Who Was Amelia Earhart 阿梅莉亚·埃尔哈特 Chapter 7 Pushing the Limits

By 1931, there were many changes in the world of flying. Slow, wood-framed airplanes had been replaced with faster all-metal models. The new planes had better instruments. Pilots could find their locations more easily and fly more safely.

The newer planes were bigger and carried more passengers. Slowly, the public was won over to airplane travel. After all, it took four hours to go to Washington from New York by train. By plane the trip was only two and a half hours. In 1930, the first three flight attendants¹ were hired by United Airlines. They were all nurses. They served meals and then took care of airsick passengers.

There were also more than 450 licensed² female³ pilots in the United States. With more competition, it was getting harder to keep the public’s interest. Amelia needed to do something different. She and George came up with a few ideas.

Amelia started flying something called an autogyro. It was almost like a helicopter. Amelia became the first person to go across the country and back in an autogyro. But the autogyro was hard to fly. Many pilots thought it wasn’t safe. Soon Amelia went back to a regular airplane.

One January morning in 1932, Amelia was having breakfast with her husband. She put down the paper she was reading and asked, “Would you mind if I flew the Atlantic alone?”

No! George didn’t mind at all. He wanted Amelia to become the first woman to fly solo⁴ across the Atlantic.

May 20, 1932, was the fifth anniversary⁵ of the Lindbergh flight. George Putnam thought that would be the perfect date for Amelia to take off. The press would love the connection.

Amelia had new instruments, including three compasses, put in her plane. The weather over the Atlantic could be bad. She would depend on the new technology to help her find her way.

On the day of her flight, Amelia told reporters she was sure of her success. But before she climbed into her plane she quietly turned to a friend. “Do you think I can make it?” she asked. Even Amelia had her doubts.

Amelia took off from Harbour Grace⁶ airport in Newfoundland, Canada. Amelia didn’t think the flight would be easy… and it wasn’t. When she went too high, ice started to build on her wings. The ice made the plane heavy; it might crash. So she took the plane down low. But when she went too close to the water, her instruments didn’t work. Without instruments, Amelia could get completely lost.

The hours went by slowly. Amelia struggled to find just the right altitude. She sipped⁷ chicken soup. Gasoline⁸ dripped⁹ down the back of her neck from the extra fuel tank. She struggled all night.

But when the sun came up Amelia spotted¹⁰ land. She set her airplane down in a cow pasture¹¹, “frightening all the cows.” She was in Ireland. She had done it! Amelia was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

Congratulations poured in. Amelia was thirty-four years old. She was smart. She was brave… and she was a great-looking woman. The public loved her. When she returned to New York City, there was a parade down Broadway. Thousands of people lined the streets to cheer for Amelia.

The next day, Amelia flew to Washington, D.C., where President Herbert Hoover presented her with a medal.

Amelia was as famous as movie stars of the day, but her fame did not change her. She was still charming¹² and somewhat¹³ shy. Even so, she liked that her opinions were now heard and respected.

Amelia became more active in politics. She joined the National Women’s Party. Amelia thought women should be able to do the same things men did. For example, if a woman wanted to be a lawyer, then she should be able to do so. In a letter to the editor of a New York paper Amelia stated her case. “The right to earn a living belongs to all persons.”

Amelia certainly took that message to heart. Now that she was so famous, she found many different ways to make money. Amelia was already known as one of the best-dressed women in America. This gave her husband an idea. George Putnam made some calls. Not long after, Macy’s department store in New York made an announcement. A new line of women’s clothing was going to be designed by—Amelia Earhart.

Amelia designed women’s clothes for “active living.” Amelia believed that clothes should fit the way a woman lived. She liked fabrics¹⁴ that didn’t wrinkle¹⁵. She also liked clothes that were easy to wash and didn’t need special care.

Fashion designing took up a lot of her time. Amelia’s photograph was in many magazines. She was always in demand. But flying was still Amelia’s passion. Nothing else could match the adventure and challenge.

A group of Hawaiian businessmen had an idea. They asked Amelia to become the first person to fly solo from Honolulu to California. It would be a 2,500 mile nonstop trip over the Pacific Ocean.

