历史小径·世界史英语30篇（7）

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工业革命：蒸汽动力、工厂制度与生活变迁

Starting in late-18th-century Britain, machines powered by steam replaced hand tools and animal labor.
Cotton mills, ironworks, and railroads transformed production, transport, and daily routines forever.
Cities swelled as rural families moved for factory jobs—often long hours, low pay, and dangerous conditions.
Children worked alongside adults until laws gradually raised minimum ages and limited working hours.
New social classes emerged: wealthy industrialists, a growing middle class of managers and clerks, and urban workers.
Pollution darkened skies and rivers, prompting early environmental awareness and public health reforms.
Workers formed unions to demand safer spaces, fair wages, and voting rights—slowly winning real change.
This era taught the world that technology reshapes not just tools, but time, space, and human relationships.