参考译文：

杰姬.考克伦乘风在星际中旅行

杰奎琳.考克伦就是著名的杰姬，她说她生于1910年，但具体出生时间她并不知道，在她还是婴儿的时候，她的父母就死了，是另一对夫妇收养了她，他们成了她法定的父母。这对夫妇很穷，他们在佛罗里达州和乔治亚州的一些小镇上居住。杰姬只上了两年学，随后她就在一家棉花加工厂干活了，那时，她只有八岁，她每小时挣六美分。

后来，杰姬本想学习当一名护士，但她决定当一名美发师，也就是为别人修剪头发的人。她在南方上了一所特殊学校，并在好几个美容店干活。随后，她决定到纽约去。在纽约，她在一家很好的美容店工作。在一次出差中，她遇到了一位非常富有的金融专家佛洛伊德.奥莱姆，她劝杰姬学习飞行。他还帮助她建立了后来取得非常成功的企业，杰姬有一个销售她自己的美容产品的梦想。在当时，美国经济出现了严重的问题，即正处于经济大萧条时期。佛罗伊德对杰姬说，大量销售美容产品而使她的公司取得成功是很难的，她必须把她的产品销售到全国。他说，要想产品覆盖全国，她就需要翅膀。她认为这是一个伟大的主意。

多少年后，杰姬.考克伦回忆起当时她如何对她的朋友们说想要学飞行，他们都警告她说，这是很难的。但她并不这么认为。所以，她来到了位于纽约长岛的罗斯福空军基地学习飞行。在经过两周半的学习，她获得了正式的飞行员执照。她立即飞到了加拿大的蒙特利尔，那一年是1932年。三年后，她参加了从加州的洛杉机到俄亥俄州的克里夫兰的邦迪克斯杯飞行比赛，这场比赛对于男女飞行员而言都是非常重要的。在她第一次试飞时，考克伦的飞机出现了问题，她没能完成比赛，另一位年轻的女飞行员阿米莉娅.埃尔哈特获得了第五名。

在1936年，杰姬与佛罗伊德结婚，她继续经营她的公司—杰奎琳化妆品公司，而他继续支持她的飞行。在1937年，阿米莉娅.埃尔哈特尝试环球飞行，她在飞行中失踪了。一个女飞行员组织举办了一个纪念会来纪念她，杰姬.考克伦在这次纪念会上发表演讲，她说：“我们哀悼她的失踪，但我们并不为她的努力而遗憾，我们将实现她未竟的目标。”

一个月后，官方公告说，埃尔哈特消失在大海中。考克伦再次参加邦迪克斯杯飞行比赛，她是参加此次比赛的唯一一名女飞行员，她第三个完成了比赛获得冠军，她超过了那些被认为是美国最强的男飞行员。这位获胜者驾驶的是一架新型军用飞机，这架飞机是由亚历山大.D.斯维斯基设计的，斯维斯基是从俄罗斯来到美国的。斯维斯基想把这架能够长途飞行的新型飞机出售给美国空军。他认为，如果能有一名女飞行员在一场飞行比赛中驾驶这架飞机并取得好成绩，那么军方就会注意他的这架飞机。所以，他请求考克伦在邦迪克斯杯飞行比赛中驾驶他的这架飞机，她立即就同意了。

斯维斯基在机翼上增加了额外的燃料箱，他想向人们展示，他的这架飞机在不停顿的情况下能够飞得很远。考克伦将是使用这一新系统的第一位飞行员。在正式比赛前，有二十一名飞行员参加了比赛前的测试，只有十名飞行员通过了测试，九男一女，这个女飞行员就是杰姬。这次比赛在一个午夜从加州的伯班克开始，有四万人聚集在这里观看此次比赛。斯维斯基的飞机在考克伦的驾驶下飞速地驶离跑道，它那银白色的机翼和机身在机场的灯光映照下熠熠生辉，这架飞机离开跑道、向上爬升，消失在黑夜之中。

在俄亥俄州的克里夫兰也有一群人正在等待着比赛飞机的到来，当第一架飞机着陆越过终点线时，他们热情欢呼，这是由杰姬.考克伦驾驶的银白色的飞机，她赢得了这次比赛。考克伦在八小时十分钟的时间里飞行了3270公里，她中途没有停下来加油，也就只有她在起飞前几钟才知道有足够的燃料。这一年，杰姬除了获得这次比赛，她还获得了其他一些东西，那就是人们的赞誉，她得到了哈姆杯，这是美国授予一名飞行员的最高奖，她先后十三次获得哈姆杯。

第二年，也就是1939年，第二次世界大战在欧洲暴发了，考克伦认为女飞行员在这次战争中也能发挥作用，她认为她们应该获准参加军事运输飞行。她说，如果这样的话，那么就会有更多男飞行员架机参加战斗。在1940年，她努力寻求美国空军支持她的这一想法，考克伦给美国总统富兰克林.罗斯福的妻子埃莉诺写信，她说，战时真正面临的问题是缺乏有训练的飞行员，她指出，许多妇女已经得到了飞行训练。

