1、Lesson Fifteen Edison Inventor of Invention昌打Lesson Fifteen Edison Inventor of Invention昌打印本頁I . Outline of the TextPart 1： (Para. 1)Edison has changed mans thinking about what could be achieved.(Paras. 2-3)Edisons inventions convinced people that science could benefit them.(Para. 4)Edisons genius l

2、ies in his ability to combine and put into practice what other scientists and inventors had discovered and invented.(Para. 5)Owing to Edison* s work, scientific research gained an important place in society.(Para. 6)Man must adapt to the constantly changing age he lives in.II. TextIt is impossible t

3、o measure the importance of Edison by adding up the specific inventions with which his name is associated：僅僅把愛迪生參與發明的那些東西加在一 起，是絕不可友愛衡量出他的貢獻的。(直譯：與愛迪生的名字有聯系的那些具體發明加 在一起O )add up：加起來be associated with與聯系起來Far-reaching as many of them have been in their effect upon modern civilization, the total effec

4、t of Edison* s career surpasses the sum of all of them：盡管這其中的 許多發明對現代文明有著深遠的影響，愛迪生事業的宏觀意義超過了他所有發明的總價值。He did not merely make the incandescent lamp and the phonograph and innumerable other devices practicable for general use; it was given to him to demonstrate the power of applied science so concrete

5、ly, so understandably, so convincingly that he altered the mentality of mankind：他不僅僅使得白熾燈泡，和不計其數的留聲機和其他的設備被廣 泛的應用；把應用科學的威力展示得如此具體，如此易懂，如此令人信服，從而改變了人類的 精神面貌，這是命運交給他的使命。applied science 應用科學In his lifetime, largely because of his successes, there came into widest acceptance the revolutionary conception

6、 that man could by the use of his intelligence invent a new mode of living on this planet;在他的有生之年，主要是由于他的成就，人們普遍接受了一種嶄新的觀念-人是能夠運用自 己的智慧在這個星球上創造出一種嶄新的生活方式的；Come into acceptance 開始被接受conception 意思是 ideathe human spirit, which in all previous ages had regarded the conditions of life as essentially unch

7、anging and beyond mans control, confidently, and perhaps somewhat naively, adopted the conviction that anything could be changed and everything could be controlled：人滿懷信心地，或許也多少有些天真地產生了一個信念-任何事物都可以改變, 一切事物能得以控制，而在以往所有的時代，人們卻一直認為自己的生存條件是不變的，是人 所控制不了的。Come into acceptance 開始被接受This idea of progress is

8、in the scale of history a very new idea： 進步這一思 想在歷史的范圍內是個嶄新的觀念。It seems first to have taken possession of a few minds in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as an accompaniment of the great advances in pure science： 這 個觀念是在17和18世紀隨著純科學的長足發展首先在為數不多的、有才智的人的頭腦里產生 的。Take possession of: control, occ

9、upy 占領，占據英文解析：With the rapid advantages in pure science, the idea of progress began to be accepted by a few highly intelligent people in the 17th and 18th centuries.It gained greater currency in the first half of the nineteenth century when industrial civilization began to be transformed by the appl

10、ication of steam power： 在19世紀上半葉，蒸汽動力的使用開始改造工業社會之時，進步這一觀念為更多的人接受。gain currency 意思是 become popular 變得受歡迎But these changes, impressive as they were, created so much human misery by the crude and cruel manner in which they were exploited that all through the century men instinctively feared and opposed

11、 the progress of machines, and of the sciences on which they rested：（以蒸汽為動力的蒸汽機帶來的）這些變化十分矚目，但是由于原始地、殘酷地 以牟利為目的面使用這種機器，給人類造成了深重的苦難，在整個19世紀，人們自然害怕并抵 制機器的進步，以及支撐機器進步的科學進展。adj. As （盡管）+主語+謂語讓步狀語從句in manner/may 用方式re st/base on以為基礎It was only at the end of the century, with the perfecting of the electric