On January 11, 1935, Amelia took off from Honolulu. Eighteen and a half hours later, she landed in Oakland, California. She did it. It was another one for the record book.

Amelia always said she flew for the fun of it. But some people said she took too many risks. Others didn’t like George. He was constantly trying to make money from Amelia’s name and fame.

Amelia was beginning to feel trapped. It was getting harder to set new records. Each time she had to fly farther¹⁶ and longer. Setting¹⁷ records took money. There was always new and better equipment to buy. However, there was one more flight she was determined¹⁸ to take. It would be the biggest challenge of all.
 

1 attendants   

n.服务人员( attendant的名词复数 )；侍者；随从；伴随物

参考例句：

• Other flight attendants and passengers are believed to have fought. 我们相信其他服务人员及乘客也都进行了斗争。 来自时文部分
• Psyche gave ear to the admonitions of her vocal attendants. 普绪喀听从这些有声无形的外人的意见。 来自辞典例句

2 licensed   

adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
• Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗？

3 female   

adj.雌的，女(性)的；n.雌性的动物，女子

参考例句：

• We only employ female workers.我们只雇用女工。
• The animal in the picture was a female elephant.照片上的动物是头母象。

4 solo   

n.独奏，独唱；adj.单独的；adv.单独地；v.放单飞，单独表演

参考例句：

• Tara is currently working on a solo album.塔拉眼下正忙着制作个人专辑。
• There's wonderfully lyrical flute solo in the middle of this symphony.在交响乐中间有一段奇妙的抒情长笛独奏。

5 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。

6 grace   

n.优雅，雅致，魅力，恩惠，慈悲

参考例句：

• She is a beautiful girl with the grace and poise.她是一位仪态优雅的佳丽。
• I hope the grace of God would descend on me.我期望上帝的恩惠。

7 sipped   

v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sipped his coffee pleasurably. 他怡然地品味着咖啡。
• I sipped the hot chocolate she had made. 我小口喝着她调制的巧克力热饮。 来自辞典例句

8 gasoline   

n.(美)汽油

参考例句：

• This car runs 5 miles on a gallon of gasoline.这部汽车一加仑汽油可以行驶五英里。
• There is still some gasoline left in the tank.油箱里还剩下一些汽油。

9 dripped   

v.（使）滴下( drip的过去式和过去分词 )；滴出；含有；充满

参考例句：

• She was hot and sweat dripped into her eyes. 她很热，汗水滴入双眼。
• The rain-water dripped through a crack on the ceiling. 雨水从天花板的裂缝中漏下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

11 pasture   

n.牧场，牲畜饲养

参考例句：

• This is the place where they used to pasture.这就是他们过去经常放牧的地方。
• The boy got up very early every morning to pasture cattle.这男孩每天起得很早去放牛。

12 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。

13 somewhat   

pron.一些，某物；adv.多少，几分

参考例句：

• The cake we made was somewhat of a failure.我们做的蛋糕不大成功。
• The two office buildings are somewhat alike in appearance.这两座办公楼在外形上有点相似。

14 fabrics   

织物( fabric的名词复数 )； 布； 构造； （建筑物的）结构（如墙、地面、屋顶）：质地

参考例句：

• cotton fabrics and synthetics 棉织物与合成织物
• The fabrics are merchandised through a network of dealers. 通过经销网点销售纺织品。

15 wrinkle   

n.皱纹；vi.（使）起皱纹，皱眉；vt.使起皱纹

参考例句：

• This pair of pants does not wrinkle.这条裤子不会皱。
• Too much sunbathing will wrinkle your skin.皮肤晒得过分就能起皱纹。

16 farther   

adj.更远的，进一步的；adv.更远的，此外；far的比较级

参考例句：

• I can throw the ball farther than you can.这个球我能比你扔得远。
• The farther hill is five kilometres away.那座更远的小山在五公里以外。

17 setting   

n.背景

参考例句：

• The play has its setting in Vienna.该剧以维也纳为背景。
• Where and when a story takes place is called the setting.故事发生的地点和时间称为故事背景。

18 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。