TEXT:England has lost most of its forests. It wants American wood. In Boston, there's one redcoat for every four citizens. It's a city under occupation. Paul Revere is a silversmith and one of Boston's prominent businessmen，an unlikely subversive. They formed and marched with insolent parade, drums，beating, fifes playing, and colors flying, each soldier having received 16 rounds of powder and ball.He is an upper -middle-class figure, someone who has risen through his own efforts, his own talent.
He represents what we have created on our own with very little help from our cousins across the Atlantic. But when revolution comes to North America...Revere will beat the center of it.Boston and the 13 colonies are an economic powerhouse, critical to Britain. Nearly 40% of everything exported from Britain, makes its way toAmerica.The fishing fleet ships thousands of tons of salted cod to the Caribbean. Returns with sugar and molasses，raw material for rum. Taxed by the British after every exchange. In Africa, rum is the currency used to purchase the most profitable cargo of all...African slaves. Between 1700 and 1800, more than 1/4 of a million Africans are brought to the American colonies. More slaves than all those who came of their own free will. Most wind up on large plantations in the South. But they're also critical to the economy of the North. 10% of Boston's population is black. Boston is a melting pot, and tension is building. Nobody likes invaders in their homes. To have people here, foreigners on your soil, is something，is a great incentive for people to fight. March 5, 1770. After three days of unrest, an angry mob roams the streets. Hundreds of men who lost their jobs and blame the British gather on King Street and face off against eight redcoats with orders not to fire. What's about to happen will change America forever. A 17-year -old wig maker's apprentice, Edward Garrick, lights the fuse.This is how wars start.

译文:英国的大部分森林已不复存在，所以把目光投向了美国的森林。在波士顿，每四个市民就有一名英国士兵，整个城市完全被控制了。保罗·里维尔是一名银匠，也是波士顿知名大商人之一，一点都不像危险分子。傲慢的英国兵浩浩荡荡地进城，军乐阵阵，旗帜飞扬，每名士兵都配发了16发弹药。理查德·诺顿·史密斯[乔治梅森大学 历史学家]：“他是典型的中上层阶级，全靠自身努力奋斗得到现有的一切，他代表了这样一群人，几乎不靠英国亲友帮忙，白手起家。”但是当北美革命一触即发时，里维尔将身处革命的最前沿，包括波士顿在内的13个殖民地可以说是英国经济发展的发电站，对英国来说至关重要。英国出口的物品，将近40%都来到了美国。捕鱼船队将成千上万吨的腌鳕鱼运往加勒比海，又将糖和糖蜜运往英国，那些都是制作朗姆酒的原料，每一项进出口贸易都要向英国交税。在非洲，朗姆酒被当作货币，可以用来购买最赚钱的货——非洲黑奴。在1700年到1800年间，超过25万的非洲人被运往美国殖民地，大都是被强迫做了奴隶而非自愿前去，大部分人被送往南方大种植园。不过，黑人对美国北方经济发展也至关重要，波士顿10%的人口是黑人。波士顿就像一个大熔炉，气氛越发紧张。安妮特·戈登·里德[罗格斯大学历史学教授]：“没有人喜欢自己家里有侵略者，让外国人来到这片土地，某种程度上反而激励了人们去战斗。1770年3月5日，持续三天的动乱后，一群暴民游荡在大街小巷中。成百上千的人没了工作，他们聚集到国王街咒骂英国当局，和八个被下令不准开枪的英国士兵对峙。接下来发生的事情彻底改写了美国历史，17岁的制假发学徒爱德华·加里克点燃了导火线，战斗是这样开始的。