琼·哈珀的梦想

In 1959， when Jean Harper was in the third grade， her teacher gave the class an assignment1 to write a report on what they wanted to be when they grew up.

1959年，琼·哈珀上三年级的时候，有一次，老师给全班同学布置了一篇作文，让大家写一写自己长大以后想干什么。

Jeans father was a crop duster2 pilot in the little farming community in Northern California where she was raised， and Jean was very interested in airplanes and flying. She poured her heart into her report and included all of her dreams. She wanted to crop dust， make parachute3 jumps， and be an airline pilot. Her paper came back with an“F” on it. The teacher told her it was a “fairytale4” and that none of the occupations5 she listed were womens jobs. Jean was heartbroken and humiliated6.

那时候琼的父亲是北加利福尼亚农场小区的一名给作物喷洒农药的飞机驾驶员。琼就是在那里长大的，所以，一直以来琼就非常痴迷于飞机和飞行。对于老师布置的这篇作文，琼全神倾注地去写，把她所有的梦想都写进去了：她想驾驶着飞机给作物喷洒农药，她想去跳傘，她想成为一名飞行员。可是，最后，她的这篇作文却只得了一个“F”（failure是“不及格”的意思）。老师告诉她那是一篇“童话”，因为她所列举的工作没有一项是女人能够胜任的。琼听了之后伤心透了，并且感到了耻辱。

One day in her senior year of high school， her English teacher Mrs. Dorothy Slaton gave the class an assignment. “If you had unlimited7 money， unlimited access8 to the finest schools， unlimited talents and abilities， what would you do？” Jean felt a rush of her old enthusiasm9， and with excitement she wrote down all her old dreams.

在琼高中最后一年的某天，她的英语老师——多萝西·斯莱顿夫人给全班同学布置了一篇作业：“同学们，如果你们有足够的金钱，有充分的机会到最好的学校去上学，并且你们本身又具有足够的天赋和才能，那么，你们将会干什么呢？”琼的心中涌起了以往的热情，带着激动的心情，她把多年前的梦想全都写了下来。

The next thing that Mrs. Slaton said changed Jeans life. The teacher leaned10 forward over her desk and said， “You do have unlimited abilities and talents. When you leave school， if you dont go for your dreams， no one will do it for you. You can have what you want if you want it enough.”

斯莱顿夫人接下来说的一番话改变了琼的人生。她在讲台前稍稍俯身对同学们说：“你们每一个人的确都有足够的才能和天赋。当你们离开学校之后，如果自己不去追求梦想，那么，没有人会帮你去实现你自己的梦想。只要你们有强烈的愿望并且去努力，就能够实现你的梦想。”

The hurt and fear of years of discouragement11 went away because of what Mrs. Slaton had said. Jean felt excited and a little scared. She stayed after class and went up to the teachers desk. Jean thanked Mrs. Slaton and told her about her dream of becoming a pilot. Mrs. Slaton started to get to her feet and hit the desk. “Then do it！” she said.

多年来的沮丧以及气馁带给她的伤害和畏惧，在斯莱顿夫人这番话之后消失了。琼感到振奋，也有一点害怕。下课之后，她留下来走到讲台前，感谢斯莱顿夫人，并且告诉斯莱顿夫人她的梦想是成为一名飞行员。斯莱顿夫人随即站了起来，拍了一下桌子，说：“那就努力去实现它！”

So Jean did. It didnt happen overnight. It took her l0 years of hard work. It wasnt in Jeans nature to stand up for herself when someone refused or laughed at her. Instead， she would quietly try to find another way.

琼这样做了，但这不是一朝一夕能实现的。琼为之苦苦奋斗了10年。在这10年里，有人反对或羞辱她时，琼本性是不愿默默忍受的，然而她却悄悄地努力寻求另外的门路。

She became a private pilot and then flew planes as a copilot12. In 1978， she became one of the first three female pilot trainees13 ever accepted by United Airlines and one of only 50 women airline pilots in the nation at the time. Some years later， Jean Harper became a Boeing 737 captain for United Airlines.

终于，她成了一名私人飞机的驾驶员，之后还成为了一名客机副驾驶。1978年，她成为联合航空公司首批录取的三位女性实习飞行员之一，而当时，整个美国也只有50名女性飞行员。几年后，琼·哈珀成为了联合航空公司波音737客机的机长。