2 Chapter 1 Tall Tom

Chapter 1 Tall Tom Thomas Jefferson was born in 1743 on his family's plantation, Shadwell, in central Virginia. Virginia was one of thirteen colonies belonging to Great Britain. By the calendar used then, his birth date was April 2. By today's calendar his birth date was April 13. Tom came third in a family of ten children. Two of the children didn't survive infancy. So Tom grew up with two older sisters, four younger sisters, and a younger brother. The babies of the family, Anna and Randolph, were twins. Little is known about Tom's mother, Jane Randolph Jefferson. Far more is known about his father. Peter Jefferson was a prosperous farmer who owned dozens of slaves. He was also a

1743年，汤姆·托马斯·杰斐逊出生在弗吉尼亚州中部沙德威尔家族的种植园里。 弗吉尼亚是英国的13个殖民地之一。 根据当时使用的日历，他的出生日期是4月2日。 按照今天的日历，他的出生日期是4月13日。 在一个有十个孩子的家庭里，汤姆排行第三。 其中两个孩子在婴儿期夭折。 所以汤姆和两个姐姐、四个妹妹和一个弟弟一起长大。 这个家庭的孩子安娜和伦道夫是双胞胎。 人们对汤姆的母亲简·伦道夫·杰斐逊知之甚少。 人们对他父亲的了解要多得多。 彼得·杰斐逊是一个富裕的农民，拥有几十个奴隶。 他也是一个

surveyor, a person who measures land boundaries. In addition, he served in Virginia's legislature. Young Tom thought his father was the smartest and the strongest man on earth. It was said that Peter Jefferson once raised two barrels of tobacco that had been lying on their sides to an upright position. Each barrel was said to weigh nearly 1,000 pounds. He also loved books and read Shakespeare and other authors in his spare time.

测量师，测量土地边界的人。 此外，他还在弗吉尼亚州的立法机构任职。 小汤姆认为他的父亲是地球上最聪明、最强壮的人。 据说，彼得·杰斐逊有一次把两桶横放着的烟草竖了起来。 据说每桶重近1000磅。 他还喜欢读书，在业余时间阅读莎士比亚和其他作家的作品。

Tom had cousins named Randolph, who lived in eastern Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Randolph died within a few years of each other. After that, Tom's parents helped raise the three Randolph children. Tom's first memory was of moving to his cousins' home, about fifty miles away, when he was two. For much of his childhood, Tom went back and forth between the two places. Sometimes he was home at Shadwell. Other times he and his family were at Tuckahoe, the Randolph estate.

汤姆有个表亲叫伦道夫，住在弗吉尼亚州东部。 伦道夫夫妇在几年内相继去世。 从那以后，汤姆的父母帮助抚养伦道夫家的三个孩子。 汤姆最早的记忆是两岁那年搬到50英里外的表兄妹家。 在他童年的大部分时间里，汤姆都在这两个地方之间往返。 有时他在沙德维尔的家里。 其他时候，他和他的家人在塔卡霍，伦道夫庄园。

In a way, Tom had the best of two worlds. At Shadwell, which stood at the edge of the wilderness, his father taught him to ride, swim, fish, and hunt. In eastern Virginia, Tom went to dances and learned to dress and behave like an English gentleman. But he apparently didn't get

在某种程度上，汤姆拥有两个世界中最好的。 在荒野边缘的沙德威尔，他的父亲教他骑马、游泳、钓鱼和打猎。 在弗吉尼亚东部，汤姆参加舞会，学会了像英国绅士那样穿着和举止。 但他显然没有得到