阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中选出最佳选项。

　　In the 1920s and 30s the airlines were just beginning．It was unusual for people to travel by air because it was expensive and dangerous．In those days, there were no flight attendants to look after the passengers．Young men ,or “stewards” helped the passengers onto the airplane and carried the passengers' luggage(行李)but they did not provide food and drinks．But then in 1930,a woman called Ellen Church invented the “stewardess”．

　　Ellen Church was born in 1904 on a farm in Iowa．She was a different child．She didn't want to work on a farm or marry a farmer －she wanted a more adventurous(冒险的)life．Ellen studied to be a nurse at the University of Minnesota and then got a job in a hospital．For the next few years she stayed at the hospital but also took flying lessons and got her pilot's license．

　　Ellen was twenty-five years old when she first got in touch with Boeing Air Transport．She loved flying but she understood that airlines were a man's world．Although women like Emelia Earheart were becoming famous, she realized it was impossible for a woman to have a career as a pilot．But she had another idea．Most people were frightened of flying because．flying was still an unreliable(不可靠的) way to travel．There were often delays(延误),many crashes and the bad weathers made many passengers sick．Ellen thought nurses could take care of passengers during flights and B．A．T．agreed．

　　The young woman from Iowa and seven other nurses became the first air stewardesses．

　　At first pilots were unhappy because they did not want stewardesses on airplanes, but passengers loved the stewardesses．In 1940 there were around 1000 of them working for different airlines．The early “stewardesses” had to be under twenty-five-year-old, single and slim．When a woman joined an airline, she had to promise not to get married or have children．It was hard job and not well paid They worked long hours and earned ＄1 an hour．

　　In the 1970s, stewardesses were unhappy in their job and airlines had to make some changes．Since the 1970s, “stewardesses” have been called flight attendants．They are well paid and work fewer hours than in the past．

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　　My first performance (表演) in front of an audience was coming up soon．

　　I tried as hard as I could to remain calm, but my heart was racing．I stared down at my sweat-covered, shaking hands．

　　I looked up again at the audience, realizing that these were real people．They were not just my mum and dad, who would say, “Good job!” even if I messed up the entire piece．

　　What if I had the wrong music? What if I played the wrong notes?

　　As it turned out, I was never able to answer these questions because the spotlight (聚光灯) was waiting for me．I grasped my hands tightly together, drying off the sweat．

　　Slowly I walked to the mud-brown piano in the center of the room．It contained 88 demanding keys, which were waiting impatiently to be played．．

I swallowed the golf-ball-sized lump (隆起部分) in my throat and sat down．Slowly, I opened the music．．

Next, I rested my still shaking hands on the ivory (象牙色的) keys．

　　As my fingers played across the keys, I was becoming more unsure of my preparation for this moment．But the memory of my years of training came flooding back．I knew that I had practised this piece so many times that I could play it backwards if requested．

　　Although at one point I accidentally played two keys instead of the intended one, I continued to move my fingers automatically (自动地)．

　　My eyes burned holes into (were fixed on) the pages in front of me．

　　There was no way that I was going to lose my concentration．To keep this to myself, I leaned forward and focused carefully on the music．

　　When I came to the end of the page, a warning went off inside my head：DON’T MAKE A MISTAKE WHEN YOU TURN THE PAGE!

　　Needless to say, I obeyed myself with all my heart and mind．．

And, proud of my “page-turning” feat (技艺), I finished the rest of the piece without making a single mistake．

　　After the final note died away, a celebration went into action inside my head．．

I had finished．．

I had mastered the impossible．

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