Who Was Amelia Earhart 阿梅莉亚·埃尔哈特 Chapter 1 Young Amelia

Amelia Mary Earhart was born in her grandmother’s house in Atchison, Kansas, on July 24, 1897. The house was high on a hill. It had eleven rooms. Maids and a cook worked there. Dinner was served on fine china.

Amelia’s mother’s parents had a lot of money. But Amelia’s father had trouble keeping a job. Edwin Earhart could barely¹ make the payments² on the family house in Kansas City. There were always money worries. But Amelia loved her parents—especially her handsome, funny father.

When Amelia was seven, her father had enough money to take the family to see the World’s Fair in St. Louis, Missouri.

Twenty million people came to the 1904 World’s Fair. Forty-five countries set up exhibits⁴. At the St. Louis Fair there were Eskimo villages and Japanese gardens. Each nation and state showed something about its own culture.

WORLD’S FAIRS

World’s Fairs have been popular events throughout the history of the United States. In 1876, a Centennial Exposition⁵ was held in Philadelphia. It marked the one hundredth anniversary⁶ of the signing of the Declaration⁷ of Independence. Ten years in the making, this World’s Fair introduced people to many new things. One of the most popular exhibits showed a “new” machine called the typewriter!

In 1893, a fair called the World’s Columbian Exposition was held in Chicago. It was a grand event. One area at this fair was called the Midway Plaisance. The Midway featured popular entertainment. Here, the first Ferris wheel was introduced. It stood 260 feet tall and had 36 cars. It could hold more than two thousand people when full!

“Building the World of Tomorrow” was the motto of the World’s Fair held in New York City in 1939. A popular exhibit³ at this Fair was the Futurama. Visitors sat in moving chairs to get a glimpse⁸ of a city in the future. Modern buildings and huge highway systems “wowed” people of all ages. Another exhibit also got a lot of attention. Here people stared at a new invention called the television. Many wondered what good it might be in the future!

Amelia and her younger sister, Muriel, saw a big roller coaster at the fair. When she got back to Kansas City, Amelia tried to build one in her yard.

Muriel, Amelia’s uncle, and another friend helped. Wooden tracks ran from the top of a shed⁹ to the yard below. A little buggy rolled down the tracks. The tracks were greased¹⁰ with fat to make the buggy go faster.

Always the bravest kid on the block, Amelia was the first to try out the roller coaster. She dragged the buggy up to the top of the tracks and got on. Her sister held her feet. When Amelia gave the signal, Muriel let go. Amelia went down headfirst… and crashed!

Did this stop Amelia? Not at all. She and her friends made the slope of the tracks less steep. Then she got on the buggy again. This time she made a good run. She loved the speed. And it was almost as if she were flying through the air!

On a cold day in December, Amelia went sledding with her sister. Amelia wanted to go very fast. She took a running start. Then she jumped on the sled, lying head first on her stomach. The hill was icy. Amelia was gaining speed. Suddenly, there was trouble below. A horse-drawn wagon¹¹ came out from a side street. It was directly in Amelia’s path. And Amelia couldn’t stop.

At the last second, Amelia ducked. She and her sled slid right under the horse. A moment later Amelia was up and smiling. Her quick thinking had helped her avoid a bad accident.

In the summer before eighth grade, Amelia went to another fair. The Iowa State Fair. Here, Amelia saw her first airplane.

BROTHERS IN FLIGHT

Orville and Wilbur Wright never went to college, but they were good at building things. On December 17, 1903, in Kitty Hawk¹², North Carolina, they made history. That was the day their airplane, the Wright Flyer, went one hundred feet in the air.

The Flyer was a rickety plane by today’s standards. Its body was made of cloth stretched over a wood frame¹³. It had one small engine and two propellers¹⁴. Many thought it would crash on takeoff. But it didn’t. The Flyer stayed in the air 12 seconds. A short trip indeed, but this first flight changed history forever.

It was 1909—only six years after Wilbur and Orville Wright had made their famous flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Surprisingly, Amelia did not think too much of the airplane. She was always adventurous¹⁵, but her love of flying came much later.

Amelia’s teenage years were hard. Her father couldn’t keep a job, and the family split¹⁶ up. Amelia’s mother took the girls to Chicago. They lived in a rooming house and Amelia went to Hyde Park High School.