考克伦得到许可到英国，在新近成立的英国空中运输辅助站观测女飞行员，她在那呆了好几年，到1943年，美国认识到它需要更多的飞行员，美国空军总司令亨利.阿诺德将军访问英国，他要求考克伦回国组织一个培训女飞行员的项目，这个组织就是著名的美国空军妇女飞行队，即WASPs，这个飞行组织存在了两年。在这短暂的时间里，这些妇女学习驾驶七十七种军用飞机，有1074名妇女参加了这支飞行队，他们共飞行了近一百万公里，他们从来都不是美国空军正式的一部分，他们被认为是文职雇员。

到二战结束时，美国政府授予杰姬.考克伦杰出服务勋章，以表彰她组织了美国空军妇女飞行队(WASPs)。战后，她和阿诺德将军一起工作，她帮助起草创建美国空军预备队的法案，她成为该预备队的第一名女性成员，她最终成为一名军人。

在二十世纪四十年代后期，考克伦再次参加飞行比赛，她创造了好几项飞行纪录。在1954年，她进入了喷气机时代。加拿大政府同意让她来测试一种新型的战斗飞机，在这次试飞中，她成为第一位驾驶超音速飞机的女性。

在二十世纪六十年代初，她成为洛克希德公司的一名试飞员，她以每小时2286公里的速度驾驶一架战斗机，这一速度是音速的两倍，这是迄今为止女性飞行员所能达到的最快速度。

杰姬.考克伦在1964年出售了她的化妆品公司，1980年，她因心脏病发作去逝。在她去逝时，无论是与男飞行员相比，还是与女飞行员相比，在飞行史上，她都拥有飞行速度、飞行距离和飞行高度等多项纪录。她从一个很低的起点，达到了生意和飞行的最高点。

杰姬.考克伦并没有其他一些伟大的飞行员那样出名，有一位历史学家说，人们尊重她，但并不真正地喜欢她，她为其他女性当飞行员开辟了道路，但她并没有把她们当成是朋友。杰姬.考克伦在空中的感觉非常好，她曾经描述她在空中的感觉，她说：“被地球所束缚的灵魂只有在生活在大气层下面的人们才能知道，但当你向上升起，向上，再向上，进入天空，天空转暗，当你升到足够高的时候，那么你在中午都能看到星星，我已经，我已经能够乘风在星际间旅行。”

简评：

一个令人同情的女孩，却取得了非同寻常的成就；一个起点非常低的人，却达到了人生的顶点。也许她有这样或那样的不足，但，不可否认，她是一位非常了不起的女性!我敬重她。

看到她在八岁时就进入一家玉米加工厂干活，就不由想起我自己。与她相比，我实在是太幸运了。她只读了两年书，而我的学习一直没有断。我也从小就干活，但，那也没有她那么小就干活。八岁，那是一个什么样的年龄？照顾自己都很难，却已经能为家里挣钱，尽管每小时只有区区的六分钱。记得，我在十三岁时候，随父亲参加生产队的劳动，每天挣工分二分，当时，一个成年能干的劳力能挣到工分十分，而十分相当于多少钱呢？只相当于七、八角钱，那么我的二分呢？

与她相比，我更是无地自容了。她无论是在商业上，还是在飞行上都取得了最好的成就。而我，至今可以说是一无所有，平淡的不能再平淡，别说什么成就，就是持家养身，也不能尽如人意。

好在，路还在我的脚下，我还有很多的机会，还有很多的时间，只要每天都能够迈出坚实的脚步，虽然与她相比，有着那么大的差距，但也能缩小与她的差距。

Jackie Cochran Traveled With the Wind and Stars 

Jacqueline Cochran was known as Jackie.  She said she was born in nineteen ten.  She did not really know.  Her parents died when she was a baby.  Another man and woman adopted her.  They became her legal parents. These people were very poor.  They lived in several towns in Florida and Georgia.  Jackie went to school for just two years. Then she began work in a cotton factory.  She was eight years old.  She earned six cents an hour. 

Later, Jackie studied to be a nurse.  But, she decided to be a beautician, a person who cuts and fixes other people's hair.  She went to a special school and worked in several beauty shops in the South.  Then, she decided to move to New York City.  There she worked in a very fine beauty shop.  On a business trip, she met a wealthy financial expert, Floyd Odlum. He urged Jackie to learn to fly.  He also helped her establish what was to become a very successful business. Jackie had dreamed of selling her own beauty products.  At that time, the United States was in severe economic trouble, the Great Depression.  Floyd told Jackie it would be very difficult to sell enough beauty products to make her company successful.  She would have to sell them all across America. To cover the territory, he said, she would need wings.  She thought it was a great idea. 

