002 我的拓荒女教师生涯

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My name is Elizabeth Willard, and I am a 22-year-old teacher

我叫伊丽莎白·威拉德，是一名22岁的教师。

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I graduated from the Hartford Female Seminary in Connecticut, one of the

first schools in America that trains female teachers.

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In 1854 I began teaching in the new territory of Kansas, an area

located in the middle of the United States.

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There are many teaching jobs in the West because many whites

have been settling here from the East.

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New frontier towns have popped up everywhere

新的边疆小镇到处涌现。

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My teacher training started when I was twenty, and I learned

spelling, mathematics, and music.

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Before graduation my classmates and I were invited to teach

out West when we completed our studies.

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Some teaching students accepted the offer, and I was one of them

一些师范生接受了邀请，我就是其中之一。

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We trained for frontier life by carrying pails

of water and chopping firewood.

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We needed to be tough to face the many hardships ahead

我们需要变得坚强，才能面对未来的重重艰辛。

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When we graduated, a school committee gave us our teaching posts

and I was assigned to a school in Kansas.

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All the teachers traveled west in the spring, and since it was unsafe for

women to travel alone, my father went with me.

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First, we rode on horseback for two weeks, about eight hundred kilometers

from Hartford, Connecticut, to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

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Then, we took a steamboat down the Ohio River from Pittsburgh

through the states of Ohio and Kentucky.

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After 12 days we arrived in Old Shawneetown, Illinois, and

from there I took a stagecoach on my own.

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After ten days and another eight hundred kilometers, I arrived at

my final destination—Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

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Suddenly I was alone in a strange town, and I had nowhere

to stay. So I went to the schoolhouse.

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With so few trees for lumber on the prairie, sod and dirt had been used

to build the small school, rather than wood.

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There was only one room and two windows

那里只有一个房间和两扇窗户。

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The bathroom was outside, and a little fence wrapped around the schoolyard

厕所位于外面，校园周围围着一圈矮栅栏。

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Some of the town's children came by to see me

镇上的一些孩子顺道来看我。

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One little girl named Abby said I would be staying with her family

一个叫艾比的小女孩说，我会住在她家里。

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" Boarding around," or staying in students' homes

is common for frontier teachers.

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I would have to help Abby's family with the chores, but

I was happy to accept their offer.

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Boarding helps me save money, since I make only one hundred and fifty

dollars a year—half the salary of a male teacher.

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Most of my students live on farms, so the school year must fit between

the fall harvest and the spring planting.

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During my first year, the class size varied from 3 to 25 children

第一年，班级人数从3个到25个孩子不等。

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Some of the children do farm work and other chores

and cannot attend every day.

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My students' ages range from four to twenty years old

我的学生年龄从四岁到二十岁不等。

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In my classroom I have a small desk up front, and

my students sit on benches in rows.

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There is one blackboard, and we have no books except for a Bible

只有一块黑板，除了《圣经》外没有别的书。

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Sometimes the children bring in old newspapers or magazines from home

孩子们有时会从家里带来旧报纸或杂志。

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We have no paper supplies, so my students write their

lessons on flat rocks called slates.

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They write with a soft piece of rock called a slate pen

他们用一种叫石笔的软石来写字。

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Most of my students behave well in class, but

sometimes I have to punish them.

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If a child talks during a lesson, I put a whispering

stick in his or her mouth.

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This is a small wooden stick that is held in place by a piece of

cloth that I tie around the student's head.

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The child is forced to bite on the stick and cannot speak

孩子被迫咬住这根棍子，就说不了话。

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Sometimes if a student never knows the correct answer to a question, I put

a pointy hat on their head with the word "Dunce" written on it.

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When a student wears the dunce cap, it means he or she is not very smart

学生戴上笨蛋帽时，就表示他或她不太聪明。

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My first winter was very hard. The temperature sometimes

dropped to -23 degrees Celsius.

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The snow started falling in November and did not stop until April

雪从十一月开始下，一直下到第二年四月才停。

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The only heat we had was a potbellied stove in the classroom

and it was smoky and hard to light.

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I'd arrive at school early to chop firewood for the whole day

我得早早到校，为全天劈好柴火。

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Children close to the stove would get too hot. Others

in the back of the room, almost froze.

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It was so cold that my students' lunches of dried fruit

and salted meat would sometimes freeze.

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Some children became sick and died during the year

这一年里，有些孩子生病去世了。

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We all were happy when spring finally arrived

春天终于来了，我们大家都很开心。

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I am now at the end of my first year, and I am very lonely

如今，我的第一年快结束了，我觉得非常孤单。

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When I took this job, I promised not to marry for two years

so I could devote myself to my students.

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In my free time, I sew quilts and patch my clothes

空闲时，我就缝缝被子、补补衣裳。

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I go to church and visit the friends I have met there

我去教堂，也去看望在那儿认识的朋友。

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I have heard that some teachers have already gone home

because the life out here is too difficult.

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But I would like to stay on for another year

但我想再留下来教一年。

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I have grown to love my students and the progress we all have made

我渐渐爱上了我的学生，也爱上了我们一起取得的进步。