美国发明：电视
📖 逐句对照翻译
Television has made it possible for people around the world to share in many different experiences – sports, music shows, films, and more.
电视使世界各地的人们能够共享许多不同的体验——体育、音乐节目、电影等等。
Yet many people would find it difficult to name the inventor of the television.
然而，许多人却难以说出电视的发明者是谁。
They might also be surprised to learn that the inventor came up with the idea when he was just fourteen years old.
他们可能还会惊讶地发现，这位发明家萌生这个想法时年仅十四岁。
Today, we explore the life of one of the great inventors of 20th century America: Philo Taylor Farnsworth.
今天，我们来探索20世纪美国伟大发明家之一：菲洛·泰勒·法恩斯沃斯的生平。
A young boy
一个小男孩
Philo Farnsworth was born in August 1906, near Indian Creek in the western state of Utah.
菲洛·法恩斯沃斯于1906年8月出生在犹他州西部的印第安溪附近。
The house he lived in for the first few years of his life had no electricity.
他生命最初几年住的房子没有电。
But Philo read about electricity and quickly began to experiment with it.
但斐洛阅读了关于电的书籍，并迅速开始进行实验。
One night, Philo read a magazine story about the idea of sending pictures and sound through the air.
一天晚上，菲洛在杂志上读到一个关于通过空气传送图像和声音的构想的故事。
The story said some of the world’s best scientists were working on the idea.
报道称，世界上一些最顶尖的科学家正在研究这个想法。
It said these scientists were using special machines to try to make a kind of device to send pictures.
报道称，这些科学家正在使用特殊机器，试图制造一种能传送图像的设备。
Fourteen-year-old Philo decided these famous scientists were wrong.
十四岁的菲洛认定这些著名科学家都错了。
He decided that mechanical devices would never work.
他认定机械装置永远行不通。
Philo believed such a device would have to be electronic.
斐洛认为这样的设备必须是电子的。
Philo knew electrons could be made to move very fast.
菲洛知道电子可以被加速到非常快的速度。
All he would have to do was find a way to make electrons do the work.
他所要做的就是找到一种让电子来完成工作的方法。
Soon, Philo had an idea for such a receiver.
很快，菲洛就有了这种接收器的构想。
It would trap light in a container and send the light on a line of electrons.
它会将光困在容器中，并通过一串电子传输光。
Philo called it “light in a bottle.”
斐洛称之为“瓶中之光”。
Several days later, Philo told his teacher about a device that could capture pictures.
几天后，菲洛告诉他的老师关于一种能捕捉图像的装置。
He drew a plan for it and gave it to his teacher.
他为它画了一张设计图，并交给了他的老师。
Philo’s drawing seemed very simple.
斐洛的画看起来很简单。
But it still clearly showed the information needed to build a television.
但它仍然清晰地显示了制造电视机所需的信息。
Philo’s teacher was Justin Tolman.
斐洛的老师是贾斯汀·托尔曼。
Many years later, Philo would credit Mr. Tolman with guiding his imagination and helping him open the doors of science.
多年以后，菲洛将感谢托尔曼先生引导他的想象力，并帮助他打开了科学的大门。
Inventor
发明家
In September 1927, Philo turned on a device that was the first working television receiver.
1927年9月，菲洛启动了一台装置，那是第一台能正常工作的电视接收机。
In another room was the first television camera.
另一个房间里放着第一台电视摄像机。
Philo had invented the special camera tube earlier that year.
那年早些时候，菲洛发明了特殊的摄像管。
While the image produced on the receiver was not very clear, the device worked.
尽管接收器上产生的图像不是很清晰，但设备还是能正常工作。
Within a few months, Philo had found several people who wanted to invest money in his invention.
几个月内，菲洛就找到了几个愿意为他的发明投资的人。
In August 1930, the United States government gave Philo patent documents.
1930年8月，美国政府授予菲洛专利文件。
These documents aimed to protect his invention from being copied by others.
这些文件旨在保护他的发明不被他人抄袭。
Still, he became involved in legal disputes with a powerful company at the time known as RCA.
尽管如此，他还是与当时一家名为RCA的强大公司卷入了法律纠纷。
Philo won the disputes but faced many business and financial difficulties in his life.
斐洛在争论中获胜，但一生中面临许多商业和财务困难。
He developed more than 100 devices that helped make modern television possible.
他研发了100多种设备，为现代电视的诞生奠定了基础。
He also developed early radar, invented the first electronic microscope, and worked on developing peaceful uses of atomic energy.
他还早期开发了雷达，发明了第一台电子显微镜，并致力于原子能的和平利用。
Philo Farnsworth died in March of 1971.
菲洛·法恩斯沃斯于1971年3月去世。
He is considered one of the most important inventors of the 20th century.
他被认为是20世纪最重要的发明家之一。
I’m John Russell.
我是约翰·拉塞尔。
Paul Thompson wrote this story for VOA Learning English.
保罗·汤普森为VOA英语学习频道撰写了这篇故事。
John Russell adapted it.
约翰·拉塞尔改编了它。
