“Lizzie, there’s a letter for you!” Emily called up the stairs to her sister. Elizabeth looked down. “Is it from Harvard? They refused my application once.” Emily answered, “No, it’s from Yale.” Quickly, Elizabeth walked downstairs. She took the letter and opened it. “Rejected again,” Elizabeth said unhappily. “Who says women can’t be doctors?” “They are fools not to accept you. You can’t let them stop you, Lizzie,” Emily said. “I won’t. I’ll apply to (申请) Geneva Medical College,” Elizabeth told her sister. As it turned out, the professors at Geneva Medical College were not fools. They allowed Elizabeth Blackwell to study medicine. In 1848, a year before Elizabeth would graduate, a typhoid epidemic (伤寒流行病) broke out in New York. Elizabeth wrote to Emily. “There’s an outbreak (爆发) of typhoid, and I am going to help. It is dangerous, so if I should not survive, please do me the honor of studying medicine yourself.” Emily replied, “Encouraged by your dream and success, I have decided to study in medical school, as well.” Having survived the disease, Elizabeth tried to set up a private medical practice. “I graduated first in my class but no one believes a woman can be a good doctor,” she said to Emily one day. “All I hear is that doctors should be men, while women should stay home to cook and clean.” Emily said worriedly, “I will graduate in June with my medical degree. What shall we do?” Elizabeth thought for a while and replied, “There’s a big house in the poor part of our town. We can practice medicine there for people who couldn’t afford care.” Soon with the help of some friends, Elizabeth and Emily bought the house and opened a hospital for poor women and children. “We’ll have an all-women staff (员工),” Elizabeth said. “And later, we’ll add a medical college for women!” Emily added. At last, Elizabeth realized her dream of being a doctor. 小题1:The underlined word “Rejected” in the first paragraph can be best replaced by _____.
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