A life of hard work

山东 李全忠

主题语境：人与社会 篇幅：309词 建议用时：6分钟

1The stars were always within reach of Katherine Johnson.Using her mathematics skills,she helped NASA send astronauts to the moon and return them safely home.She also overcame racial and gender hurdles to help make giant leaps for humankind.

2Johnson was born in White Sulphur Springs,West Virginia,on August 26,1918.Math came easily to her,but she worked hard to master geometry and algebra.To realize her math potential,her father drove his family 120 miles to Institute,West Virginia,where blacks could continue high school education.Katherine's excellent performance proved her father's decision was the right one:Teachers allowed Katherine to skip several grades to graduate from high school at 14 and from college at 18,majoring in mathematics,as the top student of the historically black West Virginia State College in Institute.

3In 1953,after years as a teacher and later as a stay-at-home mom,she began working for NASA,which began hiring women to measure and calculate the results of wind tunnel tests in 1935.In a time before the electronic computers,these women were called“computer”.Even after NASA began using electronic computers,the astronaut John Glenn requested that she should personally recheck the calculations made by the new electronic computers before his flight.

4She continued to work at NASA until her retirement in 1986.Her calculations proved important to the success of the Apollo lunar landing program and the United States'journey into space.It wasn't until the 2016 release of the movieHidden Figuresthat these women received widespread recognition.

5Johnson passed away on February 24,2020,at the age of 101.In her honor,NASA had dedicated the Katherine G.Johnson Computational Research Facility at the Langley Research Center to commemorate the hard work she did to help take them to the stars.

Reading Check

Detail 1.What can we learn about Katherine from paragraph 2?

A.She left school at eighth grade.

B.She skipped grades in college.

C.She went to high school at 14.

D.She was gifted in math as a child.

Detail 2.How long did Katherine work at NASA?

A.For 18 years.

B.For 33 years.

C.For 51 years.

D.For 67 years.

Inference 3.Why was Katherine called“computer”in NASA?

A.She played the role of a computer.

B.She calculated as fast as computers.

C.She was in charge of computers.

D.She was skilled in operating computers.

Inference 4.What's the purpose of the text?

A.To tell us about some female scientists at NASA.

B.To show a great female mathematician's decision.

C.To introduce Katherine Johnson,who was called“computer”.

D.To present Katherine Johnson's great educational background.

Language Study

Ⅰ.Discover useful structures in the text

1.不定式作目的状语

To realize her math potential,her father drove his family 120 miles to Institute,West Virginia,where blacks could continue high school education.为了发挥她的数学潜能，她的父亲开了120 英里，带着家人去了西弗吉尼亚州的Institute，在那里黑人可以继续接受高中教育。

2.which引导的非限制性定语从句

She began working for NASA,which began hiring women to measure and calculate the results of wind tunnel tests in 1935.她开始为美国国家航空航天局（NASA）工作，该局于1935年开始雇佣女性来测算风洞试验的结果。

Ⅱ.Memorize some theme-centered chunks

be born in 出生于

graduate from 从……毕业

stay-at-home 全职照顾家庭的

widespread recognition 广泛的认可

pass away 逝世

at the age of 在……岁时