Lesson12 The Wright Brothers

When they were young boys,Orville and Wilbur Wright received an inexpensive toy from their father. It was a flying toy made of cork and bamboo.The body was made of paper and the power was supplied by a rubber band.The toy was able to fly across the living room using its own power.
The boys were fascinated.Older brother Wilbur began reading every book and newspaper article he could find about wings and flying machines.Orville later wrote,"We were lucky enough to grow up in an environment where there was always much encouragement to children to pursue intellectual interests; to investigate whatever aroused curiosity." From what he read, he became convinced that it was possible to build an aircraft that would carry a man through the air.
The two brothers worked hard on their dreams for several years. Finally they flew the first manageable aircraft into the air on December 17, 1903.They proved to the world the secrets of human flight.

cork ? 軟木
pursue ? 追求，追尋
convince ? 確信，相信
manageable 可管理的
prove ? 證實，證明

懷特兄弟
當奧威爾和威爾伯•懷特還是小男孩的時候，他們從父親那里得到了一個便宜的玩具。這是一個由軟木和竹子做成的飛行玩具，它的身體是用紙做的，動力由一個橡皮筋提供。這個玩具可以靠其自身的動力在起居室里飛。孩子們對它著了迷。哥哥威爾伯開始讀他所能找到的所有關于機翼和飛行器的書籍和報道。奧威爾在后來寫到，“我們很幸運成長在這樣的環境中，人們總是鼓勵孩子去追尋自己的研究興趣，去鉆研任何引起他們好奇心的東西。”從他所讀過的書中，他確信人類是可以造出載人飛行器的。兄弟倆為著他們的夢想努力工作了多年，終于在1903年12月17日駕駛著第一架可操控的飛行器飛上了天。他們向世界解開了人類飛行之迷。