文/瑪麗·貝利斯 譯/姚詩雨

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It is not certain when people first started wearing clothes, however, anthropologists estimate that it was somewhere between 100,000 and 500,000 years ago.The first clothes were made from natural elements: animal skin, fur,grass, leaves, bone, and shells.Garments1garment衣服。were often draped2drape將……披掛于；覆蓋。or tied; however, simple needles made out of animal bone provide evidence of sewn leather and fur garments from at least 30,000 years ago.

2 When settled neolithic3neolithic新石器時代的。cultures discovered the advantages of woven fibers over animal hides4hide（用于制作皮革的）獸皮。, the making of cloth, drawing on5draw on sth利用；依賴（信息或知識）。basketry techniques,emerged as one of humankind’s fundamental technologies.Hand in hand with the history of clothing goes the history of textiles.Humans had to invent weaving, spinning, tools, and the other techniques needed to be able to make the fabrics used for clothing.

人類穿衣始于何時無法確知，但據(jù)人類學(xué)家估計，是距今10萬至50萬年之間的某個時段。最初制成衣物的材料均來源于自然，如動物的毛皮、青草、樹葉、骨頭及貝殼。人們通常直接將衣服披掛或捆系在身上；不過，取材自獸骨的簡易縫衣針證明，至少在3萬年前，人類就已擁有了縫制而成的裘革服裝。

2 受新石器時代定居文化影響，相較于獸皮，織物纖維的獨特優(yōu)勢日漸被人類所發(fā)掘。以籃編工藝為靈感的織布技術(shù)出現(xiàn)，成為人類歷史上最為重要的技術(shù)之一。紡織品制作是與服裝制作同步發(fā)展的。為了制成各式服裝所需的織物，人類發(fā)明了編、紡技術(shù)，制造出相關(guān)工具，并研創(chuàng)了其他一系列必要工藝。

Ready-Made Clothing

3 Before sewing machines, nearly all clothing was local and hand-sewn,there were tailors and seamstresses6seamstress女裁縫師。in most towns that could make individual items of clothing for customers.After the sewing machine was invented, the ready-made clothing industry took off7take off突然開始成功。.

The Many Functions of Clothes

4 Clothing serves many purposes: it can help protect us from various types of weather, and can improve safety during hazardous8hazardous危險的；有害的。activities such as hiking and cooking.It protects the wearer from rough surfaces, rash-causing9rashcausing能引發(fā)皮疹的。此處rash即為皮疹。plants, insect bites, splinters10splinter薄而尖的碎片。, thorns and prickles11prickle（植物的葉或莖上的）刺；棘。by providing a barrier between the skin and the environment.Clothes can insulate12insulate使隔熱；使絕緣。against cold or heat.They can also provide a hygienic13hygienic衛(wèi)生的；與衛(wèi)生相關(guān)的。barrier, keeping infectious and toxic materials away from the body.Clothing also provides protection from harmful UV radiation14UV radiation即ultraviolet radiation，紫外線輻射。.

成衣

3 在縫紉機出現(xiàn)之前，幾乎所有服裝都由手工縫制，在本地生產(chǎn)。大多數(shù)市鎮(zhèn)都有自己的男女裁縫，他們?yōu)轭櫩土可矶ㄖ瞥龇b。而在縫紉機被發(fā)明之后，成衣業(yè)則開始蓬勃發(fā)展。

衣服的諸多功用

4 衣服有很多用處：它不僅能在各種天氣狀況下給我們提供防護，也能在諸如徒步和烹飪等危險活動中讓我們更安全。衣服在皮膚和環(huán)境之間立起了一道屏障，使穿衣者避免被粗糙表面劃傷、接觸引發(fā)皮疹的植物、遭昆蟲叮咬、讓碎片或棘刺扎到。衣服可以隔絕冷熱，同時也是一道衛(wèi)生防線，將有傳染性和毒性的物質(zhì)擋在體外。衣服還能抵御有害的紫外線輻射。

5 衣服最為顯著的功效即是提高穿衣者的舒適感，令其不受惡劣天氣困擾。在炎熱的氣候條件下，衣服可以使人免受日曬風(fēng)吹；而在寒冷氣候下，衣服的保暖性能通常更為重要。若有住處，人類對衣服功用性方面的需求通常就降低了。打個比方，進入一個溫暖的寓所時，人們通常會脫下或摘掉諸如外套、帽子、手套等服飾，當(dāng)這里是他們安居或休憩之所時尤其如此。同樣，衣服也帶有節(jié)令和地域的屬性，故而同較寒冷的季節(jié)和地區(qū)相比，在較溫暖的季節(jié)和地區(qū)，人們所穿的衣料更薄、衣物層數(shù)更少。

5 The most obvious function of clothing is to improve the comfort of the wearer, by protecting the wearer from the elements15the elements（通常指）惡劣天氣。.In hot climates, clothing provides protection from sunburn or wind damage, while in cold climates its thermal insulation properties are generally more important.Shelter usually reduces the functional need for clothing.For example, coats, hats, gloves,and other superficial layers are normally removed when entering a warm home, particularly if one is residing or sleeping there.Similarly, clothing has seasonal and regional aspects, so that thinner materials and fewer layers of clothing are generally worn in warmer seasons and regions than in colder ones.

6 Clothing performs a range of social and cultural functions, such as individual,occupational and sexual differentiation,and social status.In many societies,norms about clothing reflect standards of modesty16standards of modesty直譯為“得體準(zhǔn)則”。在有些國家或地區(qū)，受“得體準(zhǔn)則”約束，暴露皮膚或頭發(fā)等身體部位的行為是被嚴(yán)格禁止的。, religion, gender, and social status.Clothing may also function as a form of adornment17adornment裝飾；裝飾品。and an expression of personal taste or style.

7 Some clothing protects from specific environmental hazards, such as insects, noxious18noxious有害的；有毒的。chemicals, weather,weapons, and contact with abrasive substances19abrasive substance清潔物體表面的研磨材料。.Conversely, clothing may protect the environment from the clothing wearer, as with doctors wearing medical scrubs20scrubs〈主美〉手術(shù)服。.■

6 衣服也具有一系列社會和文化功能，例如，人用穿衣來彰顯個性、職業(yè)和性別上的差異及社會地位。在諸多社會，衣著規(guī)范折射出相應(yīng)的得體準(zhǔn)則、宗教、性別和社會地位。另外，衣服也起裝飾作用，體現(xiàn)出個人品味或風(fēng)格。

7 有些衣服還能防御特定的環(huán)境危害，譬如蟲豸、有毒化學(xué)物質(zhì)、惡劣天氣、武器，以及同磨料的接觸。反過來，衣服亦能令環(huán)境免受穿衣者的破壞，例如醫(yī)生們所穿的外科手術(shù)服。 □