美国小学英语教材6:第214课 电灯的五十周年纪念(3)

The Golden Jubilee¹ in 1929 not only brought back these pictures of the past for Mr. Edison;

1929年的五十周年纪念不仅展示了爱迪生过去的照片，

throughout the world it awakened² new interest in the great inventor.

还在全世界唤醒了对这位伟大发明家的新兴趣。

How had he become so great a genius?

他是如何变成如此伟大的天才？

It all began far back in the days when a thoughtful child asked many, many questions.

这一切都始于很久以前一个喜欢思考的孩子问了很多很多问题。

Edison’s early surroundings would have aroused the interest and curiosity of any boy in the world.

爱迪生早年的生活环境引起世界上任何男孩的兴趣和好奇。

There were the busy wharves⁴ of Milan, Ohio — the busy shipping⁵ port where he was born.

俄亥俄州米兰的繁忙码头是一个业务很多的运输港口，爱迪生就出生在这里。

A canal connected the city with the Huron River and thus with great Lake Erie.

一条运河将城市与休伦河连接起来，因此这座城市也与伟大的伊利湖相连。

From his house on the bluff⁶ the little boy watched and listened—

小爱迪生从他的房子里观察并聆听，

hearing the singing of the deck-hands, their laughter, and the loud commands of the captains.

他听到了甲板上人们的歌声、他们的笑声，以及船长的大声命令。

Soon he was old enough to go down into the ship-yards.

不久，他就足够大了，可以进入码头。

How often he must have heard the cry, “Out of the way, boy,”

他一定经常听到叫喊声：“男孩，走开。”

as he stood watching the cargoes⁷ of grain being loaded.

当时他站着看到船只装载谷物。

Every day six hundred ox-drawn wagons⁹ came in from the surrounding countryside.

每天都有六百辆牛车的货物从周围的乡村运到这里。

The air was filled with bustling¹⁰ sounds—

环境里充满熙熙攘攘的声音：

the thud of hoofs¹¹, the grinding of wagon⁸ wheels, and the din³ from the warehouses¹² along the river.

蹄声、车轮声，以及岸边仓库里的喧闹。

Young Edison played near the water’s edge where the graceful¹³ sailing boats were anchored.

小爱迪生在水边玩耍，旁边停泊着优雅的帆船。

He was always under the feet of the workers, searching for tools and examining the ropes and bales.

他总是在工人们的腿间穿梭，寻找工具，检查绳子和包。

And all the time he was asking questions— questions.

他一直问各种问题。

The canal men and lumbermen answered him until they became impatient.

运河工人和木材工人回答他的问题，然后被问题弄得不耐烦。

Hurrying him off, they would shrug¹⁴ their shoulders and say to each other that

工人们让爱迪生离开，他们耸耸肩对彼此说，

a boy who asked as many questions as little A1 Edison did must be stupid.

像小爱迪生这样问很多问题的男孩肯定是傻瓜。

How wrong they were!

他们大错特错！

At that very moment the boy was thinking over the answers they had given him.

当时爱迪生正在思考工人们给出的回答。

1 jubilee   

n.周年纪念；欢乐

参考例句：

• They had a big jubilee to celebrate the victory.他们举行盛大的周年纪念活动以祝贺胜利。
• Every Jubilee,to take the opposite case,has served a function.反过来说，历次君主巡幸，都曾起到某种作用。

2 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 din   

n.喧闹声，嘈杂声

参考例句：

• The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深，喧闹声逐渐沉寂。
• They tried to make themselves heard over the din of the crowd.他们力图让自己的声音盖过人群的喧闹声。

4 wharves   

n.码头，停泊处( wharf的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They are seaworthy and can stand rough handling on the wharves? 适用于海运并能经受在码头上的粗暴装卸。 来自外贸英语口语25天快训
• Widely used in factories and mines, warehouses, wharves, and other industries. 广泛用于厂矿、仓库、码头、等各种行业。 来自互联网

5 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

6 bluff   

v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗

参考例句：

• His threats are merely bluff.他的威胁仅仅是虚张声势。
• John is a deep card.No one can bluff him easily.约翰是个机灵鬼。谁也不容易欺骗他。

7 cargoes   

n.（船或飞机装载的）货物( cargo的名词复数 )；大量，重负

参考例句：

• This ship embarked cargoes. 这艘船装载货物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The crew lashed cargoes of timber down. 全体船员将木材绑牢。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

9 wagons   

n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 )；铁路货车；小手推车

参考例句：

• The wagons were hauled by horses. 那些货车是马拉的。
• They drew their wagons into a laager and set up camp. 他们把马车围成一圈扎起营地。

10 bustling   

adj.喧闹的

参考例句：

• The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
• This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。

11 hoofs   

n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The stamp of the horse's hoofs on the wooden floor was loud. 马蹄踏在木头地板上的声音很响。 来自辞典例句
• The noise of hoofs called him back to the other window. 马蹄声把他又唤回那扇窗子口。 来自辞典例句

12 warehouses   

仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee. 威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• Row upon row of newly built warehouses line the waterfront. 江岸新建的仓库鳞次栉比。

13 graceful   

adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的

参考例句：

• His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
• The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。

14 shrug   

v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等)

参考例句：

• With a shrug,he went out of the room.他耸一下肩，走出了房间。
• I admire the way she is able to shrug off unfair criticism.我很佩服她能对错误的批评意见不予理会。