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Henry Ford was an American industrialist who revolutionized factory production in the early 20th century.
亨利·福特是一位美国实业家，他在20世纪早期彻底改变了工厂生产。
One of eight children, Henry Ford was born on July 30, 1863, in eastern Michigan.
亨利·福特于1863年7月30日出生在密歇根州东部，家里有八个孩子。
He lived and worked on his family farm, except for three years in Detroit, where he saw an internal-combustion engine for the first time.
他在底特律待过三年，其他时间都在家里的农场里生活和工作，在那里他第一次见到了内燃机。
He married in 1888, and he and his wife moved to Detroit.
他于1888年结婚，并和妻子搬到了底特律。
Ford's job as an electrical engineer in Detroit required him to be on call 24 hours a day--but when there were no urgent requests, he had time to conduct his own experiments.
在底特律，福特是一名电气工程师，他的工作需要他一天24小时随叫随到，但没有紧急情况时，他就有时间自己做实验。
In 1896 he created his first horseless carriage, the Quadricycle: a design for a buggy frame mounted on bicycle wheels.
1896年，他发明了第一辆不用马拉的四轮马车：一种安装在自行车轮子上的四轮马车。
In 1903 Ford started the Ford Motor Company.
1903年，福特创立了福特汽车公司。
Because many of his wealthiest investors had backed out when Ford refused to put what he considered an imperfect car on the market, the company was financed almost entirely by individuals.
福特拒绝将他认为有缺陷的汽车投放进市场，所以许多最富有的投资者纷纷撤资退出，公司的资金几乎完全由个人提供。
Finding perfection was worth the wait.
他追求完美的行为完全值得等待。
In 1908 the Ford Motor Company introduced the Model T, of which 15.5 million were eventually sold in the United States.
1908年，福特汽车公司推出了Model T汽车，这款车型最终在美国售出了1550万辆。
Producing so many Model Ts was possible because of the assembly-line process that Ford developed for his factories.
之所以能生产这么多的Model T汽车，是因为福特给他的工厂开发了装配流水线。
Instead of hiring one or two specialists, Ford paid high wages to dozens of less-skilled workers to complete just one part of the process on multiple cars.
福特并没有雇佣一两名专业人员，而是用高薪聘请几十名技术水平较低的工人，让他们在多辆汽车上完成工序的某一部分。
Previously, a Model T took over 12 hours to build.
之前，一辆Model T汽车要花12个小时才能造完。
The assembly line spit out the same automobile in just an hour and a half.
流水线只需要一个半小时就能生产出同样的汽车。
When Ford was growing up in Michigan, only two out of every eight Americans lived in cities.
福特在密歇根长大的时候，只有四分之一的美国人住在城市。
When he died in 1947, that proportion was five out of eight--in part thanks to Ford and the Model T.
1947年他去世时，这一比例上升至8分之5——这在一定程度上要归功于福特和Model T汽车。
For better or for worse, the world would never be the same.
无论是好是坏，这个世界都将改变。
