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Meet Amazing Americans 領袖與政治人物 班傑明富蘭克林 (Benjamin Franklin)
 
富蘭克林像大人一般地在閱讀 Franklin reading as an adult
富蘭克林像大人一般地在閱讀 Franklin reading as an adult

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身為印刷商的班傑明富蘭克林 Benjamin Franklin, the Printer

班傑明富蘭克林長大之後會成為什麼樣的人?在十八世紀時,這個決定會由孩童的父親做出決策,班傑明的父親一開始希望他成為一位牧師、並送他到學校上課,但學費昂貴而且還需就讀多年,所以他的父親兩年後就讓班傑明離校、讓十歲的班傑明加入家庭工作、也就是製造肥皂跟蠟燭。

但班傑明真正嚮往的是大海,他是個游泳健將,喜愛海洋、夢想著在船上工作,但因為他的一位哥哥死於海上、所以這個想法他的父親並不贊同;他的另一個哥哥詹姆士從英國歸來開始經營印刷業務後,他的父親就知道該怎麼辦了!班傑明喜愛閱讀,為什麼不成為一個印刷商人呢?為了確保班傑明不要到海上冒險,他的父親說服班傑明成為哥哥的助手。

學徒必須簽署同意書,言名願意遵從指令為「主人」(老闆)工作多長的時間,班傑明勉強地為自己的哥哥工作了九年,從他12歲工作到21歲。


What would Benjamin Franklin be when he grew up? In the 18th century it was up to a boy's father to decide. Benjamin's father first thought he should be a preacher and sent him to school. But school was expensive and would take many years. So his father took him out of school after only two years and he put 10-year-old Benjamin to work at the family business, making soap and candles.

What Benjamin really wanted was to go to sea. He was an excellent swimmer, loved the ocean, and dreamed of working on a ship, but an older brother had died at sea so his father would not allow it. When another brother, James, returned from England to set up a printing business, their father knew what to do. Benjamin loved to read, so why not become a printer? To make sure he didn't run off to sea, his father convinced Benjamin to become his brother's apprentice (helper).

Apprentices had to sign papers that said they would obey and work for their "master" (boss) for a certain amount of time. Benjamin reluctantly signed up to be his brother's apprentice for nine long years, from when he was 12 until he was 21.

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