人类照明简史
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人类照明简史
作者：渡哲
来源：《新东方英语·中学版》2014年第12期
From the strike of a match to the flick of a switch， how we light our lives has drastically changed over the past few millennia1）. New innovations are happening every day and light is playing a larger part in our everyday lives， without us even knowing！ But how exactly did we get here ？
从划一根火柴到啪的一声打开开关，我们点亮生活的方式在过去几千年里业已发生了巨大的变化。每天都出现新的创新，光在我们的日常生活中发挥着更大的作用，而我们甚至都没有意识到这一点！但我们到底是怎样到达现在这个阶段的呢？
The Primitive2） Lamp
原始灯
Cavemen used shells or hollow rocks to light their caves. They filled them with moss3） soaked in animal fat and ignited4） the moss to create a lamp. 穴居人使用贝壳或中空的石头点亮他们的洞穴。他们往里面塞满在动物脂肪中浸泡过的苔藓，然后将苔藓点燃当灯来用。
Pottery Lamp 陶灯
With the growing pottery industry， the ancient Greeks produced pottery lamps in large numbers and at little cost. This meant for the first time， light was readily available to both the rich and poor. 随着制陶业的发展，古希腊人以很少的成本大量生产陶灯。这是第一次人们不论贫富都可以轻易用上灯。
The Insect Lamp & Animal Fat Lamp
昆虫灯和动物脂肪灯
Fireflies were used in countries such as South America and Japan as a source of natural and renewable light. The flies were captured and enclosed in a small cage and used as a lamp. Besides， fats and oils from fish， olives， nuts， and sesame seeds were used to burn and create light. This meant that lamps were only used by the wealthy， as the poor would simply eat the fat and consume the oil. 在像南美洲和日本这些国家，萤火虫被用作了自然的可再生光源。人们抓住萤火虫之后，将其关进一个小笼子里当成灯用。此外，鱼、橄榄、坚果和芝麻籽的脂肪和油脂也被用来燃烧发光，这意味着只有富人才用得起灯，因为穷人只会把脂肪和油脂吃掉。