Andrew Carnegie （1835-1919， American industrialist and philanthropist ）began to work， when he was only twelve years old， as a bobbin boy in a cotton mill. He worked from six in the morning until six at night， putting thread on the bobbins that were used in the weaving machines. He earned 20 cents a day， or ?1.20 a week.

Andrew was determined to become something better than a bobbin boy. He worked very hard， and in a few months He was given a new job at ?1.65—putting coal into the furnace that provided the steam power for the looms. The work was hard and dangerous because the boiler might explode and kill him if he were not careful， but extra money was needed in the carnegie home.

Later， Andrew became a messenger boy for ?2.50 a week. This was very good pay for a boy of fourteen. He was smaller than the other four messengers， but he was the fastest of all. Soon he was earning ?3.00 a week. When he was not running around town with messages， Andrew learned to understand the morse code. Finally， he studied well enough to become a telegraph operator， earning ?25 a month. He was then sixteen years old.

And rew carnegie， one of the richest americans ever， prac-tically Became allergic to money as he grew richer and older. He was offended， he said， just by the sight and touch of it， and never carried any. Because he had no money with him with which to pay the fare， carnegie was once put off a london tram.

安德鲁·卡内基（1835-1919，美国工业家和慈善家）十二岁开始工作，在一家棉纺厂当线轴工。他从早上六点钟工作到晚上六点钟，把线缠到织机用的线轴上。他一天挣二十美分，也就是说，一星期挣一美元二十美分。

安德鲁决定要当个比线轴工稍微体面些的工人。他努力干活，几个月后，有人叫他干一种新活儿——给为织机提供蒸汽动力的炉子加煤，一星期挣一美元六十五美分。这个活儿又辛苦又危险，因为要是他不小心，这锅炉也许会爆炸，把他炸死，但卡内基家里需要额外的收入。

后来，安德鲁成为一名小邮递员，每星期挣二美元五十美分。在对一个十四岁的男孩来说已是很优厚的工资了。他比其他四个邮递员个子矮些，但他是他们中间跑得最快的一个。不久，他每星期就挣三美元了。安德鲁要是不在镇上四处送电报，他就学着认识莫尔斯电码。最后，他因为学得很好而当上了报务员，每月工资二十五美元。那时他才十六岁。

安德鲁·卡内基是美国历史上最富有的人之一，然而随着财富和年龄的增长，他几乎对钱感到厌恶。他说，他只要看到钱或者接触到钱就生气，因此身上从来不带钱。有一次他因为没有钱买车票，被从伦敦的一辆电车上轰了下来。