May １２ Florence Nightingale’s Birthday
In １８３７，to the age of seventeen，Florence Nightingale decided to become a nurse，which horrified1) her whimsical2) mother．In those days，nurses were little more than janitors3)，and hospitals were pits of squalor and neglect．Nightingale pressed on，and in １８５３she became superintendent4) of a small London hospital．She went on to the Crimea when war broke out there between Britain and Russia．She established the first of what we now know as war hospitals：sanitary，safe，and stocked with supplies．Her tireless ministrations to the wounded soldiers made her famous all over the world．Following the war，Nightingale avoided fame and continued to train nurses，ever battling against what she herself declared“a commonly received idea．．．that it requires nothing but a disappointment in love，or incapacity5) in other things，to turn a woman into a good nurse．”Since １９２１，her birthday has been the centerpiece of National Hospital Week，observed in British and American hospitals with special exhibitions，workshops，and publicity drives．
佛罗伦萨·南丁格尔的诞辰
１８３７年，将满１７岁的佛罗伦萨·南丁格尔决定当一名护士，这个想法让她多奇思怪想的母亲惊骇不已。当时，护士的地位比看门人高不了多少，而医院又是肮脏不堪无人关怀的地方。南丁格尔却坚持不渝，并在１８５３年成为伦敦一家小医院的院长。英俄战争爆发后，她前往克里米亚。她建立了第一所我们现在所说的战地医院：卫生、安全、设备充足。她对伤员不知疲倦的照顾使她誉满全球。克里米亚战后，南丁格尔不计个人的美名，继续培养护士，并一直与人们对护士的偏见进行着斗争。她自己把这种偏见描述作“一种普遍为人所接受的看法---要使一位女性成为一名好护士，惟一的条件是情场失意或在其他方面一无所能。”１９２１年以来，她的生日一直是英美全国医院周的中心内容，各医院都在这一周举办特别的展览、讨论会和宣传活动。
NOTE 注释：
1. horrified [`hCrIfaId] adj. 惊悸的, 惊骇的
2. whimsical [5(h)wimzikEl] adj. 奇思怪想的, 古怪的
3. janitor [5dVAnitE] n. 看门人
4. superintendent [7sju:pErin5tendEnt] n. 负责人, 管理者
5. incapacity [7inkE5pAsiti] n. 无能力