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？

從劃一根火柴到啪的一聲打開(kāi)開(kāi)關(guān)，我們點(diǎn)亮生活的方式在過(guò)去幾千年里業(yè)已發(fā)生了巨大的變化。每天都出現(xiàn)新的創(chuàng)新，光在我們的日常生活中發(fā)揮著更大的作用，而我們甚至都沒(méi)有意識(shí)到這一點(diǎn)！但我們到底是怎樣到達(dá)現(xiàn)在這個(gè)階段的呢？

The Primitive2） Lamp

原始燈

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. 穴居人使用貝殼或中空的石頭點(diǎn)亮他們的洞穴。他們往里面塞滿在動(dòng)物脂肪中浸泡過(guò)的苔蘚，然后將苔蘚點(diǎn)燃當(dāng)燈來(lái)用。

Pottery Lamp 陶燈

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. 隨著制陶業(yè)的發(fā)展，古希臘人以很少的成本大量生產(chǎn)陶燈。這是第一次人們不論貧富都可以輕易用上燈。

The Insect Lamp Animal Fat Lamp

昆蟲(chóng)燈和動(dòng)物脂肪燈

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. 在像南美洲和日本這些國(guó)家，螢火蟲(chóng)被用作了自然的可再生光源。人們抓住螢火蟲(chóng)之后，將其關(guān)進(jìn)一個(gè)小籠子里當(dāng)成燈用。此外，魚(yú)、橄欖、堅(jiān)果和芝麻籽的脂肪和油脂也被用來(lái)燃燒發(fā)光，這意味著只有富人才用得起燈，因?yàn)楦F人只會(huì)把脂肪和油脂吃掉。

Use of Candles 使用蠟燭

Basic early candles were used around 300 BC in China. Only the wealthy had the luxury of using plant oils and beeswax5）. The poor had to settle for animal fats that were smelly and produced soot6）. Due to steady burning， candles were also used as timing devices. 公元前300年左右的中國(guó)使用的是早期的普通蠟燭。只有富人才奢侈地享用植物油和蜂蠟。窮人只能將就著用動(dòng)物脂肪，它們不僅難聞，而且還產(chǎn)生煙垢。由于蠟燭燃燒起來(lái)比較穩(wěn)定，因此也被用作計(jì)時(shí)裝置。

First Lighthouse 第一個(gè)燈塔

The Pharos Lighthouse7） of Alexandria was a 137 meter tall lighthouse in Egypt and one of the seven ancient wonders of the world. The large burning torch lit the way for trade ships coming in and out of the harbor. 埃及亞歷山大港的法羅斯島燈塔高137米，是古代世界七大奇觀之一。這個(gè)熊熊燃燒的巨大火炬給進(jìn)出港口的商船照亮了航路。

First Electric Lamp 第一盞電燈

The carbon arc light， invented by Sir Humphrey Davy， was the first electric bulb. It was noisy， and the carbon was harmful. Two rods of carbon were hooked up to a source of electricity and when mixed with evaporating carbon， emitted strong white light. 漢弗萊·戴維爵士發(fā)明的碳弧燈是第一個(gè)電燈泡。這種燈有噪音，而且使用的碳還有害。當(dāng)連著電源的兩根碳棒與蒸發(fā)的碳混合時(shí)就發(fā)出耀眼的白光。

Light-emitting Diode12） （LED）

發(fā)光二極管燈

In 1927 Oleg Losev published original research on LEDs. Between 1962 and 1994 the basic Red， Blue Green LEDs were invented， paving the way for simulated white light. They're now widely used for signage13） and decorating your Christmas trees！ 1927年，奧萊格·洛塞夫發(fā)表了有關(guān)發(fā)光二極管燈的原創(chuàng)性研究。在1962～1994年，基本的紅、藍(lán)、綠二極管燈都被發(fā)明出來(lái)，也為模擬白光燈的出現(xiàn)鋪平了道路。它們現(xiàn)在廣泛用于標(biāo)志和圣誕樹(shù)的裝飾！

Incandescent8） Bulb 白熾燈泡

The incandescent bulb was invented by Sir Joseph Swan， alongside the concurrent9） efforts of his American counterpart， Thomas Edison. They joined forces to form the Edison Swan United Electric Company and gave the world its first mass produced light bulb. 白熾燈泡由約瑟夫·斯旺爵士發(fā)明，他的美國(guó)同事托馬斯·愛(ài)迪生也為此出過(guò)力。他們聯(lián)手成立了愛(ài)迪生-斯旺聯(lián)合電力公司，發(fā)明了世界上首個(gè)可批量生產(chǎn)的燈泡。

Neon10） Lights 霓虹燈

Heinrich Geiβler and Daniel McFarlan Moore both invented variations of gas filled neon tubes. Inspired by his predecessors11）， French inventor Georges Claude produced the first neon lights for commercial use. His invention can now be seen in every shop window！ 海因里?！どw斯勒和丹尼爾·麥克法蘭·摩爾都發(fā)明了各式各樣用氣體填充的霓虹燈管。在前人的鼓舞之下，法國(guó)發(fā)明家喬治·克勞德生產(chǎn)了首批商用霓虹燈。如今，他的發(fā)明在每個(gè)商店櫥窗都能看到！

The Future Looks Bright

前途光明

Smart lighting technology will enable lighting to be adjusted automatically depending on the surroundings or even your mood and could reduce energy use by 80%. Environmentally friendly solar panels will be used to power street lights that also save energy by activating only during low light levels or when motion is detected. Scientists have learned how to bind photons14） together to form \"solid light\". To the delight of Star Wars fans worldwide， this means Lightsabers are now a possibility！ 智能燈光技術(shù)將會(huì)使光照根據(jù)周?chē)h(huán)境或者甚至是你的情緒實(shí)現(xiàn)自動(dòng)調(diào)節(jié)，可以減少80%的能耗。環(huán)保的太陽(yáng)能電池板將用來(lái)給路燈供電，這種路燈只在低照度或檢測(cè)到物體運(yùn)動(dòng)時(shí)才開(kāi)啟，藉此也能省電?？茖W(xué)家們已經(jīng)知曉如何把光子綁在一起形成“固體光”。令世界各地的《星球大戰(zhàn)》迷高興的是，這意味著光劍（編注：出自電影《星球大戰(zhàn)》）現(xiàn)在已成為可能！

1.millennium [m??leni?m] n. 一千年。其復(fù)數(shù)形式為millennia。

2.primitive [?pr?m?t?v] adj. 原始的；未開(kāi)化的

3.moss [m?s] n. 青苔；苔蘚

4.ignite： 請(qǐng)參見(jiàn)P7注釋19

5.beeswax [?bi?zw?ks] n. 蜂蠟

6.soot [s?t] n. 煤煙灰；煙垢

7.Pharos Lighthouse： （埃及亞歷山大港的）法羅斯島燈塔（古代世界七大奇觀之一）

8.incandescent [??nk?n?desnt] adj. [正式]熾熱發(fā)光的；白熾的

9.concurrent [k?n?k?r?nt] adj. 同時(shí)發(fā)生的

10.neon [?ni??n] n. 氖（大氣中的一種稀有氣體，用于燈管）

11.predecessor [?pri?d?ses?（r）] n. （發(fā)展過(guò)程中被取代的）原有事物，前身

12.diode [?da???d] n. 【電子】二極管

13.signage [?sa?n?d?] n. 標(biāo)記；標(biāo)志

14.photon [?f??t?n] n. 【物】光子