12、 light bulb, the telephone, the phonograph, and the like, that the ordinary man began to feel that science could actually benefit him：只是在這個世紀之末（即19世紀末）隨著電燈 泡、電話、留聲機以及諸如此類的新產品的完善，一般老百姓才開始感到科學確實能給他們帶 來好處。it wasthat是一個強調句and the like： and so on 等等sb. benefit from sb 對某人有利Edison supplied the homely demo

13、nstrations which insured the popular acceptance of science, and clinched the popular argument, which had begun with Darwin, about the place of science in mans outlook upon life：愛辿生提供了簡單明了的示范使大眾接受了科學， 給自從達爾文開始的、就科學在形成人們人生觀中的作用這具爭論不休的話題，畫上了句號。insured 展示、投保=ensure：begin with從開始，以開始outlook 意思是 viewpoint

14、 觀點Thus he became the supreme propagandist of science and his name the great symbol of an almost blind faith in its possibilities：因而他成了推廣科學的尖兵,他的名字幾 乎成了對科學能取得無限成就堅信不疑的代名詞，Thirty years ago, when I was a schoolboy, the ancient conservatism of man was still the normal inheritance of every child： 30年以前,

15、我還是個小學生的時候,每個孩子繼承 的思想仍然是人從遠古時期保留下來的保守主義。(即，那時的孩子也和成人一樣認為世界是 永遠不變的。)We began to have electric lights, and telephones, and to see horseless carriages, but our attitude was a mixture of wonder, fear, and doubt. Perhaps these things would work. Perhaps they would not explode. Perhaps it would be amusing

16、 to play with them. 我們開始擁有了電燈，電話，不用馬拉的車，但是我們是疑慮、害怕和懷疑的混合體。也許這 些東西可以起作用，也許他們不會繼續深入下去。也許玩一玩挺有意思的。Today every schoolboy not only takes al the existing inventions as much for granted as we took horses and dogs for granted, but also, he is entirely convinced that all other desirable things can and will b

17、e invented：今天,每個小學生不僅對現有的發明創 造習以為常，就像我們小時候把馬和狗看成是極為平常的東西一樣-今天的孩子還完全相信更多 的好東西不僅能夠創造出來，而且也一定會創造出來。takefor granted認為理所當然sb. be convinced that 某人對確信。In my youth the lonely inventor who could not obtain a hearing was still the stock figure of the imagination：我年輕的時候，人們對發明家的印象仍然是那種不為人理睬、孤 立無援這種固定模式的人物。obta

18、in a hearing被傾聽,被理解stock figure通常的印象英文解析：When I was young, inventors were regarded as people with queer ideas. This was how people generally imagined an inventor.Today the only people who are not absolutely sure that television is perfected are the inventors themselves：今天除了電視機的發明者本人之外，人人都覺得電視機己經完美 無

19、缺，無須改進了。(即，人人都接受并歡迎科學的成果-發明創造)at a part as Edison in this change in human expectation, and finally, by the cumulative effect of his widely distributed inventions plus a combination of the modern publicity technique and the ancient myth-making faculty of the modern publicity technique and the ancient

20、 myth-making faculty of men,人類對未來的設想發生了巨大的變 化，以此愛迪生所起的作用無人超過，最后，由于他那些范闈極廣的發明創造與日俱增的影響， 再加上現代傳播技術與古代人們編造神話的天賦巧結合，technology (n.)科技含量較高的技術；technique (n.)技藝、技巧he was lifted in the popular imagination to a place where he was looked upon not only as the symbol but as the creator of a new age：在人們的心目中他的地位大

21、大提高， 他不只是象征著一個新時代，而且還開創了一個嶄新的時代。look upon as 被看作In strict truth an invention is almost never the sole product of any one mind： 嚴格地說，一項發明創造幾乎不可能只是任何一個個人的思想結晶。英文解析：Strictly speaking, nearly all inventions are the result of the inventor adapting and improving on previous inventions and ideas.Strictly s

22、peaking 嚴格的說The actual invention is almost invariably the man who succeeds in combining and perfecting previous discoveries in such a way as to make them convenient and profitable： 實際上發明家幾乎亳無例外都是成功把以往的發現結合起來，使之完善，最后使其實用并有錢 可賺。succeed in doing sth.成功地做某事Edison had a peculiar genius for carrying exist

