George Washington Carver

George Washington Carver. Written by Cynthia Kennedy Hensel.

乔治·华盛顿·卡弗。 作者：辛西娅·肯尼迪·亨塞尔。

A RUINED LAND George Washington Carver was shocked by what he saw from the window of the train. It was 1896, and families lived in crumbling shacks with cotton planted all the way up to the porch. The Alabama farmland was eroded and cracked. The cotton plants were as skinny and unhealthy as the children.

一片荒废的土地 乔治·华盛顿·卡弗透过火车窗看到眼前景象，大吃一惊。 那是1896年，许多家庭住在摇摇欲坠的破屋里，棉花一直种到了门廊边上。 阿拉巴马州的农田土壤被侵蚀，裂出了一道道缝隙。 棉花植株长得又细又弱，就和当地的孩子们一样不健康。

During the Civil War, 1861 to 1865, many of the old plantations of the South had been destroyed. More than 600 ,000 people had died during the fighting, leaving farms abandoned or not cared for. More than 4 million slaves had been freed, but most had no education and few skills to make a life for themselves. Thirty years after the war, Many of the freed slaves could barely feed their families. Professor Carver had given up a good job teaching at an Iowa college to come to Alabama to help the struggling farmers. He would help them by teaching that too much of a good thing can become a bad thing. What was ruining their farms was too much cotton.

1861至1865年内战期间，南方的许多旧种植园都被摧毁了。 超过六十万人死于战争，留下的农场要么被废弃，要么无人打理。 超过四百万奴隶获得了自由，但大多数人没受过教育，也没什么技能谋生。 内战结束三十年后，许多重获自由的奴隶还是勉强才能养活家人。 卡弗教授放弃了爱荷华州一所大学的优渥教职，来到阿拉巴马帮助苦苦挣扎的农民。 他告诉大家：好东西种太多也会变成坏事。 毁掉他们农场的元凶，就是过度种植的棉花。

Born a Slave George was born in Missouri in 1864 during the Civil War. His mother was a slave, so George was born a slave too. When George was a baby, Knight riders stole him and his mother. Moses and Susan Carver, the couple who owned them, sent a man to find them. He found George, but his mother was never seen again.

生为奴隶 乔治1864年内战期间出生在密苏里州。 他的母亲是奴隶，所以乔治生下来也身为奴隶。 乔治还是婴儿的时候，劫匪抢走了他和他的母亲。 从前拥有他们的夫妇摩西·卡弗和苏珊·卡弗派人去找他们母子。 只找到了乔治，他的母亲却再也没出现过。

When the Civil War ended in 1865, George and his older brother, Jim, were freed. The Carvers gave the orphaned boys a home. Jim helped Moses in the fields, but George was often sick and stayed at home to help Susan. She taught him to read, write, and sew, but George liked best to garden and explore nature.

1865年内战结束后，乔治和哥哥吉姆获得了自由。 卡弗夫妇收留了这两个失去父母的男孩。 吉姆帮摩西干农活，乔治常常生病，所以留在家帮苏珊干活。 苏珊教他读书、写字和缝纫，但乔治最喜欢打理花园、探索大自然。

Learning on his own. George taught himself about the local plants and animals, but he wanted to go to school to learn even more. Many schools at that time were segregated, which meant that white and black students could not attend the same school. The local school did not allow black students, so when George was 12, he left home to go to school. He lived with another couple, the Watkins, and worked for his meals and room. At 13, he moved to Kansas.

独自求学。 乔治自学认识了当地的动植物，但他想去学校学到更多知识。 当时很多学校实行种族隔离，也就是白人和黑人学生不能在同一所学校上学。 当地学校不接收黑人学生，所以乔治12岁那年就离家去别处上学了。 他住在沃特金斯夫妇家中，靠干活换取食宿。 13岁那年，他搬到了堪萨斯州。