2 Young Ben

Chapter 2 Young Ben Benjamin Franklin was born in a house on Milk Street in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 17, 1706. There wasn't any United States yet. Massachusetts belonged to England. It was one of England's thirteen American Colonies.

1706年1月17日，年轻的本·本杰明·富兰克林出生在马萨诸塞州波士顿米尔克街的一所房子里。 那时还没有美国。 马萨诸塞属于英国。 它是英国在美洲的13个殖民地之一。

Ben's family was large—very large! He was number fifteen in a family with seventeen children. As often happened back then, four of the children died young. His parents, Josiah and Abiah Franklin, were not rich. Still, they got by. Josiah ran a shop called the Blue Ball. He made and sold candles and soap there. Next to the shop was the family

本的家庭很大，非常大！他在一个有17个孩子的家庭中排行第15。 就像当时经常发生的那样，四个孩子夭折了。 他的父母约西亚和亚比亚·富兰克林并不富裕。 不过，他们还是挺过来了。乔赛亚开了一家名为“蓝球”的商店。 他在那里制作并销售蜡烛和肥皂。 商店旁边是一家人

home. It had just two rooms downstairs and two upstairs. Young Ben shared a bed with a brother or two.

首页。它只有楼下两间，楼上两间。 小本和一两个哥哥同睡一张床。

Josiah and Abiah wanted Ben to become a minister. But Ben had two strikes against him. First, he had been born on a Sunday. Many people believed that a Sunday baby was a child of the devil. Also, he was left-handed. That was said to be another mark of the devil. His father punished Ben when he caught him throwing a ball or writing with his left hand. It didn't work. Ben was a lefty for life. Something else made his parents doubt that Ben would make a good minister. He was a smart aleck. For example, every evening Josiah said a long prayer before supper. One day Ben's father was packing fish into a barrel. Why didn't his father say grace over all the fish in the barrel at once? Ben suggested. Then Josiah would not

约西亚和亚比雅希望本成为牧师。 但本有两个不利因素。 首先，他出生在一个星期天。 许多人相信星期天出生的婴儿是魔鬼的孩子。 而且，他是左撇子。据说那是魔鬼的另一个标志。 当他的父亲发现本扔球或用左手写字时，他会惩罚他。 但没有成功。本一生都是左撇子。 还有一件事让他的父母怀疑本能否成为一名好牧师。 他是个自作聪明的家伙。例如，每天晚上约西亚在晚饭前都要做很长的祷告。 一天，本的爸爸正在把鱼装进桶里。 他的父亲为什么不立刻为桶里所有的鱼祈祷呢？ 本建议。于是约西亚不肯

have to waste time saying grace at each evening meal! For his smart remark, Ben received a slap.

每顿晚餐都要浪费时间祷告！由于他的俏皮话，本挨了一巴掌。

Ben went to school for just two years, starting at age eight. He failed arithmetic but did well at handwriting and reading. Ben loved books. He read the few books that his family owned. Then he borrowed books from his neighbors. Often he sat up reading most of the night. He also loved the outdoors. Swimming and kite-flying were his favorite sports. Ben's first

本八岁开始上学，只上了两年学。 他算术不及格，但写字和阅读很好。 本喜欢读书。他读了他家仅有的几本书。 然后他从邻居那里借书。 他经常整夜坐着看书。 他还喜欢户外活动。 游泳和放风筝是他最喜欢的运动。 本的第一