Thomas ELVA Edison

Thomas Edison was born in 1847. He was not very strong and went to school at the age of eight and a half. But after only three months his teacher called him «stupid» because he asked so many questions. And he came home crying. From that time his mother, who was a teacher, took him away from school and taught him at home. His mother had some good books and among them an encyclopedia. It was probably from the encyclopedia that he first took an interest in chemistry. He liked to make experiments so he made a little laboratory in the cellar of his house.

He got a job sending telegraph messages. Then he started inventing things. At the age of 12 he had a job selling newspapers. He made money in a clever but simple way.

He checked the news stories first. When the news was interesting he took a lot of papers; when it was boring he took only few.

In 1877 he made a «phonograph» — the first ever sound recorder. The following year he invented the light bulb.

In 1882 New York was the first city in the world with electric lights. In 1889 he made a «kinetoscope». He also made films for his new machine.

In 1903 he made the world's longest film (It was ten minutes long!) After more than one thousand inventions, Edison died at the age of eighty-four. In his honour they switched off the lights all over America.

Notes:

to check — проверять
phonograph — фонограф
kinetoscope — кинескоп
to switch off — выключать

2. Письменно ответьте на вопросы:

1. Thomas Edison was born in 1847, wasn't he?
2. Why did mother teach him at home?

3. What was his interest in childhood?

4. Where did he work?
5. What were his inventions?
6. When did Edison die?
7. What did Americans do in his honour?

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