The Most Interesting Women in the World: A Century of Explorers

Van Buren Sisters, New York City to San Francisco

Sisters Augusta Van Buren and Adeline Van Buren were the first women to ride solo motorcycles across the continental U.S. in 1916—a trip that spanned 60 days and 5,500 miles. Their cross-country ride demonstrated that women could serve as military couriers for intelligence reports in the First World War as well as men.

Globetrotting Journalist

Nellie Bly, Hoboken, New Jersey

An American journalism pioneer who championed women’s rights, Nellie Bly once spent 10 days in New York City’s infamous Blackwell’s Island women’s asylum for an investigative exposé.

She is also known for beating the “around the world in 80 days” record inspired by the Jules Verne novel. In 1889 she circumnavigated the globe by steamship, train, rickshaw, horse and donkey—all in 72 days.

First Woman to Summit Mount Everest

Junko Tabei, Himalayan Mountains, Nepal

This pioneering Japanese mountaineer defied naysayers who told her to “stay at home and clean the house,” becoming, in 1975, the first woman to climb to the top of Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak. Next, she took on the “Seven Summits,” the highest mountain on each continent, and was the first woman to conquer those as well.

Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz

Canary Islands, Spain

It took two years, but the Polish sea captain and shipbuilding engineer became the first woman to sail solo around the world, completing the circuit in 1978. Enduring a bout of kidney stones and treacherous conditions through the Great Barrier Reef, the “First Lady of the Oceans” single-handedly sailed 28,696 miles across the seven seas.

First Black Woman to Host a Travel TV Series

Kellee Edwards Indonesia to Alaska

Dubbed “The Most Interesting Woman in the World” by Outside magazine, Kellee Edwards, host of Mysterious Islands on the Travel Channel, is a licensed pilot and expert scuba diver who flies herself to remote islands for high-adrenaline adventures. They include exploring Indonesian caves with thousands of buried bodies, freediving with matriarchal divers in South Korea and piloting an aircraft in Alaska’s temperamental Aleutian Chain.

“I wanted to change what the face of exploration and adventure looks like. It is not solely white males, despite what history and media would have you to believe,” says Edwards on what motivated her to take this uncharted path. Who were the “Most Interesting Women in the World” before her?

First Woman to Drive Around the World

Aloha Wanderwell, Nice, France

“World’s Most Widely Traveled Girl,” Aloha Wanderwell lived the life of an adventure movie: Over a seven-year expedition she drove across six continents behind the wheel of a Model T Ford. She was only 16 years old in 1922, when she joined a caravan of automobiles circling the globe, and quickly became both the star and director of the films taken throughout the expedition, along with her pet monkey.

First Black Woman to Trek to Both Poles

Barbara Hillary, North and South Poles

Defying stereotypes of age and race, African American adventurer Barbara Hillary was the first Black woman to trek to both the North and South Poles, arriving at ages 75 and 79, respectively—and after surviving breast cancer in her 20s and lung cancer in her 60s.

[SŁOWNICZEK]

prejudice – uprzedzenie

aerial stunts – powietrzne akrobacje

women’s suffrage centennial – setna rocznica uzyskania praw wyborczych przez kobiety

summit a peak – zdobyć szczyt, wspiąć się na szczyt

pave the way for somebody – umożliwiać coś komuś / sprawiać, aby coś było dla kogoś możliwe

span – trwać

women’s asylum – zakład dla umysłowo chorych kobiet

investigative exposé – raport śledczy

circumnavigate the globe – okrążyć świat

defy naysayers – przeciwstawiać się krytykom / osobom o negatywnym nastawieniu

endure a bout of kidney stones – cierpieć z powodu napadów bólu wywołanych kamieniami nerkowymi

treacherous conditions – zdradliwe warunki

dub – nazywać, nadawać przydomek

matriarchal divers – tutaj: grupa dojrzałych kobiet zajmujących się nurkowaniem

uncharted path – niezbadana ścieżka

Task 1

Read the text and answer the following questions: Which woman/women…

1. … proved that they could contribute to the war effort as well as any man?

2. … was the first woman to climb the highest mountain in the world?

3. … circumnavigated the Earth, breaking the famous record?

4. … survived cancer, twice, and trekked to both poles?

5. … was dubbed “the most interesting woman in the world”?

6. … became the first Black person to obtain an international pilot’s license?

Task 2

Watch the video from 00:00 to 02:47 and answer the following questions:

1. What document was signed at the first ever Women’s Rights Convention in 1848?

2. When did American women get voting rights?

3. What role did Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott play in the women’s suffrage movement in the U.S.?

4. Why did the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution divide American suffragettes?

5. Which U.S. states were the first to grant women the right to vote?

6. Which women led the National Association of Colored Women?

Task 3

Describe the issue presented in the article. Use the expressions listed below. They will help you give structure to the text analysis.

key words:

women’s suffrage centennial

trailblazing women

pioneers in exploring the world

collocations with positive meaning:

women’s asylum

free from prejudices

pioneering mountaineer

collocations with negative meaning:

matriarchal divers

uncharted path

a bout of kidney stones

treacherous conditions

action verb phrases:

summit the tallest peaks

pave the way for adventures

circumnavigate the globe

earn a pilot’s license

defy stereotypes

Record your text analysis on a voice recorder or practice delivering your presentation in a group setting.

Examples:

In honor of the women’s suffrage centennial, …

These real-life wild women threw caution …

They paved the way for …

Task 4

Translate the sentences below using the suggested word or phrase. (see Key).

(dubbed … by) Kellee Edwards została nazwana „Najbardziej interesującą kobietą na świecie” przez magazyn „Outside”.

(beating … inspired) Nellie Bly jest również znana z pobicia rekordu „w 80 dni dookoła świata”, zainspirowanego powieścią Juliusza Verne’a.

(circumnavigated … rickshaw) W 1889 roku okrążyła świat parowcem, pociągiem, rikszą, konno i na ośle – wszystko w 72 dni.

(ride solo … across) Siostry Augusta Van Buren i Adeline Van Buren były pierwszymi kobietami, które w 1916 roku samodzielnie przejechały na motocyklach kontynentalne Stany Zjednoczone.

(earn) Bessie Coleman była pierwszą czarnoskórą kobietą, która zdobyła licencję pilota.

You can use your translations in your presentation of the topic (in Task 6).

Task 5

Continue the translation using the suggested word or phrase. Remember: It’s not about translating these sentences perfectly—there are a number of possible ways to translate each sentence. This task aims to teach you TO THINK IN ENGLISH. By working on your translation of a sentence, you can change it to get closer to the sense of the original (see Key).

Aloha Wanderwell żyła jak w filmie przygodowym: Over a seven-year wyprawy przejechała sześć kontynentów za kierownicą of a Model T Ford.

It took dwa lata, ale polska kapitan żeglugi morskiej i shipbuilding engineer została pierwszą kobietą, która samotnie opłynęła świat.

Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz, „Pierwsza dama oceanów”, single-handedly przepłynęła 28 696 mil across siedem mórz.

Barbara Hillary była pierwszą czarnoskórą kobietą to trek to zarówno biegun północny, jak i południowy.

You can use your translations in your presentation of the topic (in Task 6).

Task 6

Now it’s time to put forward your views on the issues. Record your speech on a voice recorder or practice presenting your opinion in a group setting. Consider the issues raised in the text from these viewpoints:

Historical: Women’s suffrage centennial

However difficult it might be …

American women got the right to …

Personal: Travel adventures

Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz single-handedly …

The Van Buren sisters were the first women to …

Social: Pioneers in exploring the world

All these women faced adversity …

They paved the way for …