The Queen of the Air
Date: 2015-10-07; view: 567.
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale was born in 1820 into a wealthy family in Italy, but grew up and went to school in England. When she was 17, she decided that she wanted to be a nurse, although her family did not think that this was a suitable job for their young daughter. However, Florence's work in a London hospital was so effective that the British government asked her to be in charge of the nursing of wounded soldiers abroad. After working in Europe, she returned to England and opened the Nightingale School of Nursing in London, the first school of this kind.
Amy Johnson was from the north of England and first became interested in flying while she was working as a secretary in London. In 1929, she was awarded her pilot's licence and a year later tried to break the record for a solo flight from Britain to Australia. She flew alone from London to Darwin in a small plane. This took 19 days and she stopped many times in Europe, Asia and on islands in the Pacific Ocean. Although Amy missed the record by just three days, she became very popular with the British people, who called her the Queen of the Air. Amy Johnson made many other long-distance flights, and in 1936 broke the record for a solo flight from London to South Africa. She also flew planes for the British army during the Second World War, and was killed in a plane crash in 1941.
Definitions:
| argue for | to clearly explain why you think something is true or should be done |
| degree | the qualification given to someone who has successfully finished a university course |
| encourage | to try to persuade someone to do something, especially by making them more confident |
| inspector | someone whose job is to check that something is of a good enough standard and that rules are being obeyed |
| personal | involving someone's private life, their feelings, health and relationships |
| positive | having a good or useful effect |
| role | the position that someone has in a situation or activity |
| be in charge of | to be the person who controls or is responsible for someone or something |
| effective | producing the result that was wanted |
| flight | a journey in a plane |
| impressive | making you admire something |
| licence | an official document that gives you permission to do something |
| nursing | the job of looking after people who are ill, injured or very poor |
| solo | done alone, without anyone else helping you |
| suitable | right or acceptable for a particular purpose or situation |
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