21世纪大学英语B2_U06_B.ppt

8 Moreover, some of the inventions commonly attributed to Edison had already been invented. One example is the light bulb. This was first demonstrated in London in 1878 by its English inventor, Joseph Wilson Swan. However, when Edison demonstrated his light bulb in the US the following year, it was he who was given the credit for bringing electric light to the world. 9 One reason was that Edison did more than just supply a light bulb, as Brian Bowers of London’s Science Museum explains. “Edison believed that if you had electric light, then you should have an Edison electric light bulb in an Edison lamp, connected by a piece of Edison wire, all the way back to the Edison generator in the Edison power station. It was a different concept — he was going for the whole system.” Text B 10 In this, Edison was unlike most scientists and inventors, who tend to concentrate on one particular idea or field. Edison never restricted himself. The reason, says his biographer, Neil Baldwin, is that he was motivated by a desire to improve people’s lives. 11 “You can see this theme throughout his life — to help the people of America to better their lives. He designed mass housing for the working people; he tried to find a cheaper way to mine iron ore; he designed a battery for an automobile; and he tried to make an electric car, to cut down on environmental pollution.” Text B 12 In fact, so great was Edison’s desire to invent things that would make life easier and better that he neglected to exploit many of his inventions because he didn’t believe they would be of use to people, or that people would want them. 13 One of his biggest mistakes was to underestimate the attraction of cinema and radio. After inventing the motion picture camera, he abandoned filmmaking because he believed movies could only be of interest to specialists who would use them for education, not entertainment. And although he was the first person to record sound, he failed to develop that technology because he