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From this point on he was always thinking of things to create. Often his inventions were such as to save time and labor.
從那時起，他一直在思考要創造的東西。他的發明常常可以節省時間和勞力。
Once when he was working on night duty in a telegraph office, he was ordered to signal the main office every hour so they would know he was awake.
一次，當他在電報辦公室值夜班時，他被命令每小時都發信號給總辦公室，以便他們知道他是醒著的。
He wished that there was something to signal for him so that he might steal a nap.
他希望有一種東西能夠幫助他發信號，從而讓他可以偷偷打個盹。
He thought for awhile, and finally made a small wheel with notches on the rim.
他想了一會兒，最后做了一個小輪子，邊緣有缺口。
He attached it to the clock so that every hour a signal was sent automatically.
他將其連接到時鐘上，每小時自動發送一個信號。
Later, when Edison invented the “repeater” for the telegraph, which took down the dots and dashes so that the operator could go back and copy them at his leisure,
后來愛迪生發明了電報“重復器”，這記下了點和短線條，讓操作員可以在閑暇時去復制它們，
it was because he could not take news reports fast enough to get all of them.
這是因為他無法以足夠快的速度記錄新聞報道。
Edison had a strong sense of humor which led him to invent many clever tricks.愛迪生有很強的幽默感，這使他發明了許多聰明的把戲。
One day he wired up a workshop of the Cincinnati Indianapolis Railroad so that every man who went to wash his hands received an electric shock that threw his arms up over his head.
一天，在為辛辛那提印第安納波利斯鐵路的一個車間接線時，他使每個洗手的人都受到電擊，將手臂舉過頭頂。
Once he hid a machine in a guest’s room. Just as his friend got into bed, a voice said, “Eleven o’clock, one hour more.”
有一次他把機器藏在客人的房間里。正當他的朋友上床睡覺時，一個聲音說：“11點，又一個小時。”
The visitor was startled, but as nothing further happened he lay down to sleep.
客人大吃一驚，但隨后沒有發生任何事，于是他躺下睡覺。
When mid-night chimed, the voice came again: “Twelve o’clock, prepare to die ! ”
午夜時分，再次傳來聲音：“12點，準備去死！”
The scream of the visitor brought Edison to the room with a laughing explanation of what had happened. The ghost was only a phonograph.
訪客的叫喊聲吸引來了愛迪生，他笑著解釋這一切。鬼怪只是一臺留聲機。
在他早期發明和實驗的漫長歲月中，愛迪生大部分的時間都是貧窮的。
He lived the life of a genius — which means half-starving one day and having plenty of money the next.
他過著天才的生活——這意味著有時食不果腹，有時富得流油。
He spent every cent he made to buy materials and tools for his workshop.
他將掙來的每一分錢都用來為工作室購買材料和工具。
His life was for the most part made up of hard work and study.
他生活的大部分是由努力工作和學習組成的。
He stayed until all hours of the night at his laboratory, snatching his sleep — an hour at a time, on a chair or a pile of sawdust.
他在實驗室里熬夜，偶爾在椅子上或一堆木屑上小睡一會。
His wonderful ability to get along without sleep made the number of working hours in his lifetime many more than those of most men.
他這樣對付著睡覺，所以一生的工作時間比大多數人都長很多。
