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THE COTTON GIN.
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Brief mention has been made of Whitney's invention of the cotton gin. The event was of such world-wide importance that the story should be told here. Whitney, the inventor of the gin, was born in Massachusetts in 1765, in very poor circumstances. While the War of the Revolution was going on, he was earning his living by making nails by hand. He was such an apt mechanic that he was able to make and save enough money to pay his way through Yale College, where he graduated in 1792. In that year he engaged himself to come to Georgia as a private tutor in the family of a gentleman of Savannah; but when he reached that city, he found that the place had been filled.
While in Savannah, Whitney attracted the attention of the widow of General Nathanael Greene, who lived at Mulberry Grove1, on the river at no great distance from the city. Mrs. Greene invited the young man to make his home on her plantation2. He soon found opportunity to show his fine mechanical genius, and Mrs. Greene became more interested in him than ever.
The story goes, that soon after the young man had established himself on the Mulberry Grove Plantation, several Georgia planters were dining with Mrs. Greene. During their conversation the difficulty of removing the seed from the cotton fiber3 was mentioned, and the suggestion was made that this might be done by machinery4. At this Mrs. Greene mentioned the skill and ingenuity5 of young Whitney, and advised her guests that he should be given the problem to solve. This advice was followed. The planters had a talk with the young man, and explained to him the difficulty which they found in separating the seed from the lint6.
At that time one pound of lint cotton was all that a negro woman could separate from the seed in a day; and the more cotton the planters raised, the deeper they got in debt. The close of the war had found them in a state of the utmost poverty, so that they had been compelled to mortgage their lands in order to get money on which to begin business. Cotton was the only product of the farm for which there was any constant demand; but, owing to the
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1
grove
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n.林子,小树林,园林 | |
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plantation
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n.种植园,大农场 | |
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fiber
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n.纤维,纤维质 | |
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machinery
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n.(总称)机械,机器;机构 | |
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ingenuity
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n.别出心裁;善于发明创造 | |
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lint
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n.线头;绷带用麻布,皮棉 | |
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labor
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n.劳动,努力,工作,劳工;分娩;vi.劳动,努力,苦干;vt.详细分析;麻烦 | |
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entirely
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ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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rumors
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n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 );[古]名誉;咕哝;[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 );[古]名誉;咕哝;[古]喧嚷 | |
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concealed
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a.隐藏的,隐蔽的 | |
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ransacked
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v.彻底搜查( ransack的过去式和过去分词 );抢劫,掠夺 | |
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plantations
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n.种植园,大农场( plantation的名词复数 ) | |
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partnership
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n.合作关系,伙伴关系 | |
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lawsuits
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infringed
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v.违反(规章等)( infringe的过去式和过去分词 );侵犯(某人的权利);侵害(某人的自由、权益等) | |
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dominant
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adj.支配的,统治的;占优势的;显性的;n.主因,要素,主要的人(或物);显性基因 | |
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watt
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n.瓦,瓦特 | |
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postponed
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vt.& vi.延期,缓办,(使)延迟vt.把…放在次要地位;[语]把…放在后面(或句尾)vi.(疟疾等)延缓发作(或复发) | |
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defrauding
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v.诈取,骗取( defraud的现在分词 ) | |
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rattle
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v.飞奔,碰响;激怒;n.碰撞声;拨浪鼓 | |
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languishing
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a. 衰弱下去的 | |
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lucrative
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adj.赚钱的,可获利的 | |
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depressed
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adj.沮丧的,抑郁的,不景气的,萧条的 | |
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glimmering
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n.微光,隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光,发微光( glimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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remarkable
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adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的 | |
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supreme
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adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的 | |
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royalty
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n.皇家,皇族 | |
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costly
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adj.昂贵的,价值高的,豪华的 | |
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odds
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n.让步,机率,可能性,比率;胜败优劣之别 | |
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avarice
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n.贪婪;贪心 | |
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mustered
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v.集合,召集,集结(尤指部队)( muster的过去式和过去分词 );(自他人处)搜集某事物;聚集;激发 | |
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briefly
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adv.简单地,简短地 | |
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contractors
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n.(建筑、监造中的)承包人( contractor的名词复数 ) | |
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treasury
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n.宝库;国库,金库;文库 | |
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musket
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n.滑膛枪 | |
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muskets
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n.火枪,(尤指)滑膛枪( musket的名词复数 ) | |
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admiration
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n.钦佩,赞美,羡慕 | |
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applied
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adj.应用的;v.应用,适用 | |
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peculiar
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adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 | |
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belittling
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使显得微小,轻视,贬低( belittle的现在分词 ) | |
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marvels
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n.奇迹( marvel的名词复数 );令人惊奇的事物(或事例);不平凡的成果;成就v.惊奇,对…感到惊奇( marvel的第三人称单数 ) | |
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laborer
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n.劳动者,劳工 | |
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exquisite
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adj.精美的;敏锐的;剧烈的,感觉强烈的 | |
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