特别广播英语第 230 课：The Edison Effect 大发明家──爱迪生-3

After improving upon the telephone, Edison created the phonograph, his favorite and most lucrativeinvention. 在改进了电话功能后，爱迪生又发明了留声机，这是他喜爱的而且最能赚钱的一项发明。

Although Edison did not actually invent the light bulb, he did create an electric lighting system which led to its widespread use. 虽然爱迪生实际上并没有发明灯泡，但他的确发明了电灯照明系统，这导致了灯泡的广泛使用。

A tireless achiever, Edison established the first central electric power station in 1882, enabling New York to be the first city in the world to have electric lights. 1882年，这位孜孜不倦的实践家建成了第一座中央电站，使纽约市成为世界上第一个有电力照明设备的城市，

This was the beginning of the modern world in which electricity became a way of life. 这就是现代世界的开始，电成为人们的一种生活方式。

The following year, one of Edison's engineers discovered electrons, which eventually led to electronics, the branch of science dealing with electricity. 第二年，爱迪生手下的一名工程师发现了电子，最后导致电子学的产生。

This discovery was patented as the "Edison effect". Without electronics, we might not have radio, TV, computers, or space travel. 这个发现以“爱迪生效应”获得发明专利。假若没有电子学，我们可能就没有收音机、电视机、电脑，甚至太空旅行。

The rest of Edison's life was spent making and improving inventions including the motion picture camera, the alkaline battery, the copy machine, and the microphone. 在最后的岁月里，爱迪生继续创造并改进那些发明，其中包括电影摄像机、碱性电池、复印机，以及麦克风。

Thomas Edison died at the age of eighty-four in 1931. Three days later, much of America dimmed its lights in honor of the inventor— man who had more impact on the development of present-day civilization than anyone else in history. 爱迪生1931年去世，享年84岁。在他死后三天，美国大部分地区使灯暗下来来纪念这位在历史上对现代文明发展最具影响力的发明家。