凭借翅膀来横渡大西洋_大学英语阅读

凭借翅膀来横渡大西洋

　　At the age of ten, he learned to drive an automobile. When he was fourteen, his family took a trip to California and he was the driver and mechanic. When he had finished high school two years later, he took over the management of the farm in Little Falls. The family bought its first tractor. When it arrived, he refused to let anyone help him to assemble it. It was clear that he was more interested in machinery than in farming, and in 1918, he enrolled in the University of Wisconsin to study mechanical engineering. He did not finish college because he had decided to become a flier. After that decision, college seemed to be a waste of time. When he took his first airplane ride, he knew for certain that flying would be his career.

　　After his first course of instruction in flying was over, he obtained some practical experience. He joined a group of other fliers who travelled around the country and gave demonstrations of their skill. In 1923, he entered the United States Army Flying School at Brooks Field, Texas, and he received very thorough training there. Then he took a position as chief pilot for the Robertson Aircraft Company, which carried mail by air between St. Louis and Chicago. He was working for this firm when he made the decision to attempt a solo, non-stop flight to Paris.

　　At 12 :10 in the afternoon of May 21, Lindbergh caught sight of the coast of Ireland. Now that the flight was almost over, he began to relax a little. Once over land, he knew that he had a good chance of landing safely. Finally, after thirty-four hours in the air without sleep, he arrived at Le Bourget Field, in Paris.