After growing up on a cattle ranch without running water or electricity, Sandra Day O\'Connor fought to achieve the best education possible. Consistently graduating at the top of her class, she worked her way into Stanford Law School, where she graduated with honors. But despite all of her hard work, Sandra Day O\'Connor was still a woman in the 1950s. Even with the prestige of her degree from Stanford, she was rejected from the entire law circuit as firms preferred to hire less qualified men rather than risk hiring a female lawyer, which was unprecedented. Yet Sandra Day O\'Connor refused to give up
on her dreams. Through sheer persistence she was eventually nominated and then appointed the first woman Supreme Court Justice of the United States of America. There, she acted as a crucial vote on issues like abortionand women\'s rights.
桑德拉·戴·奥康纳成长于既没自来水也没电的养牛场，她努力学习以使自己接受到最好的教育。她的学习成绩在班上始终名列前茅，一路奋斗终于进入了斯坦福大学法学院，并以优异的成绩从法学院毕业。尽管奥康纳勤奋刻苦，但在 20 世纪 50 年代，她仍然受到女人身份的制约。即使斯坦福大学的学位有良好的声誉，她仍被整个法律界拒之门外，因为事务所宁愿聘请才干稍逊的男性，也不愿冒险破例雇佣一位女律师。然而，桑德拉·戴·奥康纳并未放弃梦想。她执著地坚持下去，终于得到提名并被任命为美国第一位女性最高法院大法官。她任职期间，对很多问题，例如堕胎和妇女权利，都起到了极为关键的作用。 Unit 2
On the brink of collapse, I stopped fighting, just letting myself go. My hand hit the jetty. It was like an electric shock that brought me back to my senses. Someone grabbed for me. 我全身都快虚脱了，我不再划水，就这样放松自己顺水而漂。我的手碰上了防波堤，仿佛触电一般，我重新恢复了神志。有人抓住了我。
I felt strong arms lift me. I ascended not only from the sea onto the secure rocks of the jetty - but also to my salvation, leaving behind the terrible fear that had gripped me for so long. I turned my head and saw the boy was hugged tightly by his mother. I looked out to the sea. Weary as I was, the water had never looked so beautiful.
我感觉到强壮有力的手臂将我托起。我不仅从海里爬上防波堤的磐石，而且完成了自我拯救，
