3 Chapter 2 Time to Go to Work

Chapter 2 Time to Go to Work Betsy's older sisters all had begun working when they were teenagers. In the early days of the American colonies, upholsterers made curtains, bedcovers, cushions, and pillows. They even made furniture, such as sofas and comfortable chairs. Some upholsterers also made flags. At this time, Philadelphia was a great place to be an upholsterer. Many of the richest people in the colonies lived there. They had money to spend, and they wanted their homes to be beautiful. They ordered fancy chairs, beautiful tablecloths, and sofas covered with soft velvet imported from Europe.

贝琪的姐姐们在十几岁的时候就开始工作了。 在美国殖民地的早期，室内装潢商制作窗帘、床罩、靠垫和枕头。 他们甚至制作家具，比如沙发和舒适的椅子。 一些室内装潢师还制作旗帜。 当时，费城是一个做室内装潢师的好地方。 殖民地许多最富有的人都住在那里。 他们有钱花，他们希望自己的家很漂亮。 他们订购了从欧洲进口的精美的椅子、漂亮的桌布和铺着柔软天鹅绒的沙发。

Some of the workers at John Webster's shop made nothing but fringe and tassels to decorate curtains. The expert craftspeople stitched and sewed for hours to make the finest home furnishings. Mr. Webster had many helpers. Some were paid workers who had studied and worked their way into a full-time job. Others were apprentices. An apprentice is a person who is learning on the job. They were usually not paid much, if anything, but they hoped to learn enough to one day earn a full-time job. In 1764, when Betsy was twelve, she visited her sister at Mr. Webster's shop. When Webster saw Betsy's skill, he signed her on as an apprentice. In those days, it was not unusual for children to work outside their homes. Other girls worked in similar shops, or in kitchens or as housemaids. Boys were trained to be printers, carpenters, or sign painters, or to care for horses and carriages. Betsy worked six days a week. She gathered the materials the workers needed, including fabric, needles, and thread.

约翰·韦伯斯特店里的一些工人只做装饰窗帘的流苏和流苏。 能工巧匠们连续数小时地缝纫，制作出最精美的家具。 韦伯斯特先生有许多帮手。 有些人是通过学习和工作获得全职工作的受薪工人。 其他人则是学徒。学徒是指在工作中学习的人。 如果有的话，他们的工资通常也不高，但他们希望能学到足够的知识，以便有一天能找到一份全职工作。 1764年，贝特西12岁的时候，她去韦伯斯特先生的店里看望姐姐。 当韦伯斯特看到贝特西的技能时，就把她收为学徒。 在那些日子里，孩子们在外面工作是很正常的。 其他女孩在类似的商店、厨房或女佣工作。 男孩们被训练成为印刷工、木匠、标识画家，或者照顾马匹和马车。 贝琪每周工作六天。 她收集了工人们需要的材料，包括织物、针和线。

Sometimes she made deliveries to customers. And she became a better seamstress. She had a busy life in a busy city. In 1765, Great Britain passed a new tax on its American colonies. This was nothing new, as the colonists were all British subjects and

有时她给顾客送货。 她成为了一名更好的裁缝。 她在一个繁忙的城市里过着忙碌的生活。 1765年，英国对其美洲殖民地征收了一项新税。 这并不是什么新鲜事，因为殖民者都是英国的臣民

expected to be loyal to King George III. But this new tax made many colonists angry. The Stamp Act said that every piece of paper had to have a special stamp on it. Those stamps cost the colonists money. The money was sent back to England to support the king and the British army. Americans in Philadelphia, New York, and Boston held meetings and protests against the new taxes. Ordinary citizens like Betsy started paying attention to the speeches arguing against Great Britain's rules. In the end, Britain canceled the Stamp Act. But the American colonists were growing tired of sending more and more tax money to Great Britain. Over the next several years, Betsy continued working hard for Mr. Webster. The tension between the American colonies and England grew worse. But by 1773, Betsy was not paying as much attention to the politics of

被期望效忠乔治三世国王 但是这项新税让许多殖民者感到愤怒。 《印花税法案》规定，每张纸都必须贴上特别的邮票。 这些邮票花费了殖民者的钱。 这些钱被送回英国，用来支持国王和英国军队。 费城、纽约和波士顿的美国人举行集会，抗议新税。 像贝琪这样的普通公民开始关注那些反对英国统治的演讲。 最后，英国取消了《印花税法案》。 但是，美国殖民者越来越厌倦了向英国缴纳越来越多的税款。 在接下来的几年里，贝琪继续为韦伯斯特先生努力工作。 美国殖民地和英国之间的紧张关系日益恶化。 但到了1773年，贝琪不再那么关注政治了

her country. She had fallen in love with another shopworker named John Ross. There was only one problem: John Ross was not a Quaker. TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION WHEN COLONISTS GOT ANGRY BECAUSE OF THE STAMP ACT, THEY WERE NOT MAD ABOUT BEING TAXED. THEY EXPECTED TO PAY TAXES TO HELP RUN THEIR COLONY AND ENGLAND. BUT THE COLONISTS WANTED TO HAVE A SAY ABOUT WHICH TAXES WERE PASSED. PARLIAMENT, THE PART OF ENGLAND'S GOVERNMENT THAT MAKES LAWS, DISAGREED. AND KING GEORGE III, WHO SIGNED ALL THE LAWS, DISAGREED. THEY SAID AMERICANS COULD NOT VOTE ON THEIR OWN TAXES. A FAMOUS AMERICAN SLOGAN WAS "NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION," BECAUSE THE

她的国家。她爱上了另一个名叫约翰·罗斯的店员。 只有一个问题:约翰·罗斯不是贵格会教徒。 当殖民者因为印花税法案而愤怒时，他们并没有因为被征税而生气。 他们希望通过纳税来帮助管理他们的殖民地和英国。 但是殖民者想要对通过的税收有发言权。 英国政府中负责制定法律的议会不同意这种说法。 签署所有法律的国王乔治三世不同意。 他们说，美国人不能对自己的税收进行投票。 美国有一句著名的口号是“无代表不征税”，因为