAS ONE OF OUR FAIREST PRESIDENTS. HE WORKED HARD FOR THE POOR. DURING HIS PRESIDENCY¹⁶, THE FIRST NATIONAL PARKS WERE OPENED. THE TEDDY BEAR IS NAMED FOR HIM.
 

1 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

2 diseases   

n.疾病( disease的名词复数 )；弊端；恶疾；痼疾

参考例句：

• Smoking is a causative factor in several major diseases. 抽烟是引起几种严重疾病的病因。
• The illness frequently coexists with other chronic diseases. 这种病往往与其他慢性病同时存在。

3 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

4 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

5 cherished   

v.珍爱( cherish的过去式和过去分词 )；怀有；爱护；抚育

参考例句：

• Children need to be cherished. 儿童需要无微不至的爱护。
• She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer. 她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 tutored   

v.当家庭教师( tutor的过去式和过去分词 )；任大学导师；任课

参考例句：

• She was tutored at home during her illness. 在生病期间，她在家接受私人教师的辅导。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She was tutored at home during her long illness. 她长期生病期间有人在家辅导她。 来自辞典例句

7 orphan   

n.孤儿；adj.无父母的

参考例句：

• He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大，并且把自己的医术传给了他。
• The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。

8 retreated   

撤退( retreat的过去式和过去分词 )； 隐退； 离开； 规避

参考例句：

• He always retreated emotionally at the first whiff of conflict. 只要有一点冲突的迹象，他在感情上就退缩。
• He retreated hastily back to his car. 他匆忙退回自己的车里。

9 adored   

爱慕，崇拜( adore的过去式和过去分词 )； 非常喜欢

参考例句：

• For all her faults, Tallulah's friends tolerated and even adored her. 尽管塔卢拉有缺点，她的朋友们却宽容她，甚至崇拜她。
• They adored her as a living goddess. 他们把她当作活女神崇拜。

10 clumsy   

adj.笨手笨脚；不圆滑的，缺乏技巧的

参考例句：

• He is clumsy with his hands.他的一双手很笨。
• Its body looks heavy and clumsy when it has eaten its fill.它步态蹒跚，吃饱了的身体更显得笨拙可笑。

11 fearful   

adj.惧怕的，担心的；可怕的，吓人的

参考例句：

• What a fearful waste of time!简直太浪费时间了！
• They are fearful of another business depression.他们担心会再次发生商业萧条。

12 hay   

n.(用作饲料或覆盖的)干草

参考例句：

• Cows feed on hay.奶牛以干草为生。
• They usually keep the hay in the barn.他们通常将干草存放在谷仓中。

13 barn   

n.谷仓，饲料仓，牲口棚

参考例句：

• That big building is a barn for keeping the grain.那幢大房子是存放粮食的谷仓。
• The cows were driven into the barn.牛被赶进了牲口棚。

14 loft   

n.阁楼，顶楼

参考例句：

• We could see up into the loft from bottom of the stairs.我们能从楼梯脚边望到阁楼的内部。
• By converting the loft,they were able to have two extra bedrooms.把阁楼改造一下，他们就可以多出两间卧室。

15 punching   

v.用拳猛击( punch的现在分词 )；打孔；冲压；冲切

参考例句：

• I will have no one punching anyone else up in my hotel. 在我的旅馆里我不让任何人动手同别人打架。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A white girl came and began punching the typewriter. 一个白人姑娘来了，开始用打字机打起字来。 来自辞典例句

16 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。