VOA慢速英语2014 91岁老人实现梦想,学会飞翔

 

91-Year-Old Achieves Dream, Learns To Fly 91岁老人实现梦想,学会飞翔

You are never too old to try to make your dreams come true.

This could be Mary Moe's motto -- the expression that best captures her spirit. Mary Moe has done a lot during the past 91 years. For much of that time, she wanted to fly, but never had the chance – until now.

She recently achieved her life-long dream.

Mary Moe may look like an average grandmother. But she is not.

Mary just learned how to fly an airplane, a dream she has had since she was a little girl.

?Growing up, she was inspired by two American pilots: Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart. They became her inspiration. Lindbergh made the solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927. Five years later, Earhart became the first woman to make the flight.

But Mary Moe could not find time to make her dream come true. At age 34, she was just too busy – busy fighting cancer. She was also busy with her job in advertising¹ and busy raising her family.

There was simply no time to think about flying a plane. And it was difficult for her to drive to the airport. Lessons were costly². Everything seemed to be working against Mary.  

“I had actually gone out to that airport in the '80s to see about flying lessons and it was such a long drive out and expensive and I thought, ‘No, I have to put this on the back burner for a while.'”

So her dream had to wait. She kept it on the back burner. 

Then, at age 91, her wish finally came true.

Ms. Moe learned about Wish of a Lifetime. Wish of a Lifetime is a non-profit organization. Its goal is to change the way our society thinks about aging and older adults.

Sally Webster works for the group. She told VOA on Skype that Ms. Moe’s wish is one of hundreds they receive each year.

“Based on funding year by year, we are able to grant about 200 to 250 wishes per year. Although 65 (years old) is our lower age limit, our average wish recipient’s age is 82.”

The wishes are as different as American society.

“For example, a World War II veteran, he was one of the first troops to land on the beaches of Normandy on the D-Day invasion. And he had not been back since that battle. So we were able to send him back for the 70th anniversary.” 

Wish of a Lifetime helps older people, senior citizens, enjoy a dream. It also sends the message that it is never too late for a dream. But Ms. Webster says it also wants to send another message to society.

“You know, our bigger vision as an organization is to really change the way that our society feels and thinks about aging and the elderly. So we really try to look for those stories that are inspiring and can show people that older Americans can achieve things just like younger Americans can.”

Susie Danick also believes in this goal. She founded TAD Relocation, a business that helps senior citizens when they move. Ms. Danick gave $5,000 to the Wish of a Lifetime to help seniors realize a dream. Mary Moe was one of them.

She received three flying lessons. And on the big day of her first flight, her family and friends all came out to cheer her on. Also at the airport was Ms. Danick. Mary's success made everyone around her excited and proud.

“She was just exhilarated and so happy. And her family was so excited to be a part of it.  Her great-grandchildren were so excited to see their great-grandma up in the plane laughing and smiling. It was just a great event, a great day.”

Flying teacher David Waksberg flew with Ms. Moe during her second lesson. He says she was very calm.

“She was very calm, which is always important when you’re flying. Sometimes people get to be overstressed, which I get. It's a stressful environment. You need to do a lot of stuff at the same time."

But Mary says she enjoyed every second.

“It was very satisfying and I thought, 'Oh, to get down on the road and drive a car is just misery³.' This is the way everybody should go. So I was really, really happy to be up there.”

The new pilot says it is never too late to spread your wings and try something new.  

I’m Anna Matteo.

Faiza Elmasry reported this story. Anna Matteo wrote it in Learning English. George Grow was the editor. Frank Sinatra sings “Come Fly With Me."

Words in this Story

to put something on the back burner – idiom. not getting or needing immediate⁴ attention.

calm – n. a quiet and peaceful state or condition; v. to become or to cause (someone) to become less upset, emotional, excited; adj. not angry, upset or excited

collaboration⁵ – n. the action of working with someone to produce or create something. collaborate⁶ – v. to work jointly⁷ with others or together especially in an intellectual endeavor

excite – v. causing feelings of interest and enthusiasm : causing excitement). excited – adj. very enthusiastic and eager.

proud – adj. very happy and pleased because of something you have done, something you own, someone you know or are related to.

1 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

2 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

3 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

4 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

5 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

6 collaborate   

vi.协作，合作；协调

参考例句：

• The work gets done more quickly when we collaborate.我们一旦合作，工作做起来就更快了。
• I would ask you to collaborate with us in this work.我们愿意请你们在这项工作中和我们合作。

7 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。