42.The Versatile Lead Pencil.
42、萬(wàn)能的鉛筆
1. The lead pencil is one of the most used pieces of merchandise in the world. It is the simplest, most convenient and least expensive of all writing instruments.
1、鉛筆是這個(gè)世界上使用的最多的商品之一。在所有的書寫工具中，它最簡(jiǎn)單，最方便，。
2. Perhaps the most surprising thing about the lead pencil is that it is not lead at all. And it is not a pencil. The "lead" is actually graphite from the Greek word "to write." The word "pencil" is from Latin. The first pencils were fine or stiff brushes of hair.
2、可能關(guān)于鉛筆最讓人吃驚的事情是它根本就不是鉛做的，而英語(yǔ)PENCIL也不是筆的意思。所謂的鉛實(shí)際上是石墨，英語(yǔ)的“LEAD”源自希臘語(yǔ)的“寫”。英語(yǔ)中的“PENCIL”源自拉丁語(yǔ)，是指用毛制作的細(xì)致的硬刷子。
3. American pencil makers turn out their product by the millions. Probably there is no more useful article in the world. As one wise person remarked: “Everything begins with a pencil. Whether it's a pin or a battleship, it is first rendered with a pencil."
3、美國(guó)的鉛筆制造商生產(chǎn)了數(shù)以百萬(wàn)計(jì)的鉛筆。在這個(gè)世界上可能沒(méi)有比鉛筆更有用的東西了。因?yàn)橐粋€(gè)智者曾經(jīng)這樣評(píng)述“一切都開始于一支鉛筆，無(wú)論它是一個(gè)別針還是一艘戰(zhàn)艦，它的第一個(gè)表述都來(lái)自一支鉛筆?！?BR> 4. There is a pencil for every purpose. In fact, the industry now supplies 370 different types and styles in more than 70 different colors and in 18 degrees of hardness.
4、一支鉛筆可以用于不同的書寫目的。事實(shí)上，工業(yè)界現(xiàn)在提供著370種不同種類不同風(fēng)格、超過(guò)70種不同顏色、18種不同硬度的鉛筆。
5. Some write clearly on slippery surfaces, such as glass and plastic. Surgeons use a special pencil for outlining the operation area on the patient's skin, and packing-plants use another type to write identification on sides of beef. There is even a special electric pencil used for tests checked by electronic machines.
5、某些鉛筆可以在光滑的表面諸如玻璃、塑料上清晰書寫。外科醫(yī)生使用一種特殊的鉛筆在病人的皮膚上勾勒出手術(shù)區(qū)域。包裝廠使用另外一種類型的鉛筆在牛肉的側(cè)面寫上識(shí)別號(hào)碼。甚至有一種用來(lái)協(xié)助電子儀器進(jìn)行測(cè)試的特殊的電子筆。
6. There are many novelty pencils. Some have the Ten Commandments, calendars or the multiplication table on them. Some are in the shape of umbrellas, canes, baseball bats and traffic signals. One may be 12 feet long, while others are only 1/2 inch.
6、還有許多新穎的鉛筆。有的上面有（基督教的教條的）十誡、日歷或者乘法表。有的鉛筆被做成雨傘、手杖、棒球、甚至交通信號(hào)燈的樣子。有的可能長(zhǎng)達(dá)12英尺，而另有一些只有半英寸長(zhǎng)。
7. One recent novelty is a pencil with paper in it. A small roll of paper fits in the center of the pencil and is drawn out through a slit in the side. It’s just the thing for those who are always looking for a scrap of paper.
7、最近的一種新奇鉛筆，里面有一卷紙。小小的一卷紙恰好放在鉛筆的中央部分，紙可以通過(guò)在鉛筆邊的縫抽出來(lái)。它適用于那些總是需要小紙片的人。
8. A popular idea is that a check, will, or other legal paper written in pencil is not legal. This is not true. Any legal document which does not specify otherwise can be legally signed in pencil.
8、一般認(rèn)為用鉛筆簽署的支票或其它法律性文件是不合法的。事實(shí)并不是這樣。任何法律文件只要沒(méi)有明確指出，都可以用鉛筆簽署。
9. By one means or another, man has been writing for thousands of years. The Greeks and Romans used metallic lead for drawing faint lines. But it was not until around 1400 A.D. that graphite, the main part of the modern pencil, first appeared. And for a long time it was used without any covering.
9、無(wú)論怎樣，人類數(shù)千年來(lái)一直在書寫。古希臘和古羅馬人使用金屬鉛來(lái)畫暗淡的線。但是直到公元1400年，現(xiàn)代鉛筆的主要部分石墨才被發(fā)現(xiàn)，并且在相當(dāng)長(zhǎng)一段時(shí)間，都是用沒(méi)有木頭外套的石墨直接書寫。
10. About a century and a half later, in 1564, a high wind blew over a heavy oak tree near Cumberland, England. The earth revealed a slab of black rock which was actually a huge deposit of almost pure graphite. Shepherds used it to brand their sheep. George II controlled the graphite by declaring it a crime to ship it out of the country.
10、大約一個(gè)半世紀(jì)之后，也就是1546年，在英國(guó)坎伯蘭郡附近，一場(chǎng)大風(fēng)吹倒了一棵大橡樹，一層厚厚的黑色巖石在地表顯露出來(lái)，這實(shí)際上是一塊巨大的幾乎純凈的石墨礦藏。當(dāng)?shù)氐哪裂蛉擞盟o自己的羊打標(biāo)記。喬治二世為了控制石墨開采，宣告用船運(yùn)石墨出國(guó)是一種犯罪。
42、萬(wàn)能的鉛筆
1. The lead pencil is one of the most used pieces of merchandise in the world. It is the simplest, most convenient and least expensive of all writing instruments.
