|
第二篇：Going Her Own Way When she was twelve, Maria made her first important decision about the course of her life. She decided that she wanted to continue her education, Most girls from middle-class families chose to stay home after primary school，though some attended private Catholic finishing schools. There they learned a little about music，art，needlework，and how to make polite conversation. This was not the sort of education that interested Maria or her mother. By this time，she had begun to take her studies more seriously. She read constantly and brought her books everywhere. One time she even brought her math book to the theater and tried to study in the dark. Maria knew that she wanted to go on learning in a serious way. That meant attending the public high school，something that very few girls did. In Italy at the time，there were two types of high schools: the classical schools and the technical schools. In the classical schools，the students followed a very traditional program of studies，with courses in Latin and Greek language and literature，and Italian literature and history1. The few girls who continued studying after primary school usually chose these schools. Maria，however，wanted to attend a technical school. The technical schools were more modem than the classical schools and they offered courses in modern languages，mathematics，science，and accounting2.Most peopleincluding Marias fatherbelieved that girls would never be able to understand these subjects. Furthermore，they did not think it was proper for girls to study them. | 
