Marie Curie for Kids: Her Life and Scientific Discoveries
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INTRODUCTION The fourth-class railway carriage clacked down the track as a young Polish woman in a threadbare coat crouched down on a folding chair in the middle of the train car her luggage gathered closely around her Though the landscape and car were dark in the night her soul was illuminated with excitement and an ticipation as the carriage made its way toward France She’d waited so long for this What would Paris be like Could she make it at the Sorbonne What would her future hold Her plan was to return home to Poland after graduation find a teaching po sition in her field spread ideas of liberation to her fellow Poles and hopefully see her beloved country become free once again So how could she have ever imagined the very different path her life would take and the dramatic events that would unfold How could she have foreseen the trials setbacks love heart aches and successes that awaited her at the other end of the track She didn’t realize that the journey she was beginning would lead her to becoming one of the world’s most important scientists ixix
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Beg pardon Pardon I didn’t do it on purpose It’s not my fault it’s not Bronya’s fault It’s only because it was so easy the four-year-old cried The little girl had jumped up to read aloud from a schoolbook only when her older sister Bronya faltered while doing a simple reading lesson Yet the silence then the shocked expressions on her parents faces and the sulky glance from Bronya caused her to panic What had she done Were they dis pleased with her even though she found reading and all learning to be almost effortless And why was her sister upset when Bronya was the one who had wanted to play teacher with her in the first place All my life through the new sights of Nature made me rejoice like a child MARIE CURIE THEY CALLED HER MANYA 1 1
