Lesson49 Thomas Alva Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was born in 1847． He was sick a lot when he was young． Edison's mother taught him lessons at home and he only studied the things he wanted to know． At age ten， he read his first science book．After he read the book， he built a laboratory in his house．Soon，Edison started to invent things．
He was interested in the telegraph and electricity． At age twenty-three， he made a special telegraphic machine and sold it for a lot of money． With this money， he was now free to invent all the time．
Edison started his own laboratory at Menlo Park， New Jersey． He hired mechanics and chemists to help him． He worked day and night． Once， He worked on forty-five inventions at the same time． Edison did not sleep very much， but he took naps． He often fell asleep with his clothes on． One day， he even fell asleep in a closet!
Did you know Edison invented wax paper， fire alarms， the battery， and motion pictures? By far his favourite invention was the record player． His other famous invention was the light bulb． Edison died in 1931， at the age of eighty-four． He had over 1，300 inventions to his name! Many people say that Edison was a genius — one of the smartest people in the world!

telegraph ? 电报
nap ? 小睡，打盹
motion picture 电影 （老式的说法）

托玛斯•阿尔瓦•爱迪生
托玛斯•阿尔瓦•爱迪生出生于1847年。小时候他总是生病。爱迪生的母亲在家教他读书，他只学他想学的东西。10岁时他读了第一本科学书籍。在读完这本书以后，他在家里建了个实验室。很快爱迪生开始发明创造。他对电报和电力很感兴趣。23岁时，他发明了一种特殊的电报机并卖了很多钱。有了这些钱，他就可以一直无忧无虑地搞发明创造了。
爱迪生在新泽西的门洛帕克建立了自己的实验室。他雇佣了机械工和化学师帮忙。他没日没夜地工作。有一次，他同时致力于45个发明的研究。爱迪生睡觉睡得不多，但他常打瞌睡。他经常穿着衣服就睡着了。一天他竟然在壁橱里睡着了！
你知道是爱迪生发明了蜡纸、火警警报器、电池和电影吗？他最中意的发明是电唱机。他另一个著名的发明是电灯泡。爱迪生于1931年去世，享年84岁。他一共有1 300多种发明创造！许多人说爱迪生是个天才——他是世界上最聪明的人之一！