Soong Meiling (1897- 2003)， born in Shanghai， attended Mctyeire School， an American private school， in Shanghai at the age of eight. She graduated with honours in 1917 with major in English literature and minor in philosophy in Wellesley College. She spoke excellent English with a Georgia accent which helped her connect with American audiences in her later life.
宋美龄（1897-2003），同样出生于上海，8岁时进入一家在上海办学的美国私立学校，后在威尔斯利学院主修英国文学辅修哲学，于1917年以优异的成绩毕业。宋美龄讲一口流利英语，还略带佐治亚口音，使其后来与美国的联系中受益颇多。
She met Chiang Kai-shek in 1920. At that time， Chiang Kai-shek was 11 years her senior， already married， and a Buddhist. Meiling's mother strong opposed the marriage， and insisted that Chiang could only marry her daughter if he could divorce his first wife and became a Christian. After their marriage in 1927， Soong Meiling immediately engaged herself in politics. In 1945， she became a member of the Central Executive Committee of the Kuomintang.
宋美龄与蒋介石在1920年结识。那时的蒋介石长她11岁，已婚，还是佛教徒。宋母强烈反对二人的婚姻，并坚持只有蒋介石离婚并且皈依基督教才肯将女儿嫁与他。1927年二人结婚后，宋美龄即刻投身政治，1945年加入国民党中央执行委员会。
As her husband rose to become Generalissimo and leader of the Kuomintang， Meiling acted as his English translator， secretary and advisor. Since she was well versed in Chinese and Western cultures， she became popular in China and abroad. Through her personal friendship with President Franklin Roosevelt and his wife， Meiling successfully drummed up American support for China's war of resistance against the Japanese aggression (1937-1945). She was the first Chinese woman to address the US Congress. Chiang Kai-shek's undivided effort to eliminate the Communists in China during Japan's invasion put China in the most perilous state. However， he was convinced by Meiling that the immediate task at that point in time was to join hands with the Communists to fight the Japanese.
随着蒋介石一路崛起成为国民革命军总司令及国民党总裁，宋美龄则担当了其英语翻译、秘书和顾问的角色。由于她精通于中外文化，在中外都颇受欢迎。通过与罗斯福总统及夫人的私交，宋美龄成功说服了美国为中国抗日战争提供帮助。蒋介石一度不惜余力的清共政策将抗战时期的中国置于危险境地，而宋美龄说服了他联共抗日才是当务之急。
After the defeat of the Kuomingtang by the Communists in China in 1949， Meiling together with her husband and many government and military officials fled to Taiwan. Meiling continued to play an active role in international affairs. Through the late 1960s she was elected one of America's 10 most admired women. Her political adeptness was one of the driving forces of the Kuomintang leadership.
1949年国民党战败后，宋美龄随蒋介石及其他众多政府、军事官员逃至台湾。而她继续活跃在国际舞台上。20世纪60年代末，她被当选为美国最受爱戴的女性之一。她的政治熟练度也是国民党领导不可或缺的推动力量。
After the death of her husband in 1975，Meiling emigrated from Taiwan to her family's 36 acre estate in Long Island in the suburb of New York City She sold her Long Island estate in 2000 and moved to her Manhattan apartment where she spent the rest of her life. During her 28 years'stay in the United States， she returned to Taiwan only three times. She died in her sleep in 2003 at the age of 106.
1975年蒋介石去世后，宋美龄离开台湾，移民美国纽约城郊长岛上36英亩的地产。2000年她卖掉了长岛的地产搬到曼哈顿的公寓，并在那里度过了余生。在美国的28年里，她仅仅回台3次，在平静中度过了晚年时光。2003年寿终正寝，享年106岁。
核心词汇
1.descendant [di?send(?)nt] n. 后裔，子孙
例：The Colonel was a descendant of President George Washington.
上校是美国第一任总统乔治·华盛顿的后代。
2.aggression [??ɡre??n] n. 侵略，进攻
例：We will smash any aggression.
我们将粉碎任何侵略。
3.calligraphy [k??liɡr?fi]n. 书法；笔记
例：Her calligraphy as well as her painting can be rated as superb works of art.
她的书画可称双绝。
情景对话
A：Have you ever seen the movie The Soong Sisters？
你看过电影《宋家皇朝》 吗？
B：No. but I know the three sisters are very famous women in China.没有。
不过我知道宋氏三姐妹是中国着名的女性人物。
A：Yes. Some people even regard them as a driving force of Chinese history.
是的。有人甚至认为她们是推动中国历史发展的一股力量。
B：Really I just know that they all married to big shots of China then.
是吗？我只知道她们都嫁给了当时中国的大人物。
A：They not only helped their husbands'carrier， but also made great contribution themselves.
她们不仅帮助了她们各自丈夫的事业，她们自己也做了很大的贡献。
B：But I heard that they are also controversial to some extent. Is it true？
但我也听说她们一定程度上都受到了争议，是这样吗？
A：True， especially as they supported different political ideals.
是的，尤其是因为她们都持不同的政治理念。
B：Maybe only time can give a final say on their legendary lives.
或许只有时间才能对她们的传奇人生有个最后的定夺吧。
知识链接
孙中山
孙中山（1866年11月12日-1925年3月12日，本名孙文，幼名帝象，谱名德明，字载之，号日新，又号逸仙，广东省广州府香山县（今广东中山）翠亨村人，是医师、中国政治家、革命家、中华民族主义者。其流亡日本时，曾有一个广为人知的化名“中山樵”，之后转化成为后世常用的惯称“孙中山”。曾任中国国民党总理、第一任中华民国临时大总统等职，亦为三民主义思想的创建者。
孙中山早年曾受中国传统教育，在香港华人西医书院学习，通晓粤语、官话、英文、日语。他曾经上书李鸿章要求满清政府改革，后因满清政府积弱不振，在檀香山加入兴中会，后在东京合并改组为中国同盟会，担任总理。1911年辛亥革命爆发，孙中山归国后即被选为中华民国临时大总统。
孙中山是最早提倡以革命方式推翻满清统治者，为建立中华民国的国民革命发起者和领导人，他所提出的《三民主义》等政治纲领亦对中国影响深远。他是华人社会乃至于散居于全世界的中国人民至为敬重和尊崇的伟大革命家，中华民国尊其为国父、中国国民党尊其为总理，中国共产党称其为“中国近代民主革命的伟大先行者”。
默片皇后--阮玲玉
The Queen in the Silent Film Period--Ruan Lingyu
Ruan Lingyu ( April 26， 1910 - March 8， 1935)， formerly called Ruan Fenggen， was born in Shanghai in 1910 to a working-class family. As one of the most prominent Chinese film stars of the 1930s， the silent film period， she died at the age of 24 and that made her an icon of Chinese cinema.
阮玲玉（1910年4月26日－1935年3月8日），原名阮凤根，1910年生于上海一个工人家庭。作为中国默片时代最着名女演员之一，阮玲玉24岁的悲剧性早殒使她成为中国电影的一个标志。