Who Was Amelia Earhart 阿梅莉亚·埃尔哈特 Chapter 2 A Woman of Character

In the fall of 1916, when Amelia was nineteen years old, she boarded a train for the Ogontz School in Pennsylvania. Amelia didn’t mind going far away from home. She was starting on a new adventure.

The head of the Ogontz School was a woman named Miss Sutherland. At first, Amelia did not like her. But in time, she changed her mind. Miss Sutherland was strict but very smart. She had opinions on all sorts of subjects. And although Miss Sutherland had had many chances to marry, she never did. Miss Sutherland was more interested in her career than a husband. Miss Sutherland was an independent woman who made a big impression on her pupils.

The other students and teachers at Ogontz admired Amelia. She was shy but charming¹. She was a good athlete. She was also a practical² girl. In a letter home to her mother, Amelia wrote, “I don’t need spring clothes so don’t worry about sending me money… I know you all need things more than I.” Once Amelia even bought hand-me-down shoes from a friend.

In her second year, Amelia was elected vice-president of her class. Amelia wrote the class motto. She strongly believed in what it said.

“Honor is the foundation³ of courage.”

While Amelia was at Ogontz, the United⁴ States entered the First World War. During the Christmas holidays of 1917, Amelia went to Toronto, Canada. Her sister Muriel was in school there. Amelia’s mother also joined them.

In Toronto, Amelia saw soldiers who had been wounded⁵ in the war. Amelia wanted to help. Within a week, she made a decision: she was not going back to Ogontz. Instead, she would stay in Toronto. Amelia would train to be a nurse’s aide and work in a hospital. People who knew Amelia weren’t surprised. Amelia always acted on what she believed in.

WORLD WAR I

It was called the Great War… but it was really terrible. More than 30 million people were wounded or died in World War I between the years of 1914 and 1918. At the beginning, only Germany and Austria-Hungary were fighting against the allied⁶ forces of Britain, France and Russia. As the war dragged on, more countries got involved. The United States joined the Allies⁷, entering the War in April 1917.

By the summer of 1918, about 200,000 American soldiers were being sent to Europe each month.

These soldiers often lived in deep ditches⁸. They dug⁹ these trenches¹⁰ for protection¹¹ as they fought. It was called “trench warfare¹².”

Peace finally came with an Allied victory¹³ in November of 1918. Most people thought there could never be another war like this. Unfortunately, they were wrong. Only twenty years later the world exploded into World War II.

1 charming   

adj.迷人的，可爱的

参考例句：

• She looked small and gentle and altogether charming.她看起来小巧文雅,十分迷人。
• She has charming manners.她具有媚人的风姿。

2 practical   

adj.实际的，实践的；实用的，应用的；有实际经验的

参考例句：

• He is a practical person.他是位很讲实际的人。
• Your invention is clever,but not practical.你的发明很巧，但不实用。

3 foundation   

n.[pl.]地基；基础；基金会；建立，创办

参考例句：

• The foundation of the university took place 600 years ago.这所大学是600年前创办的。
• The Foundation gives money to help artists.那家基金会捐款帮助艺术家。

4 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

5 wounded   

adj.受伤的；n.伤员

参考例句：

• The wounded man let out a cry of pain.伤员发出一阵痛苦的叫喊声。
• She attended on the wounded soldier day and night.她日夜护理着负伤的战士。

6 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

7 allies   

联盟国，同盟者； 同盟国，同盟者( ally的名词复数 )； 支持者； 盟军

参考例句：

• The allies would fear that they were pawns in a superpower condominium. 这个联盟担心他们会成为超级大国共管的牺牲品。
• A number of the United States' allies had urged him not to take a hasty decision. 美国的一些盟友已力劝他不要急于作决定。

8 ditches   

n.沟，渠( ditch的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The fields are crisscrossed by irrigation canals and ditches. 田野上沟渠纵横。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We moved through fields and over ditches. 我们穿过田野，跨过沟渠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 dug   

n.动物的乳房[乳头]v.挖，掘( dig的过去式和过去分词 )；（如用铲、锨或推土机等）挖掘；挖得；寻找

参考例句：

• He dug a deep hole in the garden. 他在花园里挖了个深坑。
• We dug a deep pit in the yard. 我们在院子中挖了个深洞。

10 trenches   

深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕

参考例句：

• life in the trenches 第一次世界大战期间的战壕生活
• The troops stormed the enemy's trenches and fanned out across the fields. 部队猛攻敌人的战壕，并在田野上呈扇形散开。

11 protection   

n.保护，防卫，保护制度

参考例句：

• The protection of the country is the duty of everyone.保卫国家是每个人的责任。
• The young in our society need care and protection.我们社会的年轻人需要关怀和照顾。

12 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

13 victory   

n.胜利，成功

参考例句：

• Victory will never come if we only wait for it.如果我们光是等待，胜利永远不会到来。
• It can't be questioned that we will win the final victory.我们将最终取得胜利，这是确定无疑的。