When Diana Trujillo was just 17 years old, she left her hometown of Cali in Colombia and immigratedto the United States. All she had with her when she arrived was US$300 and a dream. Diana had always loved to stare at the stars in the night sky, and her dream was to work for NASA.
Diana’s path was not easy, and she faced many obstacles. She didn’t know any English before arriving in the US, so she had to take classes. She worked as a house cleaner to pay for her schooling. After working three more jobs, she had enough money to attend space science courses at a university. She began studying aerospaceengineering at the University of Florida.
While studying in Florida, she successfully applied to the NASA Academy, becoming the first Latino woman to do so. On the advice ofa NASAroboticsexpert, she then transferred to the University of Maryland. In 2007, all her hard work paid off, and she graduated with a degree in aerospace engineering. She was immediately offered a job by NASA, proving that dreams can come true if you work hard and never give up. In 2020, Diana became one of the four flight directors on the Mars Perseveranceroverproject.
Words & Phrases
1. immigrate [ ˋɪmə͵gret ] vi.（從他國）移入∕移民 emigrate [ ˋɛmə͵gret ] vi.（往外）移居
Yuki’s grandfather immigrated to Canada from Japan 50 years ago. 小雪的爺爺於五十年前從日本移民至加拿大。
★ 2. stare at... 盯著……；注視…… Generally, it’s considered rude to stare at people. 通常，盯著別人看被認為是很無禮的。
★ 3. obstacle [ ˋɑbstək! ] n. 障礙
Violence is always an obstacle to social harmony. 暴力一直是社會和諧的一個阻礙。
4. work as... 擔任……（職務） Shelly has worked as a sales manager for six years. 雪莉已經擔任了六年的銷售經理。
5. apply to + 機關 ∕ 學校 ∕ 公司等 向機關∕學校∕公司等提出申請 Darius has applied to the bank for a loan. 達瑞士已向銀行申請貸款。
★ 6. transfer to... 轉學到…… Vanessa transferred to another school because of high tuition fees. 由於學費高昂，凡妮莎轉學到另一所學校。 * tuition [ tyu`ISJn ] n. 學費
7. pay off （努力）得到回報 Alfred studied hard before the examination, and it paid off as he received a high score. 艾佛瑞考試前認真念書，而他也獲得回報拿到了高分。
★ 8. immediately [ ɪˋmidɪɪtlɪ ] adv. 立刻，馬上
This old song immediately reminded Ruby of her childhood memories. 這首老歌讓露比立刻想起了她的童年記憶。
Extra Words & Phrases
► NASA [ `næsə ] n. 美國航太總署（全名為 National Aeronautics and Space Administration）
► schooling [ ˋskulɪŋ ] n. 學業，就學
► aerospace [ ˋɛrə͵spes ] a. 航太的
► on the advice of sb 在某人的建議之下
► robotics [ roˋbɑtɪks ] n. 機器人學
► perseverance [ ͵pɝsəˋvɪrəns ] n. 毅力，堅持不懈
► rover [ ˋrovɚ ] n.（用於地球以外行星的）探測器
You Can Do This
請從下欄選出最適合的句子來完成該句
1.Luke’s girlfriend kept
2.Clark has been
3.Krista’s hard training finally
A. working as a clerk in that shop since 1999. B. paid off when she won the championship. C. applied to the company for employment. D. staring at him as he was talking to the girl.
答案: 1. D 2. A 3. B
中文翻譯
一位永不放棄摘星的女子
在黛安娜．特魯希略年僅十七歲時，她就離開了家鄉 ── 哥倫比亞的卡利，移民來到美國。她抵達美國時身上僅有三百美元，以及一個夢想。黛安娜總是熱愛凝望夜空裡的星星，而她的夢想便是進入 NASA 工作。
在佛羅里達唸書時，黛安娜成功申請進入 NASA 學院，成為了第一個達成此目標的拉丁美洲女性。在 NASA 中的機器人學專家建議下，她接著轉學到了馬里蘭大學。在 2007 年，她的努力終於有了回報，她畢業並取得航太工程學位。NASA 立刻就給她一份工作，這證明了如果持續努力並永不放棄，你的夢想將會實現。2020 年，黛安娜成為了毅力號火星探測器計畫的四位飛行指揮官之一。