Amelia was a good student. She dreamed of going to a first-rate college. But there wasn’t enough money. However, Amelia’s mother was able to send her to a good private school for girls.

It was time for Amelia to start out on her own.

1 barely   

adv.仅仅，几乎没有，几乎不

参考例句：

• The male bird is barely distinguishable from the female.雄鸟和雌鸟几乎无法辨别。
• He took barely enough money to keep the children in bread.他赚很少的钱仅够孩子们勉强糊口。

2 payments   

n.支付，付款，缴纳，报酬( payment的名词复数 )；付出的[要付出的]款项；报答，报偿

参考例句：

• Welfare payments cease as soon as an individual starts a job. 一旦就业，即停发福利救济。
• The law can compel fathers to make regular payments for their children. 这项法律可强制父亲定期支付子女的费用。

3 exhibit   

vt.展览，展出，陈列；n.展览品；陈列品

参考例句：

• Next week those goods will exhibit in that shop. 下个星期，这些货物将在那家商店展出。
• The economy continued to exhibit signs of decline in September.9月份，经济继续呈现出衰退的迹象。

4 exhibits   

v.陈列，展览( exhibit的第三人称单数 )；表现；显示；[法律]当庭出示（证件、物证等）

参考例句：

• Many exhibits with characteristics of the Chinese art are on display. 许多具有中国艺术特色的展品陈列出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• One is dazzled by the endless array of beautiful exhibits. 展品琳琅满目，美不胜收。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 exposition   

n.说明，讲解，展览（会），陈列

参考例句：

• John gave a very exposition of the facts.约翰把事实解释得很清楚。
• His pictures were shown at the Paris exposition of 1878.他的画在1878年巴黎博览会上展览过。

6 anniversary   

n.周年(纪念日)

参考例句：

• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。
• Today is my parents'30th wedding anniversary.今天是我父母结婚30周年纪念日。

7 declaration   

n.宣布，宣告，宣言，声明（书），申报

参考例句：

• We read the declaration posted on the bulletin board.我们读了贴在布告板上的声明。
• At the recent convention a declaration was adopted.在最近举行的大会上通过了一项宣言。

8 glimpse   

vt.瞥见；n.一瞥，一看

参考例句：

• One glimpse at himself in the mirror was enough.让他照着镜子看自己一眼就够了。
• She catches a glimpse of a car in the distance.她一眼就瞥见了远处的汽车。

9 shed   

n.车棚，小屋，脱落之物，分水岭；vt.使流出，放射，脱落，散发，摆脱；vi. 流出

参考例句：

• There are a lot of straws in the shed.棚子里有许多稻草。
• His nose told him that he was getting near the cow shed.他的嗅觉告诉他，他正走近牛棚。

10 greased   

灌足酒的，醉的

参考例句：

• Iron corrodes unless it is greased or kept clean. 如果不涂油或保持清洁铁便会腐蚀。
• I greased front and rear hubs and adjusted the brakes. 我在前后轮毂上都抹了润滑油，还调校了刹车。

11 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

12 hawk   

n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员

参考例句：

• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it.鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
• The hawk snatched the chicken and flew away.老鹰叼了小鸡就飞走了。

13 frame   

n.框架，结构，体格；vt.构成，设计，制定，使适合，陷害； 框架，（是指在数据链路层中，将网络层数据包加上开始与结尾信息包组成一个框架）

参考例句：

• The house has a wooden frame which is faced with brick.这个房子是木质结构的砖瓦房。
• We must frame up that picture.我们必须给那幅画装上框。

14 propellers   

n.螺旋桨，推进器( propeller的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The water was thrashing and churning about under the propellers. 水在螺旋桨下面打旋、翻滚。 来自辞典例句
• The ship's propellers churned the waves to foam. 轮船的推进器将海浪搅出泡沫。 来自辞典例句

15 adventurous   

adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的　

参考例句：

• I was filled with envy at their adventurous lifestyle.我很羨慕他们敢于冒险的生活方式。
• He was predestined to lead an adventurous life.他注定要过冒险的生活。

16 split   

n.劈开，裂片，裂口；adj.分散的；v.分离，分开，劈开

参考例句：

• Who told you that Mary and I had split up?谁告诉你玛丽和我已经离婚了？
• The teacher split the class up into six groups.老师把班级分成6个小组。