Pencil 鉛筆
Word Bank 鉛筆
1. lead /lɛd/ n. 鉛
2. material /məˋtɪrɪəl/ n. 材料
3. ancient /ˈeɪnʃənt/ adj. 古老的
4. tool /tu:l/ n. 工具
5. graphite /ˈgræfaɪt/ n. 石墨
6. method /ˋmɛθəd/ n. 方法
7. require /rɪˋkwaɪr/ v. 需要
8. allow /əˋlaʊ/ v. 允許
9. take off /ˋtek͵ɔf/ ph. 起飛
10. royal /ˋrɔɪəl/ adj. 王室的
Reading
Despite the advances in technology, a lot of us still use pencils almost every day. One of the most important parts of a pencil is the pencil core, which we also call “lead” in English. Did you know that even though we still call them “lead,” pencil cores are no longer made of this material?
The ancient Romans used a kind of tool to write and such a tool could only leave a very light mark, though not readable. The writing tool was usually made of lead, which was in fact toxic. In 1564, people discovered graphite in Cumbria, England and realized that graphite could actually make a better writing instrument. What people write with graphite was much clearer and, unlike lead, graphite is not toxic. Cumbria proved to be the only place that could provide a large amount of good quality graphite. The material was exported to many other countries.
One small problem was that graphite was very soft and would break easily. To solve this problem, people probably wrapped graphite with string or sheepskin at first. Later, wooden casings were used.
As England was the only place that had a large amount of high-quality graphite, a lot of countries depended on the material from England or the pencils made in England. These countries tried hard to find the replacement so they do not have to rely on England. A lot of such attempts failed. Finally, due to a war between England and France, a French painter and army officer, Nicolas-Jacques Conte, was asked to come up with a new way to make pencil cores. Conte mixed graphite with clay and then baked the mix. His method not only required much less graphite but also allowed producers to adjust the degrees of hardness and darkness. Conte’s creation became widespread in Europe and formed the basis of today’s pencil making.
European pencils were brought to America by settlers and continued to be imported until America started making its own pencils in around the 19th century. The American pencil industry took off. Because of their outstanding production abilities, American pencil companies started dominating the market and became the world’s best. One of the companies, the Joseph Dixon Crucible Company, was known as the world’s largest dealer in graphite. Also, painting pencils yellow, which made pencils more special, possibly started with the American pencil companies. It is said that after England ran out of graphite, people found a place near China that could provide the best graphite. As in China, only the royal family was allowed to wear yellow, the companies painted the pencils yellow to give a feeling of royalty.
Perhaps you may think that no one uses pencils anymore. Instead, people use computers and cell phones to take notes or send messages. On the contrary, quite a lot of people miss the feeling of holding a pencil, even after they leave school. Some people love pencils so much that they open shops just to sell pencils. Now, you can even grow a plant from a pencil. It looks like pencils will be in our lives for years to come.
Multiple Choices 小知識選選看
1.Why did some European countries try to find new ways to make pencils?
A)They did not want to be controlled by England.
B)The graphite found in England was toxic.
C)They couldn’t wrap string or sheepskin around the graphite they got in England.
2.Who was more likely the first person to paint pencils yellow?
A)Ancient Romans who needed to use writing tools.
B)A French painter who wanted to make pencils differently.
C)An American businessman who made pencils and sold them to the world.
3.According to the article, which of the following is TRUE?
A)We call pencil cores “lead” because they are made of lead.
B)Although graphite was first discovered in England, they later ran out of graphite to use.
C)Mixing graphite and clay stops producers from changing the hardness of a pencil.
文章中譯
即使科技發達，我們之中有許多人還是每天使用鉛筆。一支鉛筆最重要的部分之一便是筆芯，在英文中也用「鉛」這個字來代表筆芯，但你知道嗎？雖然我們用「鉛」來代表筆芯，筆芯卻不再是用鉛做成的。
古羅馬人使用一種工具來書寫，但這種工具只能留下很淺的標記，雖然留下的痕跡還是可以被讀取，這種書寫工具通常由鉛所製成，而鉛其實有毒。在 1564 年，人們在英格蘭坎布里亞發現了石墨，並暸解到其實石墨比鉛更適合當書寫工具，而且和鉛不同的是，石墨無毒，但有個小問題，石墨非常軟、很容易斷掉。為了解決這個問題，人們一開始可能使用線或是羊皮環繞石墨，之後人們開始使用木頭外殼。
因為英格蘭在當時是唯一一個可以取得大量高品質石墨的地方，所以很多國家都依靠英格蘭提供材料或是在英格蘭製作的鉛筆。為了可以不再依賴英格蘭，這些國家想盡辦法尋找替代物，許多類似的嘗試都失敗了。終於，因為英法之間的戰爭，法國畫家也是軍官的尼古拉斯‧雅克‧康特受託找出做筆芯的新發法，康特將黏土混入石墨後，進行燒烤，他的方法不僅大量減少了需要的石墨量，還能讓製造者調整筆芯的硬度與顏色深淺。康特的發明在歐洲傳開，並形成今日鉛筆製作的基礎。
歐洲的鉛筆由殖民者帶入美國，並持續被輸入美國，一直到約 19 世紀，美國開始製作自己的鉛筆。美國的製筆業開始起飛，美國的鉛筆公司因為出色的製造能力，開始主導市場並稱霸世界，其中一家公司「約瑟夫‧ 狄克遜公司」，成為全球最大的石墨產品商人，並以此為名。此外，將鉛筆塗成黃色、讓鉛筆變更特別的開始，可能也是這些美國鉛筆公司。據說在英格蘭用盡石墨之後，大家找到一個靠近中國的地方，這個地方提供了最好的石墨。因為在中國，只有皇室可以穿黃色，這些公司把鉛筆塗成黃色，希望傳達一種王室高貴的感覺。
你可能會覺得現在已經沒人要用鉛筆了，人們都使用電腦和手機來記錄事情或傳訊息。相反的是，還是有不少人，就算離開學校之後，還是會想念手拿鉛筆的感覺，有些人十分熱愛鉛筆，還開了只賣鉛筆的店，現在你甚至可以用鉛筆種出植物。這樣看來，鉛筆還會在我們的生活中好幾年。
選擇題中譯
1. 為什麼當時有些歐洲國家試著要找到製作鉛筆的新方法？
A) 他們不想被英國控制。
B) 英國的鉛有毒。
C) 他們無法將英國的鉛用繩子或羊皮綑綁。
2. 誰最有可能是第一個將鉛筆塗成黃色的？
A) 需要使用書寫工具的古羅馬人。
B) 一位想要用不同方式製作鉛筆的法國畫家。
C) 一位製作鉛筆並將鉛筆賣到全世界的美國商人。
3. 根據這篇文章，以下哪個選項是正確的？
A) 我們現在把鉛筆芯稱作「lead」是因為鉛筆芯是用鉛做的。
B) 雖然石墨一開始是在英國發現的，他們後來就把石墨用光了。
C) 將石墨以及黏土混合之後，生產者便無法改變鉛筆的硬度。
答案
1. A
2. C
3. B
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