5 Chapter 4 Amelia Takes Off

Chapter 4 Amelia Takes Off With her pilot's license in hand, Amelia flew in some air shows. Most pilots were men, so a young woman attracted a lot of attention. Amelia didn't like to be on display. But she worked in the shows to earn money. She had to keep on flying. Then Amelia's friend and teacher, Neta Snook, got married. Just as Amelia feared, her friend's flying days were over. Neta would now be a wife and mother. So Amelia needed another instructor. She teamed up with an expert named Monte Montijo. Monte had flown in the army. He also did stunt work flying in the movies. Monte taught Amelia a lot. She even learned to do tricks in the air like huge upside-down loops.

第4章阿米莉亚起飞拿着飞行员执照，阿米莉亚参加了一些飞行表演。 大多数飞行员都是男性，所以一个年轻的女人吸引了很多人的注意。 阿米莉亚不喜欢被人炫耀。 但她在节目中工作赚钱。 她必须继续飞行。 后来，阿米莉亚的朋友兼老师妮塔·斯努克结婚了。 正如阿米莉亚所担心的那样，她朋友的飞行生涯结束了。 妮塔现在是一个妻子和母亲。 所以阿米莉亚需要另一个教练。 她与一位名叫蒙特·蒙蒂霍的专家合作。 蒙特曾在军队里坐过飞机。 他还在电影中表演飞行特技。 蒙特教会了阿米莉亚很多东西。 她甚至学会了在空中做一些像巨大的倒转圈一样的把戏。

Now she felt like trying for a flying record. Amelia wanted to see how high she could go. Amelia didn't tell anyone her plans. She had an instrument put in her plane. It measured how high above ground the plane was. In the early 1920s, planes didn't fly as high as they do today. One reason was because the cockpits were open. At higher altitudes there is not much oxygen to breathe. Amelia knew she could pass out if she went too high. But she was willing to risk it.

现在她想试试创造飞行记录。 阿米莉亚想看看她能飞多高。 阿米莉亚没有告诉任何人她的计划。 她在飞机里装了一个仪器。 它测量了飞机离地面的高度。 在20世纪20年代早期，飞机还没有飞得像今天这样高。 其中一个原因是驾驶舱是敞开的。 在高海拔地区，没有多少氧气可供呼吸。 阿米莉亚知道如果喝得太高她会晕过去。 但她愿意冒这个险。

It took two attempts. Amelia flew through fog and sleet. She finally made it to fourteen thousand feet—more than two and a half miles high. Then her plane's engine began to fail. Amelia brought her plane down fast. She was just barely able to make a safe landing. But she had her record. Although Amelia loved to fly, she soon found out that she couldn't support herself just by flying. There were no big airlines or airplanes yet. People did not travel by plane. In fact, most people never expected to take a ride in a plane. In 1924, Amelia

我试了两次。阿米莉亚穿过大雾和雨夹雪飞行。 她最终到达了一万四千英尺——超过两英里半的高度。 然后她的飞机引擎开始失灵。 阿米莉亚很快就把飞机降落了。 她勉强能安全着陆。 但她也有自己的记录。虽然阿米莉亚喜欢飞行，但她很快发现，仅仅靠飞行是无法养活自己的。 那时还没有大的航空公司或飞机。 人们不乘飞机旅行。 事实上，大多数人从未想过会乘坐飞机。 1924年，阿米莉亚

temporarily gave up on her dream. She sold the Canary and used the money to buy a car. You might guess that Amelia would pick a practical automobile like the Ford Model T. She didn't. She bought a fancy yellow convertible. If she couldn't fly in the air, she would at least have the feeling of flying across the ground. Amelia named her car the Yellow Peril. She and her mother drove across country and headed for the East Coast.

暂时放弃了她的梦想。 她卖掉了金丝雀，用这笔钱买了一辆汽车。 你可能会猜阿米莉亚会选择一辆实用的汽车，比如福特T型车。 她没有。她买了一辆漂亮的黄色敞篷车。 如果她不能在空中飞行，她至少会有在地面上飞行的感觉。 阿米莉亚给她的车取名为“黄祸”。 她和母亲开车穿过乡村，前往东海岸。

Amelia went back to Columbia University. But again, it wasn't for long. She had to drop out again; as usual, the problem was money. Sam Chapman followed Amelia out East. He proposed marriage again. It was tempting. Amelia was now 28 years old. Most people thought women this age were already "old maids." If Amelia married Sam, she wouldn't have to worry so much about money. However, Sam would want

阿米莉亚回到了哥伦比亚大学。 但是，这并没有持续太久。 她不得不再次退学;和往常一样，问题还是出在钱上。 山姆·查普曼跟着阿米莉亚去了东部。 他再次求婚。 这很诱人。阿米莉亚现在28岁了。 大多数人认为这个年龄的女人已经是“老处女”了。 如果阿米莉亚嫁给山姆，她就不用那么担心钱的问题了。 然而，山姆想要

her to stay at home and have children. Amelia had to decide. To her, the choice was very clear. Amelia told her sister Muriel of her decision. "I don't want to marry him," Amelia said. "I don't want to marry anyone." Amelia couldn't stand the thought of giving up her freedom. The next job Amelia found was in Boston. She worked at Denison House where she took care of poor children. Amelia really liked the job. She knew she was doing something worthwhile.

她不得不呆在家里生孩子。 阿米莉亚必须做出决定。对她来说，选择很清楚。 阿米莉亚把她的决定告诉了妹妹穆丽尔。 “我不想嫁给他，”阿米莉亚说。 “我不想嫁给任何人。” 阿米莉亚一想到要放弃自由就受不了。 阿米莉亚找到的下一份工作是在波士顿。 她在丹尼森之家工作，照顾贫穷的孩子。 阿米莉亚真的很喜欢这份工作。 她知道自己在做一件有价值的事情。