I was¹ born³ in Switzerland， in the town of Geneva． My parents loved each other very much， and I learnt from the example of their love．I learnt that to love and to be patient⁵ are the most important⁶ things in the world．

My mother hoped⁷ to have a daughter after I was born， but for five years I was the only child． And then my mother found⁸ a sister for me．She was helping⁹ a family in which there were five children． They were very poor，and the children were thin and hungry． One of the children was a little girl， with golden¹⁰ hair and blue eyes Her name was Elizabeth． My mother took¹¹ the little girl into our family，and Elizabeth became¹² the daughter that my mother had¹⁴ always wanted． As² I grew older， my love for Elizabeth became stronger all the time．

Later¹⁵ my mother had two other sons， Ernest and William．A young woman called Justine came¹³ to live in the house to help my mother with the children． We loved her as much as she loved us．

The years passed happily， and we had everything that we needed． At school I met another very fine person． His name was Henry Clerval， and he was very clever． My family also liked him very much， so he was a welcome visitor¹⁹ to our house．

I studied very hard at school．I wanted to know the secrets²⁰ of life， and， most of all， I wanted to know how to make living²² things．I read all the books that I could²³ find．One day，some－thing happened that added²⁴ a new idea to the ideas that I al－ready had．I was fifteen at the time， and we were on holiday in the mountains． There was a wild²⁵ storm， and with it came the most frightening²⁷ thunder²⁸ and lightning²⁹ that I had ever¹⁷ seen³⁰ in my life． About twenty metres³¹ in front of our house was a great tree．Suddenly³² a huge³³ fork of lightning hit the tree．After a few³⁴ seconds， there was nothing left of it except³⁵ a black piece of wood two metres high． The lightning had destroyed³⁶ it．

I saw³⁷ how strong electricity³⁸ was． I began to read all the books that I could find about electricity and its terrible³⁹ power．

我出生在瑞士的日内瓦城。我父母彼此相爱至深，而且我以他们的爱心为榜样。我懂得了去爱他人和富有耐心是世界上最重要的事情。

在生下我后，我母亲希望再生一个女儿，但在五年之中我都是唯一的孩子。后来我母亲给我找了一个妹妹。她那时在一个有五个孩子的家庭里帮忙。他们非常穷，孩子们都又瘦又饿。其中一个孩子是一个头发金黄、有一对蓝色的眼睛的小女孩。她名叫伊丽莎白。我母亲把那个小女孩带到了我家，于是伊丽莎白便成了我母亲盼望已久的女儿。随着年龄的增长，我对伊丽莎白的爱与日俱增。

后来我母亲又生了两个儿子：欧内斯特和威廉。有个名叫贾斯汀的年轻女子来我家帮我母亲照看孩子们。我们像她爱我们一样地爱她。

岁月快乐地流逝着，我们拥有所需要的一切。在学校里我遇见了另外一个非常好的人，他的名字叫亨利·克勒沃，人非常聪明。我的家人也非常喜欢他，所以他是我们家受欢迎的客人。

我在学校学得很刻苦。我想要知道生命的奥秘，而且我最想知道的便是如何制造有生命的东西。我阅读了我能找到的一切书籍。有一天发生了一件事情，它给我新的启发。我那时15岁，我们正在山中度假。那天有一场暴风雨，夹杂其间的是我平生见过的最为吓人的雷霆和闪电。在我们的房子前面约二十米处有一棵大树。突然间一个叉状闪电击中了大树。 几秒钟之后，那棵大树便只剩下两米高的一块黑木头。闪电摧毁了它。

我看到了电的力量有多么大。我开始阅读我能找到的有关电及其可怕力量的一切书籍。