Years later, Jackie Cochran remembered how she talked with her friends about learning to fly.  They all warned her how difficult it would be.  She did not think so.  So she went to Roosevelt Field on New York's Long Island to learn how.  After two-and-a-half weeks of lessons, she received her official pilot's license.  She immediately flew to Montreal, Canada.  The year was nineteen thirty-two. Three years later, she competed in the Bendix Trophy Race from Los Angeles, California to Cleveland, Ohio.  The race was an important competition for both male and female pilots.  In her first try, Cochran had trouble with her plane. She failed to finish.  Another young female pilot, Amelia Earhart, finished fifth.

In nineteen thirty-six, Jackie and Floyd were married.  She continued to operate her company, Jacqueline Cochran Cosmetics. And he continued to support her flying activities.  In nineteen thirty-seven, Amelia Earhart attempted to fly around the world.  She disappeared during that flight.  A group of female pilots held a memorial ceremony to honor her.  Jackie Cochran spoke at the ceremony.  "We can mourn her loss," Cochran said, "but not regret her effort.  We will carry on her goals."

A month after Earhart was declared lost at sea, Cochran flew again in the Bendix Trophy Race.  She was the only female pilot. She finished in third place, ahead of several of America's toughest male pilots.  The winner of that race flew a new kind of military plane.  It was designed by Alexander de Seversky.  He had come to the United States from Russia. Seversky wanted to sell his new long-distance plane to the United States Army Air Corps.  He thought the army would notice his plane if a female pilot flew it in a race and did well.  So he asked Cochran to fly it in the next Bendix race.  She accepted immediately. 

Seversky added extra fuel containers in the wings.  He wanted to show that the plane could fly long distances without stopping. Cochran would be the first pilot to use the new system.  Twenty-one pilots flew a test course before the race.  Only ten completed it successfully --  nine men and Jackie Cochran.  The race began in Burbank, California, in the middle of the night.  Forty thousand people were there to watch.  Seversky's plane, with Cochran at the controls, speeded down the runway. Its silver wings and body shone in the lights around the airfield.  The plane lifted off the runway, climbed up and disappeared into the darkness. 

Another crowd was waiting in Cleveland, Ohio.  They cheered as the first plane landed

and crossed the finish line.  It was the silver plane flown by Jackie Cochran.  She had won the race.  Cochran had flown three thousand two hundred seventy kilometers in eight hours and ten minutes.  She had done it without stopping.  But only she knew there was enough fuel left to fly just a few more minutes.  Jackie Cochran won something else that year -- recognition.  She received the Harmon Trophy, the highest award given to a pilot in America.  She would win the Harmon Trophy thirteen more times. 

The next year, nineteen thirty-nine, World War Two started in Europe.  Cochran believed female pilots could help in the war effort.  She thought they should be permitted to fly military transport planes.  In that way, she said, more male pilots would be free to fly combat planes.  In nineteen forty, she tried to get the United States Army Air Force to support her idea.  Cochran wrote to President Franklin Roosevelt's wife, Eleanor.  She said the real problem in wartime was likely to be a lack of trained pilots.  Many women, she noted, already were trained. 

Cochran received permission to go to England to observe female pilots in the newly formed British Air Transport Auxiliary.  She stayed there several years.  By nineteen forty-three, the United States realized that it did need more pilots.  The commander of America's Army Air Forces, General Henry Arnold, visited England.  He asked Cochran to come home and organize a program for female pilots.  The group would be known as the Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs.  The group existed for two years.  During that brief time, the women learned to fly seventy-seven kinds of military planes.  One thousand seventy-four women served as WASPs.  They flew almost one hundred million kilometers.  They were never officially part of the Army Air Forces.  They were considered civilian employees. 

At the end of World War Two, the American government gave Jackie Cochran the Distinguished Service Medal for organizing the WASPs. She was the first civilian to receive the honor.  After the war, she worked with General Arnold.  She helped write a bill that created America's Air Force Reserve.  She became the first female member.  She was finally a member of the military. 

In the late nineteen forties, Cochran started racing again.  She set many more flying records.  In nineteen fifty-four, she entered the jet age.  The Canadian government agreed to let her test its new fighter plane.  In it, she became the first woman to fly faster than the speed of sound.  

In the early nineteen sixties, she became a test pilot for the Lockheed Company.  She flew a fighter plane two thousand two hundred eighty-six kilometers an hour.  That was more than two times the speed of sound. It was the fastest speed ever reached by a female pilot.

Jackie Cochran sold her beauty products company in nineteen sixty-four.  She died of a heart attack in nineteen eighty.  At the time of her death, she held more speed, distance and altitude records than any other pilot -- man or woman -- in aviation history. She had risen from a lowly beginning to the heights of business and flight.

Jackie Cochran is not as well known as some of the other great pilots.  One history expert said people respected her, but did not really like her.  She led the way for other female pilots. But she did not seek their company as friends.  Jackie Cochran felt very much at home in the sky.  She once described her feelings about flying.  This is what she said: "Earth-bound souls know only that underside of the atmosphere in which they live.  But go up higher, and the sky turns dark.  High up enough, and one can see the stars at noon.  I have.  I have traveled with the wind and the stars."

 http://www.wwenglish.com/m07/voa/spec/2008/05/wwenglish.com_exp080507.mp3