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| Thomas Alva Edison lit up the world with his invention of the electric light. Without him, the world might stiIJ be a dark place. However,the electric light was not liis only invention. He also invented the photoUaph,the motion picture camera,and over 1 200 other things. Ahout every two weeks he created something new. Thomas A. Edison was bom in Milan, Ohio, on February 11,1847. His family moved to Port Huron, Michigan,when he was seven years old. Surprisingly,he attended school for only two months. His mother, a former teacher,taught him a few things,but Thomas was mostly self-educated. His natural curiosity led him to start experimenting at a young age with electrical and mecharucal things at home. When he was 12 years old,he got his first job. He became a newsboy on a train that ran between Port Huron and Detroit. He set up a laboratory in a baggage car of the train so that he could continue his experiments in his spare time. Unfortunately,his first work experience did not end well. Thomas was fired when he accidentally set fire to the floor of the baggage car. Thomas then worked for five years as a telegraph operator,but he continued to spend much of his time on the job conducting experiments. He got his first patent in 1868 for a vote recorder run by electricity. However, the vote recorder was not a success. In 1870,he sold another invention,a stock ticker,for $40 000. A stock ticker is a machine that automatically(自动地) prints stock prices on a tape. He was then able to build his first shop in Newark,New Jersey. Thomas Edison was totally deaf in one ear and hard of hearing in the other,but thought of his deafness as a blessing in many ways. It kept conversations short, so that he could have more time for work. He called himself a "two-shift man"because he worked 16 out of every 24 hours. Sometimes he worked so intensely that his wife had to remind him to sleep and eat. Thomas Edison died at the age of 84 on October 18,1931,at his estate in West Orange,New Jersey. He left numerous inventions that improved the quality of life all over the world. 1. Thomas Edison did things in this order . A. he became a telegraph operator,a newsboy,and then got his first patent B. he became a newsboy, got his first patent, and then became a telegraph operator C. he got a patent,became a telegraph operator,and then became a newsboy D. he became a newsboy,a telegraph operator,and then got a patent 2. Of all the inventions, was probably the most important for civilization. A. the vote recorder B. the stock ticker C. the light bulb D. the motion picture camera 3. The main idea of this passage is that ___ . A. Edison was always interested in science and inventions ,and he inventea many important things B. Thomas Edison could not keep a job C. Thomas Edison worked day and night on his experiments D. deaf people make good inventors without the distraction of spoken conversation |