元宵节，2014-02-14

【Aiden in English】

        Thomas Jefferson was a great man. He accomplished a lot of feats that we couldn't even hope to achieve. Unlike other great people, Thomas was famous for many things. This is why I look up to him.

        Thomas Jefferson was an amazing inventor. He loved inventing and was a genius. He designed and changed many products, for example, the dumbwaiter, moldboard, wheel cipher, and spherical sundial. The dumbwaiter consisted of a series of tiers of shelves set on casters to enhance the lifter. The new plow was reduced the resistance when a curved moldboard turned the soil to improve the technology of farming. The wheel cipher was devised in an easy and secure method to encode and decode messages that the solders sent during the American Revolution. A movable meridian of the spherical sundial cast a shadow telling the time. Because of his inventions, Thomas became so rich and famous that he was able to found, design, and direct the architecture of the University of Virginia. He even built a huge mansion of Monticello in his home state.

        One of the main reasons I respect Thomas is that he always tried his best. Being an inventor is very hard because many experiments would fail. However, he never stopped trying no matter what, even if somebody said that it was impossible. Thomas came from a poor family. Even so, he became a man who would go down in history to the end of time.

        And last but not least, the thing that inspires me most, is that Thomas always helped America. He not only created useful inventions to improve society, but also became an ambassador to France. Even after his wife and children passed away, Thomas continued to help America. As the 3rd President of the United States, he wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. In the meanwhile, he signed the Louisiana Purchase.

        What a terrific person Thomas Jefferson is!

【红霞译文】

        托马斯‧杰斐逊是一位杰出领袖，其丰功伟绩令人拍案叫绝。不像其他伟人，托马斯能文能武多才多艺，这就是为什么我敬仰他的原因所在。

        托马斯‧杰斐逊堪称伟大的发明家。他热爱发明，天资聪颖，设计改装了许多产品，例如﹕升降机、犁板、滚轮密码和球面日晷。升降机借助脚轮驱动一组货架装置来提升高度﹔新型犁耙改良了犁板弯度，使之在深翻土壤时降低阻力，能够有效地提高农耕技术﹔滚轮密码为美国独立战争期间士兵秘密传送信息提供了简单而安全的编码和解码手段﹔球面日晷通过变动的子午线投影来确定时间。正因为诸多发明创造，托马斯变得越来越富，越来越出名，最终导致投资设计兴建弗吉尼亚大学，同时在家乡亲手盖起蒙蒂塞洛巨幢豪宅。

        我敬仰托马斯的主要理由之一，他一生总是尽力而为。发明家的日子并非好过，因为要面对无数次失败，但他从未灰心，无论出现何等状况，即使在常人眼里看似不可能。其实托马斯出身卑微，可凭借发奋图强的精神，终于成为历史上功不可没的重要人物。

        最后但并非最不重要，令我深受启发的还有托马斯热爱祖国，并终身付诸实践。他不仅创造发明改善社会，而且还勇做驻法大使，即使在妻儿过世，托马斯从未间断报效祖国。身为美国第三任总统，他曾撰写《美国独立宣言》，制定《弗吉尼亚宗教自由法》，同时签署《路易斯安那购地案》。

        托马斯‧杰斐逊实在了不起！