标题: [1-14]英语故事 发明家杰斐逊Jefferson as an Inventor [打印本页]
作者: kobe 时间: 2014-1-13 21:40 标题: [1-14]英语故事 发明家杰斐逊Jefferson as an Inventor
Thomas Jefferson sometimes figured as an inventor himself，and there is an anecdote which vividly portrays the character ofhis mind．
Not far from Monticello，and within the bounds of hisestate，was a solitary and lofty hill，so situated as to be ex-posed to the blast of two currents of wind，coming up throughvalleys on different sides of it．
Mr．Jefferson thought this would be an admirable positionfor a wind-mill；and having recently invented a model for asaw-mill to be moved by vertical sails，he sent for an engineerand submitted it to his judgment．The man of professionalscience examined his plan，and listened with profound attentionand deference to Mr．Jefferson's explanations of it，and to hiseloquent illustration of the advantages it would secure．Hevery attentively heard him through，but made no comment uponthe plan．
“What do you think of my idea？”asked Mr．Jefferson．
“I think it is the most ingenious one，”was the reply，“anddecidedly the best plan for a saw-mill I have ever seen．”
Jefferson was delighted，and forthwith entered into a writ-ten agreement for the erection of such a mill on the neighboringheight．
The work went bravely on；the inventor very frequentlymounting his horse，and riding over to see how it proceeded．
作者: kobe 时间: 2014-1-13 21:40
回复 1# kobe
When the frame was up，and the building approached itscompletion，the engineer rode over to Monticello to obtain a sup-ply of money，and to get some directions about the saws．
Jefferson kept him to dinner；and when the cloth was re-moved and wine sat upon the table，he turned to his guest，andwith an air of much satisfaction，exclaimed：
“And so，you like my mill．”
“I do，sir，indeed，very much；it is certainly one of thegreatest improvements in the construction of saw mills I ever wit-nessed．”
“You think the sails are so hung that it cannot fail to work？”
“Certainly；it must work，it cannot help it．”
“And there's always a wind upon that hill；if it does not comeup one valley，it is sure to come up the other；and the hill is sohigh and steep that there is nothing to interrupt the full sweep ofthe wind，come which way it will．You think，then，on thewhole，that the thing cannot fail of complete success？”
作者: kobe 时间: 2014-1-13 21:41
回复 2# kobe
“I should think so，sir，but for one thing．”
“Ah！What's that？”
“I have been wondering in my own mind，how you are to getup your saw-logs．”
Jefferson threw up his hands and eyes：“I never thought ofthat！”
The mill was abandoned，of course．
作者: kobe 时间: 2014-1-13 21:41
回复 3# kobe
托马斯·杰斐逊有时把自己扮演成一个发明家。有一个轶事可以生动地描述他这种思想特征。
离蒙蒂塞罗不远，在他的庄园范围之内，有一座荒凉而高耸的山峰，它的位置正好处于两股从它的不同侧面穿过山谷而来的气流之中。杰斐逊先生想这可能是风车的一个极好的位置，而且他最近已经为锯木厂发明了一种由垂直翼板推动的模型，他派人请来一位工程师，将模型交给他请他作出判断。这位具有专业科学知识的人检查了他的计划，以极大的专心与尊敬听取了杰斐逊先生对该计划的解释，以及他对它将带来的好处所做的雄辩的说明。
“你认为我的计划怎么样？”杰斐逊说。
“我认为这是一个最富有独创性的计划，”他回答说，“而且显然是我曾经见过的最好的锯木厂计划。”
杰斐逊非常高兴，并立即签订了一个在临近的高地上建立这样一个工厂的书面协议。
作者: kobe 时间: 2014-1-13 21:41
回复 4# kobe
工作在大胆地进行着；发明人经常骑马过去看看进展情况。
当架子搭上去，建筑接近完工的时候，工程师骑马到蒙蒂塞罗，一是要取备好的钱，二是想得到一些关于锯子的指示。
杰斐逊留他吃饭；当桌布被撤去，葡萄酒被放在桌子上时，他转向他的客人，带着满意的神情说：“这么说，你喜欢我的工厂。”
“是的，先生，确实，非常喜欢；它肯定是我所见过的对锯木厂建筑的最伟大的改进。”
“你认为这些翼板这样挂不会不转动吧？”
“当然，它肯定会转动，它不能不转的。”
“而且那山上总有一股风；如果它不从这一个山谷吹来，它肯定会从另一个山谷吹来；山又那么高，那么陡，不管风从哪个方向来，什么也阻挡了它直吹进来。那么，总的来说，你认为这事不会不成功吧？”
作者: kobe 时间: 2014-1-13 21:41
回复 5# kobe
“我认为应该这样，先生，但有一件事情。”
“啊！什么事？”
“我脑子里一直在想，你怎样把要锯的木头弄上去？”
杰斐逊举起双手，惊呆了：“我从来也没有想过这个！”
当然，这个工厂最终被放弃了。
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