词汇提示

1.screw 螺丝

2.propeller 螺旋桨

3.harnessing 利用

4.tuberculosis 结核病

5.sensation 轰动

6.cylinders 圆筒

7.phonograph 留声机

8.humid 潮湿的

9.enthusiasts 热情的

10.resistance 阻力

11.hydrofoil 水翼船

原文

Alexander Graham Bell

The Victorian period was a time of many new inventions.

Earlier discoveries, such as the steam engine, the screw propeller, the power of electricity, and the possibility of sending messages along a wire, werenow applied to everyday life.

Inventors such as Thomas Edison and Nicholas Tesla explored new methods for harnessing electric power.

Some of the greatest discoveries were made by Alexander Graham Bell.

Bell was born in Scotland in 1847.

Both his father and grandfather taught speech methods and worked with deaf and dumb children.

Alexander was also interested in this work especially as his mother was almost deaf.

Alexander's two brothers died of tuberculosis ,and he himself contracted the disease, so his parents decided to leave Scotland for a drier, healthier climate.

They moved to Brantford, Ontario, Canada, and lived in a roomy, comfortable house overlooking the Grand River.

Today,the Bell Homestead is an historical museum that attracts visitors from all over the world.

At that time, Canada did not have a lot of business opportunities, so Alexander found a job teaching speech in Boston, U.S.A.

But he returned to Brantford every summer.

In Boston, Bell married one of his deaf students

His father-in-law suggested that there were good business opportunities in inventing communication devices.

Bell soon developed a method for sending more than one telegraph message at the same time.

While working on improving the telegraph, Bell and his assistant, Thomas Watson,found a way to send the human voice over wires.

On August 10, 1876, Bell sent the first telephone message over wires strung between Brantford and Paris, Ontario–eight miles away.

The telephone caused an international sensation, with government leaders asking to have one.

But Bell didn't stop there.

He worked on the recording properties of wax cylinders and other approaches toflat phonograph records.

He also developed the photophone, which later led to the development of the motion picture sound track.

Bell worked on these inventions at his laboratory in Washington, D.C.,but he didn't like the hot humid summer weather there.

So Bell began looking for a new place to spend his summers.

He decided to build a summer home in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.

The Island reminded Bell of his native Scotland.

Now he had space during the summer to do experiments outside.

He soon began to experiment with flying machines.

Bell designed and tested huge kites, hoping to come up with a frame for a flying machine.

Along with some enthusiastic friends, Bell also experimented with airplanes.

On February 23, 1909, one of these planes flew through the air for half a mile.

This was the first airplane flight in the British Empire.

The Alexander Graham Bell Museum at Baddeck, Nova Scotia, displays many of these inventions.

Bell was also interested in making a faster boat.

Since much of a boat stays under water, the water resistance slows the boat down.

Bell thought that if you could raise the boat out of the water it would go much faster.

Working on Cape Breton Island, Bell and his friends developed the hydrofoil,a boat that would skim the surface of the water at high speeds.

Hydrofoils are in use in many places today.

Every time people use the telephone, listen to a recording, watch a movie or television,or ride on a hydrofoil, they owe a debt to that great inventor, Alexander Graham Bell.

翻译

亚历山大·格雷厄姆·贝尔

维多利亚时代是许多新发明的时代。
早期的发现，如蒸汽机、螺旋推进器、电力以及通过电线发送信息的可能性，现在都应用到日常生活中。
发明家如托马斯·爱迪生和尼古拉斯·特斯拉探索了利用电力的新方法。
一些最伟大的发现是由亚历山大·格雷厄姆·贝尔做出的。
贝尔于1847年出生于苏格兰。
他的父亲和祖父都教授语言方法，并与聋哑儿童一起工作。
亚历山大对这项工作也很感兴趣，特别是因为他的母亲几乎是聋子。
亚历山大的两个兄弟死于肺结核，他自己也感染了这种疾病，所以他的父母决定离开苏格兰，去一个气候更干燥、更健康的地方。
他们搬到了加拿大安大略省的布兰特福德，住在一所宽敞舒适的房子里，俯瞰着大河。
今天，贝尔庄园是一座历史博物馆，吸引着来自世界各地的游客。
当时，加拿大没有很多商业机会，所以亚历山大在美国波士顿找到了一份教演讲的工作
但他每年夏天都会回到布兰特福德。
在波士顿，贝尔娶了他的一个聋哑学生
他的岳父建议说，在发明通讯设备方面有很好的商机。
贝尔很快发明了一种同时发送多个电报信息的方法。
在改进电报的过程中，贝尔和他的助手托马斯·沃森发现了一种通过电线传送人声的方法。
1876年8月10日，贝尔通过布兰特福德和8英里外的安大略省巴黎之间的电线发送了第一条电话信息。
这种电话在国际上引起了轰动，各国政府领导人都要求安装。
但贝尔并没有就此止步。
他研究了蜡筒的记录特性和其他制作平面留声机唱片的方法。
他还发明了光电电话，这后来导致了电影声道的发展。
贝尔在华盛顿特区的实验室里从事这些发明，但他不喜欢那里炎热潮湿的夏季天气。
因此，贝尔开始寻找一个新的地方来度过他的夏天。
他决定在新斯科舍省的布雷顿角岛建造一座避暑别墅。
这个岛使贝尔想起了他的家乡苏格兰。
现在夏天他有地方在外面做实验了。
他很快就开始试验飞行器。
贝尔设计并测试了巨大的风筝，希望能制造出飞行器的框架。
贝尔还和一些热心的朋友一起试验了飞机。
1909年2月23日，其中一架飞机在空中飞行了半英里。
这是大英帝国的第一次飞机飞行。
位于新斯科舍省巴德克的亚历山大·格雷厄姆·贝尔博物馆展示了许多这样的发明。
贝尔还对制造更快的船感兴趣。
由于船的大部分都在水下，水的阻力会减慢船的速度。
贝尔认为，如果你能把船从水里提出来，它就会走得快得多。
在布雷顿角岛工作时，贝尔和他的朋友们发明了水翼船，一种可以高速掠过水面的船。
水翼船现在在许多地方使用。每当人们使用电话，听录音，看电影或电视，或乘坐水翼船时，他们都感谢伟大的发明家亚历山大·格雷厄姆·贝尔。

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Level 4-Day 76.Alexander Graham Bell