23、ing discoveries to the point where they could be converted into practicabledevices, and it would be no service to his memory, or to the cause of science which he serves so splendidly, to pretend that he invented by performing solitary miracles：愛迪生有一種特殊的天賦，能進一步開發現有 的發明創造，使其轉變成實用的東西，因此認為他是單槍匹馬地在那里創造奇跡

24、而搞出了發明 創造，既不是維護他的聲譽，也無益于他為之做出了杰出貢獻的科學事業。no service to =no use/help toConvert into把.轉變成memory 意思是 fame： cause 意思、是 career：The light which was born in his laboratory at Menlo Park fifty-two years ago was conceived in the antecedent experiments of many men in many countries over a period of nearly fort

25、y years, and these experiments in their turn were conceivable only because of the progress of the mathematical and physical sciences in the preceding two centuries： 52年前在他的門洛園實驗室里誕生的白熾燈，是從許多不同國家的人在近40年間實驗的基礎之 上構想出來的；反過來，先前的這些實驗之所以能夠設想出來，也要歸功于前兩個世紀數學科 學和物理科學的發展。in the antecedent 意思是 previous 以前的2 min

26、d v. 介意，mind doing sth2 Do you mind my smoking?2 be out of one* s mind 發瘋e. g Hes (gone) out of his mind.bear/keep sth. in mind ： 牢 i己e. g. He tries his best to keep the words in mind.make up ones mind :下定決心e. g. Have you made up your mind what to do yet?Take sbs mind off sth.：使某人不再掛念或注意2 Turn one s

27、 mind to sth：把注意力轉移到2 Carry on doing sth. /with sth. ： go on doing sth. /with sth.繼續進彳亍e. g. We can carry on our discussion after lunch.Carry sth. out：執行e. g. They are carrying out urgent repair.這段講了 Owing to Edisons work, scientific research gained an important place in society.Because of Edison, m

28、ore than of any other man, scientific research has an established place in our society; because of the demonstrations he made, the money of taxpayers and stockholders has become available for studies the nature of which they do not often understand, though they appreciate their value and anticipate

29、their ultimate pecuniary benefits：由于愛迪生一生的功勞大于其他任何人-科學研究的重要地位在 我們的社會里得以確立：由于他那些發明創造的示范作用，納稅人和股票持有人的錢才能用來 進行研究；雖然他們對其價值十他賞識，也能預料其最終的好處，但實際上他們對這些研究的 性質往往不甚了解。It would be a shallow kind of optimism to assume that the introduction of the art of inventing has been an immediate and unmixed blessing to man

30、kind： 認為開創革 新視野能直接造福人類，并無阻力，是一種膚淺的樂觀主義的表現。It is rather the most disturbing element in civilization, the most profoundly revolutionary thing which has ever been let loose in the world,這其實是文明社會最令 人不安的因素，是世上迄今所爆發的最深刻的革命事件。most disturbing=upset 令人不安的let loose=release 釋放For the whole ancient wisdom of ma

31、n is founded upon the conception of a life which in its fundamentals changes imperceptibly if at all：因為人類古代全部思想是建筑在對 生活的這種觀念上-在基本原則方而，生活即使發生變化，也只可能是細微的變化。be founded upon=be based on 至于的基礎上The effect of organized, subsidized invention, stimulated by tremendous incentives of profit, and encouraged by

32、an insatiable popular appetite for change, is to set all the relations of men in violent motion, and to create overpowering problems faster than human wisdom has as yet been able to assimilate them：有組織、得到資助的革新受到利 潤的巨大驅動，并從大眾永不滿足的變革要求中得到鼓勵，其結果是使人類的各種關系發生巨 大變動，并帶來了影響極大的問題，這些問題出現之快是迄今為止人類思想難以理解的。Thus t

33、he age we live in offers little prospect of outward stability, and only those who by an inner serenity and disentanglement have learned how to deal with the continually unexpected can be at home in it：因此我們生活的這個時代難以有安定的外部 環境，只有那些通過內心的寧靜與超脫學會如何對待持續不斷的意外情況的人，才能在這個時 代里感到自由自在。prospect 前景,可能性：即 possibilit

