SALLY RIDE
In the 1950s， little girls in America could grow up to be nurses， teachers or mothers. Most parents didn't think about encouraging their daughters to try other fields. But the Ride home was different. Sally Ride's parents let her and her sister go ahead and try anything that interested them.
Sally's mother once said， "Sally would probably be teaching English literature if I believed in molding children. But I don't." instead， Sally reached for the stars. In 1983， she became the first American woman to fly in space.
Sally Kristen Ride was born May 26， 1951， in Encino， California. She grew up playing baseball and football with the neighborhood boys. At age 12， sally told her parents she planned to become a professional football player. That one time， sally's parents steered her in another direction. They encouraged her love of tennis instead， and she became an excellent player. As a result， she got a scholarship to attend a prominent girl's high school. There， she discovered a love for science.
After Sally graduated， she entered a Pennsylvania college planning to study physics. But she felt torn between tennis and college. After three semesters， she quit school to play professional tennis. She practiced Hard for just three months. Then she decided that she would never be good enough to become a top player.
After giving up her tennis dreams， she entered Stanford University in 1970. there she earned two degrees， one in English and one in physics. She got two degrees because both Shakespeare and lasers interested her.
Sally continued her education in graduate school at Stanford and studied astrophysics. After earning her Ph. D.， she planned on more study. But one day in 1977， a newspaper article caught her attention. The article talked about how NASA wanted young scientists for future missions.
Sally applied for the space program but did not expect to be chosen. Over 8000 men and women applied to NASA and just 35 were selected. Sally was one of them. She entered astronaut training in 1978 with five other women.
Sally went into the astronaut program because she wanted to fly in space. But getting the chance to de that didn't come easily. Sally spent a year in a very difficult training program. She learned parachute jumping， water survival， radio communications and earned her pilot's license. Flying then became one of her havorite hobbies.
Sally served as the communicator between astronauts and ground control in November 1981 and March 1982. Then on June 18， 1983， Sally got her chance to fly into space aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger.
When Sally returned to Earth， she said， "The thing I'll remember most about the flight is that it was fun. In fact， I'm sure it was the most fun that I'll ever have in my life."
When challenger blew up in 1986， the President chose Sally to be part of the grout that investigated the disaster. Sally retied from NASA in 1987. today， she is a physics professor and a spokesperson for U. S. space efforts. She also writes children's books， encouraging today's kids to reach for the stars.
Word bank：
Field （n）領域
Dan wants to work in the field of medicine one day. Perhaps he will become a doctor.
Mold （v）塑造
The Smiths have molded their children into fine young people.
Steer （v）引導
Mr. and Mrs. Lin are steering their son toward， medical school. But he wants to be an artist.
Prominent （adj）著名的；重要的
Mr. Black is a prominent person in this city. Everyone knows who he is.
Physics （n）物理學
In Physics class， we leamed about different kinds of energy
Torn （adj）無法取舍的；左右為難的
Annette feels torn. She like both Rob and Doug， and can't decide between them.mission to the moon？
Astronaut （n）宇航員
Those astronauts spent three weeks in space.
Survival （n）生存
Life is difficult in that poor country. Every day， people have to fight for survival.
Pilot （n） 飛行員
Burt is a pilot. He flies for a big American airline.
Blew up （v phr） 爆炸；炸毀
Three people died when their car caught on fire and blew up.
Investigate （v）調查
Someone robbed the bank today. Police are investigating to find out who did it.
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