1、鉛筆是這個(gè)世界上使用的最多的商品之一。在所有的書寫工具中，它最簡(jiǎn)單，最方便，。
2. Perhaps the most surprising thing about the lead pencil is that it is not lead at all. And it is not a pencil. The "lead" is actually graphite from the Greek word "to write." The word "pencil" is from Latin. The first pencils were fine or stiff brushes of hair.
2、可能關(guān)于鉛筆最讓人吃驚的事情是它根本就不是鉛做的，而英語(yǔ)PENCIL也不是筆的意思。所謂的鉛實(shí)際上是石墨，英語(yǔ)的“LEAD”源自希臘語(yǔ)的“寫”。英語(yǔ)中的“PENCIL”源自拉丁語(yǔ)，是指用毛制作的細(xì)致的硬刷子。
3. American pencil makers turn out their product by the millions. Probably there is no more useful article in the world. As one wise person remarked: “Everything begins with a pencil. Whether it's a pin or a battleship, it is first rendered with a pencil."
3、美國(guó)的鉛筆制造商生產(chǎn)了數(shù)以百萬(wàn)計(jì)的鉛筆。在這個(gè)世界上可能沒(méi)有比鉛筆更有用的東西了。因?yàn)橐粋€(gè)智者曾經(jīng)這樣評(píng)述“一切都開始于一支鉛筆，無(wú)論它是一個(gè)別針還是一艘戰(zhàn)艦，它的第一個(gè)表述都來(lái)自一支鉛筆?！?BR> 4. There is a pencil for every purpose. In fact, the industry now supplies 370 different types and styles in more than 70 different colors and in 18 degrees of hardness.
4、一支鉛筆可以用于不同的書寫目的。事實(shí)上，工業(yè)界現(xiàn)在提供著370種不同種類不同風(fēng)格、超過(guò)70種不同顏色、18種不同硬度的鉛筆。
5. Some write clearly on slippery surfaces, such as glass and plastic. Surgeons use a special pencil for outlining the operation area on the patient's skin, and packing-plants use another type to write identification on sides of beef. There is even a special electric pencil used for tests checked by electronic machines.
5、某些鉛筆可以在光滑的表面諸如玻璃、塑料上清晰書寫。外科醫(yī)生使用一種特殊的鉛筆在病人的皮膚上勾勒出手術(shù)區(qū)域。包裝廠使用另外一種類型的鉛筆在牛肉的側(cè)面寫上識(shí)別號(hào)碼。甚至有一種用來(lái)協(xié)助電子儀器進(jìn)行測(cè)試的特殊的電子筆。
6. There are many novelty pencils. Some have the Ten Commandments, calendars or the multiplication table on them. Some are in the shape of umbrellas, canes, baseball bats and traffic signals. One may be 12 feet long, while others are only 1/2 inch.
6、還有許多新穎的鉛筆。有的上面有（基督教的教條的）十誡、日歷或者乘法表。有的鉛筆被做成雨傘、手杖、棒球、甚至交通信號(hào)燈的樣子。有的可能長(zhǎng)達(dá)12英尺，而另有一些只有半英寸長(zhǎng)。
7. One recent novelty is a pencil with paper in it. A small roll of paper fits in the center of the pencil and is drawn out through a slit in the side. It’s just the thing for those who are always looking for a scrap of paper.
7、最近的一種新奇鉛筆，里面有一卷紙。小小的一卷紙恰好放在鉛筆的中央部分，紙可以通過(guò)在鉛筆邊的縫抽出來(lái)。它適用于那些總是需要小紙片的人。
8. A popular idea is that a check, will, or other legal paper written in pencil is not legal. This is not true. Any legal document which does not specify otherwise can be legally signed in pencil.
8、一般認(rèn)為用鉛筆簽署的支票或其它法律性文件是不合法的。事實(shí)并不是這樣。任何法律文件只要沒(méi)有明確指出，都可以用鉛筆簽署。
9. By one means or another, man has been writing for thousands of years. The Greeks and Romans used metallic lead for drawing faint lines. But it was not until around 1400 A.D. that graphite, the main part of the modern pencil, first appeared. And for a long time it was used without any covering.
9、無(wú)論怎樣，人類數(shù)千年來(lái)一直在書寫。古希臘和古羅馬人使用金屬鉛來(lái)畫暗淡的線。但是直到公元1400年，現(xiàn)代鉛筆的主要部分石墨才被發(fā)現(xiàn)，并且在相當(dāng)長(zhǎng)一段時(shí)間，都是用沒(méi)有木頭外套的石墨直接書寫。
10. About a century and a half later, in 1564, a high wind blew over a heavy oak tree near Cumberland, England. The earth revealed a slab of black rock which was actually a huge deposit of almost pure graphite. Shepherds used it to brand their sheep. George II controlled the graphite by declaring it a crime to ship it out of the country.
10、大約一個(gè)半世紀(jì)之后，也就是1546年，在英國(guó)坎伯蘭郡附近，一場(chǎng)大風(fēng)吹倒了一棵大橡樹，一層厚厚的黑色巖石在地表顯露出來(lái)，這實(shí)際上是一塊巨大的幾乎純凈的石墨礦藏。當(dāng)?shù)氐哪裂蛉擞盟o自己的羊打標(biāo)記。喬治二世為了控制石墨開采，宣告用船運(yùn)石墨出國(guó)是一種犯罪。