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The Weaving Machine
织布机
Mr. Joseph Franklin invented a machine that could weave cloth.
约瑟夫·富兰克林先生发明了一种可以织布的机器。
It wove faster and straighter than anyone could weave by hand.
它织得比手工织的更快更直。
He decided to take it to two cities on a peninsula: Netherton and Wilton.
他决定把它带到半岛上的两个城市：内瑟顿和威尔顿。
In these cities, a large proportion of the people worked in the weaving industry.
在这些城市，很大一部分人从事织布业。
Joseph felt sure he could sell his machine there.
约瑟夫确信他可以在那里卖掉他的机器。
Joseph first took his machine to the mayor of Netherton.
约瑟夫首先把他的机器带到了内瑟顿市长那里。
"Think of the money you will earn from this machine!" Joseph said to him. But the mayor was a people-oriented man.
“想想你能从这台机器上赚多少钱！”约瑟夫对他说。但市长是个以人为本的人。
He knew about the people's dependence on weaving for their livelihood.
他知道人们的生计依赖于织布。
If he bought the machine, the people would lose their jobs. So he refused to buy it.
如果他买了这台机器，人们就会失业。所以他拒绝买它。
Joseph said, "We are no longer in the medieval age! Soon everything will be made by machines. Cloth made by hand will soon be obsolete. If you don't change your archaic ways, your town's income will diminish!"
约瑟夫说：“我们不再处于中世纪了！很快一切都将由机器制造。手工织的布很快就会过时。如果你不改变你的陈旧做法，你的城镇的收入就会减少！”
But the mayor said, "I don't like capitalism. Don't impose your radical ideas on my town. Go away!" So Joseph took his machine to the mayor at Wilton.
但市长说：“我不喜欢资本主义。不要把你的激进思想强加给我的城镇。走开！”于是约瑟夫带着他的机器去了威尔顿市长那里。
This mayor thought Joseph's machine was spectacular and spent a long time looking at its different components made of brass.
这位市长认为约瑟夫的机器非常壮观，花了很长时间查看它由黄铜制成的不同部件。
The mayor couldn't refute the fact that the machine had drawbacks that would affect the peoples jobs.
市长无法否认这台机器存在会影响人们工作的缺点。
But he realized the machine could bring money and prestige. So he ordered Joseph to build twenty of them.
但他意识到这台机器可以带来金钱和声望。所以他命令约瑟夫建造二十台。
Within a year, Witon was a wealthy city, famous for its wonderful cloth.
一年之内，威顿就成了一个富裕的城市，以其精美的布料而闻名。
People no longer wove but worked in managerial jobs at cloth factories instead.
人们不再织布，而是在布厂担任管理工作。
Nobody bought the cloth from Netherton anymore. The people of Netherton became poor and hungry.
没有人再从内瑟顿购买布料。内瑟顿的人们变得贫穷和饥饿。
Finally, the mayor of Netherton called Joseph and said, "Now I realize that your machine is not just a crazy idea. To succeed in business, we must be willing to change."
最后，内瑟顿市长打电话给约瑟夫说：“现在我意识到你的机器不仅仅是一个疯狂的想法。要想在商业上取得成功，我们必须愿意改变。”
He then ordered twenty weaving machines. After that, both Netherton and Wilton became rich cities, famous throughout the land for their wonderful cloth.
然后他订购了二十台织布机。此后，内瑟顿和威尔顿都成为了富裕的城市，并因其精美的布料而闻名全国。
