The youngest architect in America

山東 李全忠

考特妮·布雷特，14 歲開始上大學，16 歲轉學到奧本大學，24 歲時成為美國建筑師協會歷史上最年輕的持牌建筑師。

主題語境：職業 篇幅：337詞 建議用時：6分鐘

1Courtney Brett, who was at 24, became the youngest licensed architect in the history of the American Institute of Architects.Brett made headlines because she began college at 14 and transferred to Auburn University's architecture program at 16.By the age of 21, Courtney was working for a company.

2By the time Courtney was 10, she knew she wanted to be an architect.On long car trips, she would entertain herself by sketching floor plans.Her family moved around a lot due to her father being an Air Force officer.Brett says, “I had lived in and gone to school in so many different types of buildings; I was drawing plans and elevations trying to figure out how they worked.”

3Due to her SAT results which were obviously quite good, Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia recruited her for their early-college program at the age of 14.However,she left after two years because they didn't provide an architecture program.She then started to study at Auburn University at the age of 16, to pursue her dream of architecture.

4Courtney's first job was at SOM, the legendary firm behind projects like the Freedom Tower.Brett said she was lucky to find a female role model in her immediate team manager.She noticed how differently people interacted with men and women in the industry,especially Courtney, because she was the youngest.Brett experienced men micromanaging everything she did, so it came to the point she had to say something.

5Brett then started her own firm called Casburn Brett Architecture, on the Gulf Coast of Alabama.She appreciated the freedom she found in doing so, even though there are many challenges.However,after having her company for a couple of years,Courtney has said her clients have been overwhelmingly positive.Her firm helped convince a discounted chain shop to build in two master-planned towns with a highly regulated building style, instead of locating the stores on farmland outside the town limits.

Reading Check

Detail1.What made Courtney well-known according to paragraph 1?

A.Working for a company at 21.

B.Making friends with licensed architects.

C.Being admitted into college at a younger age.

D.Showing special talents in her architecture program.

Detail2.Why did Courtney's family move around a lot?

A.Her family loved travelling.

B.Her father was an Air Force officer.

C.She wanted to get better education.

D.Her neighbors were always not friendly.

Detail3.How old was Courtney when she left Mary Baldwin College?

A.17 years old.

B.16 years old.

C.15 years old.

D.14 years old.

Inference4.How does the author develop the text?

A.By giving instructions.

B.By making comparisons.

C.By following the order of time.

D.By following the order of importance.

Language Study

Ⅰ.Text-centered chunks

in the history of 在……的歷史上

make headlines 成為頭條新聞

by the age of 到……歲時

due to 由于

figure out 弄懂；弄清楚；弄明白

interact with 與……互動

even though 即使

Ⅱ.Difficult sentence in the text

However, after having her company for a couple of years, Courtney has said her clients have been overwhelmingly positive.然而，在擁有自己的公司幾年后，考特妮說，她的客戶都非常積極。

【點石成金】本句是一個主從復合句，after having her company for a couple of years是介詞短語作時間狀語；her clients have been overwhelmingly positive 是省略了引導詞that的賓語從句。