英语短篇：Genius At Work(天才在工作)

 　　Henry ford¹ didn't always pay attention in school. One day, he and a friend took a watch apart. Angry and upset, the teacher told him both to stay after school. Their punishment was to stay until they had fixed² the watch. But the teacher did not know young ford's genius. In ten minutes, this mechanical wizard had repaired the watch and was on this way home..

　　Ford was always interested in how things worked. He once plugged up the spout³ of a teapot and placed it on the fire. Then he waited to see what would happen. The water boiled and, of course, turned to steam. Since the steam had no way to escape, the teapot exploded. The explosion cracked a mirror and broke a window. The young inventor was badly scalded ford's year of curiosity and tinkering paid off. He dreamed of a horseless carriage. When he built one, the world of transportation was changed forever.

　　亨利.福特在学校里常常心不在焉。有一天，他和一个小朋友把一块手表拆开了。老师很生气，让他们放学后留下来，把表修好才能回家。当时这位老师并不知道小福特的天才。只用了十分钟，这位机械奇才就把手表修好，走在回家的路上了。

　　福特对各种东西的工作原理总是很感兴趣。曾有一次，他把茶壶嘴用东西堵住，然后把茶壶放在火炉上。他便站在一边等候着会出现什么情况。当然，水开后变成了水蒸气。因为水蒸气无处逸出，茶壶便爆炸了，因而打碎了一面镜子和一扇窗户。这个小发明家也被严重地烫伤了。多年后，福特的好奇心和他的动手能力使他得到了回报。他曾经梦想着去制造一辆无马行进的车。他造成了一辆这样的车后，运输界发生了永久性的变化。

1 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

2 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

3 spout   

v.喷出，涌出；滔滔不绝地讲；n.喷管；水柱

参考例句：

• Implication in folk wealth creativity and undertaking vigor spout.蕴藏于民间的财富创造力和创业活力喷涌而出。
• This acts as a spout to drain off water during a rainstorm.在暴风雨季，这东西被用作喷管来排水。