元宵節，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!

【紅霞譯文】

        托馬斯‧傑斐遜是一位傑出領袖，其豐功偉績令人拍案叫絕。不像其他偉人，托馬斯能文能武多才多藝，這就是為什麼我敬仰他的原因所在。

        托馬斯‧傑斐遜堪稱偉大的發明家。他熱愛發明，天資聰穎，設計改裝了許多產品，例如﹕升降機、犁板、滾輪密碼和球面日晷。升降機藉助腳輪驅動一組貨架裝置來提升高度﹔新型犁耙改良了犁板彎度，使之在深翻土壤時降低阻力，能夠有效地提高農耕技術﹔滾輪密碼為美國獨立戰爭期間士兵秘密傳送信息提供了簡單而安全的編碼和解碼手段﹔球面日晷通過變動的子午線投影來確定時間。正因為諸多發明創造，托馬斯變得越來越富，越來越出名，最終導致投資設計興建弗吉尼亞大學，同時在家鄉親手蓋起蒙蒂塞洛巨幢豪宅。

        我敬仰托馬斯的主要理由之一，他一生總是盡力而為。發明家的日子並非好過，因為要面對無數次失敗，但他從未灰心，無論出現何等狀況，即使在常人眼裡看似不可能。其實托馬斯出身卑微，可憑藉發奮圖強的精神，終於成為歷史上功不可沒的重要人物。

        最後但並非最不重要，令我深受啟發的還有托馬斯熱愛祖國，並終身付諸實踐。他不僅創造發明改善社會，而且還勇做駐法大使，即使在妻兒過世，托馬斯從未間斷報效祖國。身為美國第三任總統，他曾撰寫《美國獨立宣言》，制定《弗吉尼亞宗教自由法》，同時簽署《路易斯安那購地案》。

        托馬斯‧傑斐遜實在了不起！