专题 36 英美文化阅读理解专项：政治家富兰克林+文学家济慈+侦探福尔摩斯- 2024年高考英语常考英美文化阅读专练+素材积累

87. Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin was known as an inventor, writer, statesman and revolutionary. His efforts and ideas helped shape the creation of America and many of his inventions are still used today! Benjamin Franklin grew up in the British colony of Massachusetts (it was not a state yet) as the youngest of the seventeen children! Benjamin was a quiet child and spent most of his time working in his family's shop, reading and daydreaming about faraway places. Benjamin Franklin is honoured with a variety of inventions including the political cartoon. Benjamin created a picture of snake cut into separate pieces. Each piece represented a different colony and under the picture was the phrase "JOIN, or DIE". The idea of the cartoon was to create unity among the divided colonies. This was the first time that a cartoon featured a point of view or a political idea. Benjamin was always full of ideas and opinions, so he brought together a group of men to share them with. Benjamin called the club "Junto", and its twelve members included scientists, mathematicians and merchants. He was a brave scientist. Benjamin placed a metal wire on the kite and tied a metal key to the string he was holding. When the kite was struck by lightning, Benjamin touched the key and received a shock. This proved Benjamin's theory that lightning was actually electricity. Benjamin created many famous inventions, many of which are still used today. Bifocal lenses, lightning rods and odometers to measure distance were all created by Benjamin Franklin. One of Benjamin's less famous inventions was the "Armonica", a musical instrument that used glass to make sounds! (274 words) ◆Helper: revolutionary ['revə'lu:ʃənəri]革命家 colony ['kɔləni]殖民地 feature ['fi:tʃə] 以…为特色 junto ['dʒʌntəu] (pl.juntos)秘密会议[结社] lightning rod避雷针 odometer[ɔ'dɔmitə]里程表 armonica[ɑ:'mɔnikə]玻璃口琴 cartoon [kɑ:'tu:n]政治性漫画 ◆Brief Introduction: 本杰明·富兰克林是著名的发明家、作家、政治家和革命家。他的努力和思想帮助了美国的建立。他是在英国殖民地的马萨诸塞(