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Purely Personal Fountain Pens 钢笔的故事

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The concept for the fountain pen has been around for centuries. ___1___ Though many people had conceived the idea of putting the ink inside the pen, this scheme wasn’t realized until the 1800s. ___2___

关于钢笔的构想已有数百年的历史。在钢笔问世前，书写是十分麻烦的事，需要一瓶墨水和一根芦茎或鹅毛。虽然许多人都曾想将墨水放入笔管，但是这个点子一直到十九世纪才真正实现。不过，早期的钢笔写起来会划的粗细不均，而且容易将墨水弄得到处都是。

In 1883, businessman Lewis Waterman was about to close a profitable contract when his fountain pen spilled ink all over the paper. Waterman ran back to his office to get a new contract, but by the time he returned, his rival had already stolen his customer. Frustrated with the unreliable ink flow of his pen, Waterman invented a new design that utilized air pressure to ensure a steady flow of ink. ___3___

1883年，商人刘易斯．华特曼正准备与客户签下一份利润丰厚的合约时，他的钢笔渗出墨水，弄脏整份合约，华特曼连忙跑回办公室去拿另一份新的合约。但在他赶回去前，客户早已被竞争对手抢走了。华特曼对钢笔不稳定的墨水流量感到十分懊恼，进而研发一款新型钢笔，运用空气压力确保墨水流量稳定，这项发明被视为钢笔得以在廿世纪普及的原因。

Since the modern development of disposable ballpoint pens, fountain pens have fallen out of favor with those only interested in convenience. ___4___ The tips of these pens adapt to people’s writing style over time, reflecting their emotions when they write. ___5___

自从抛弃式的现代原子笔问世之后，钢笔对一切讲求便利的人来说已不具吸引力。但是不少人依然偏爱钢笔所代表的品味与舒适。使用越久，钢笔的笔尖会越适应拥有者的书写方式，并反映出书写时的情感。钢笔是一种兼具耐用、高品味及个人化的书写工具，将永远有其忠实的爱用者。

−by Timothy David de Sosa

A.      However, many people still prefer the class and comfort of fountain pens.

B.      Prior to fountain pens, writing was a troublesome affair involving a bottle of ink and a reed or quill.

C.      As a durable, classy, personalized approach to writing, fountain pens will always have fans.

D.     This is said to have been the development that brought fountain pens into widespread use over the next century.

E.      However, early fountain pens wrote unevenly and were prone to spill their ink all over the place.

Vocabulary

单词发音

conceive [kənˋsiv] v. 构想出

rival [ˋraɪv!] n. 竞争者; 对手

utilize [ˋjut!͵aɪz] v. 【正式】利用; 使用

disposable [dɪˋspozəb!] adj. 一次性的; 用完即可丢弃的

adapt to  适应于

More Information

单词发音

scheme [skim] n.【英】计划﹐规划﹐方案

fall out of favor 从受欢迎到不受欢迎; 失宠 to lose someone's approval or acceptance

tip [tɪp] n. 顶端；尖端

reed [rid] n. 芦苇；芦秆

quill [kwɪl] n. 羽毛管；（羽毛管制成的）羽毛笔

classy [ˋklæsɪ] adj.【非正式】昂贵时髦的; 高级的

unevenly [ʌnˋivənlɪ] adv. 不稳定地; 参差不齐地

prone [pron] adj. 有……倾向的，易于……的[F][（+to）][+to-v]

Answer