34、y英文解析：Therefore we must realize that in this age of ours, we cannot expect the world to remain stable. Only those who, with their sober mind and inner calmness, have learned how to adjust to the ever-changing world can feel comfortable in this age.It may be that in time we shall become used to chang

35、e as in our older wisdom we had become used to the unchanging：也許，隨著時間的推移,我們會慢慢習慣于變革,就像 在此以前，我們的思想狀態使我們習慣于停滯不變一樣。(961 words)wisdom 意思是 ideaSet about (doing) sth.：開始,著手Set out to do sth.：開始，著手Set out ： to set off 出發，動身e. g. We set out to paint the whole house but finished only the front part.Set sth.

36、up：成立，建立e. g. Roadblocks were set up the police to catch the escaped prisoner.HL Vocabulary ExercisesComplete the following sentences with words formed with different prefixes or suffixes, making changes in the spelling wherever necessary.adj. : private patient troublev. : discover imagineA successf

37、ul inventor must be very creative and imaginative.The customers became impatient after standing at the counter for 10 minutes without being attended to.More and more people appeal for a law to protest their privacy.His back has been troublesome for a month and he has decided to see a doctor tomorrow

38、 morning.Complete the following sentences.Put suitable prepositions or adverbs in the blanks.Its hard to associate such a nice-looking place with drug dealing.Our fate is not beyond our control; rather, it，s in our own hands.He took possession of the farm after his uncle died.Tell the child never to

39、 play with fire again.He played a great part in the development of nuclear technology of our country.At last, he succeeded in convincing the others of his innocence.convince sb. Of sth確信某人某事，向某人確信某事：也可以用做 sb. be convinced thatOnce upon a time, there was a king who dreamed of having the magic power t

40、o convert all things he touched into gold.His insatiable appetite for material wealth may ruin his life in the end.The interpreter is at home in both English and French.If you can keep these rules in mind, you will have no difficulty in passing the driving test.They are carrying out a survey into pe

41、ople* s attitudes towards violence on TV.In the United States, anyone who is willing to quarrel with the dictionary is regarded as out of his mind.I stopped and bought a newspaper outside the Tube. I thought it would take my mind off work for a while.She has set her mind on going to work in Tibet up

42、on graduation.My mother wasnt content just to say that I was not an idiot: she set out to prove it.Choose the right word for each blank and put the verb in the right form.imply, inferHis remarks implied that he hadnt enjoyed his holiday.I inferred from his remarks that he hadnt enjoyed his holidays.

43、ensure, assureA.The doctor assured me that I would recover very soon.If you want to ensure that you catch the plane, take a taxi.sb. assure sb. That某人向某人確信sb.Ensure thatmix, combineShe put the butter and sugar into a bowl and mixed them up together.Hydrogen combines with oxygen to form water.relatio

44、ns, relationshipA.The local community has good relations with the police.My relationship with my boyfriend has lasted six months now.just, alreadyOnly one minute to go,Youre just in time for the train.It s one minute past eight. You, re already late.Choose the best word for each blank.When the story

45、 of the information revolution caused by the widespread (1) access (access, adoption, application, usage) to computer technology is written, one of the most (2) interesting (funny, interested, interesting, strange) people discussed will be Bill Gates. As Microsoft, s largest (3) stock-holder (stock-

46、agent, stock-holder, stock-keeper, stock-sharer) , hes worth nearly $6. 1 billion. (4) making (changing, making, shaping, showing) him America，s second wealthiest man and, at 38, its youngest (5) self-made, (self-claimed, self-created, self-established,self-made) billionare. Certainly few people can

47、 talk about the future, as he does, with the riveting (6) authority (authority, recognition, strength, weight) of someone who not only knows what* s in (7) future (future, hiding, save, store) for tomorrow but is a major fore in (8) shaping (altering, changing, coloring, shaping) that future as well. As the founder, developer, and owner of Microsoft, Gates was able to take his love for computer games and (9) translate (make, mix, produce, translate) it into programming ideas.As a high school student, he (10) used (had, got, used, was used) to spend many hours playing computer games;