剑桥雅思5 Test 2阅读Passage 1原文翻译 Bakelite-the birth of modern plastics 现代塑料的诞生
剑桥雅思5阅读第二套题目第一篇文章介绍了酚醛塑料-即我们现在所使用的塑料的诞生过程。文章共分为7段，一开始先说明酚醛塑料的意义，然后按照时间顺序介绍其具体的诞生过程。下面是具体每一段的翻译。
点击查看这篇雅思阅读中需要大家掌握的重点词汇以及具体题目的答案解析：
雅思真题阅读词汇 剑桥雅思5 test 2 passage 1 现代塑料的诞生
剑桥雅思5 Test 2阅读Passage 1答案解析 Bakelite-the birth of modern plastics
剑桥雅思5 Test 2 Passage 1阅读原文翻译
第1自然段
In 1907, Leo Hendrick Baekeland, a Belgian scientist working in New York, discovered and patented a revolutionary new synthetic material. His invention, which he named ‘Bakelite’, was of enormous technological importance, and effectively launched the modern plastics industry.
1907年，在纽约工作的比利时科学家Leo Hendrick Baekeland 发现了一种革命性的新型合成材料并申请了专利。他的发明被称为“Bakelite”，具有巨大的技术重要性，并有效地推动了现代塑料工业的发展。
第2自然段
The term ‘plastic’ comes from the Greek plassein, meaning ‘to mould’. Some plastics are derived from natural sources, some are semi-synthetic (the result of chemical action on a natural substance), and some are entirely synthetic, that is, chemically engineered from the constituents of coal or oil. Some are ‘thermoplastic’, which means that, like candlewax, they melt when heated and can then be reshaped. Others are ‘thermosetting’: like eggs, they cannot revert to their original viscous state, and their shape is thus fixed for ever. Bakelite had the distinction of being the first totally synthetic thermosetting plastic.
“塑料”一词来自希腊语“plassein”，意思是“塑造” 。有些塑料是从自然资源中提取的，有些是半合成的（对天然物质进行化学作用的结果），有些是完全合成的，即是用煤或石油的成分进行化学工程处理。有些是“热塑性的”，这意味着像烛蜡一样，它们文章来自老烤鸭在加热时会融化，然后可以重塑。其他的则是“热固性”的：像鸡蛋一样，它们无法回复到其原始的粘性状态，因此其形状永远固定。Bakelite是第一种完全合成的热固性塑料。
第3自然段
The history of today’s plastics begins with the discovery of a series of semi-synthetic thermoplastic materials in the mid-nineteenth century. The impetus behind the development of these early plastics was generated by a number of factors – immense technological progress in the domain of chemistry, coupled with wider cultural changes, and the pragmatic need to find acceptable substitutes for dwindling supplies of ‘luxury’ materials such as tortoiseshell and ivory.
当今塑料的历史始于19世纪中叶发现的一系列半合成热塑性材料。这些早期塑料发展的动力来自多种因素-化学领域的巨大技术进步，再加上广泛的文化变革，以及迫切需要寻找可接受的替代品来减少“豪华”材料的供应，例如龟壳和象牙。
第4自然段
Baekeland’s interest in plastics began in 1885 when, as a young chemistry student in Belgium, he embarked on research into phenolic resins, the group of sticky substances produced when phenol (carbolic acid) combines with an aldehyde (a volatile fluid similar to alcohol). He soon abandoned the subject, however, only returning to it some years later. By 1905 he was a wealthy New Yorker, having recently made his fortune with the invention of a new photographic paper. While Baekeland had been busily amassing dollars, some advances had been made in the development of plastics. The years 1899 and 1900 had seen the patenting of the first semi-synthetic thermosetting material that could be manufactured on an industrial scale. In purely scientific terms, Baekeland’s major contribution to the field is not so much the actual discovery of the material to which he gave his name, but rather the method by which a reaction between phenol and formaldehyde could be controlled, thus making possible its preparation on a commercial basis. On 13 July 1907, Baekeland took out his famous patent describing this preparation, the essential features of which are still in use today.
贝克兰（Baekeland）对塑料的兴趣始于1885年，当时，作为一名年轻的比利时化学专业学生，他着手研究酚醛树脂，即酚（碳酸）与醛（类似于酒精的挥发性流体）结合后产生的一组粘性物质。但是，他很快放弃了这个课题，直到几年后才重新回归。到1905年，他已经是一名富有的纽约人，刚刚通过发明一种新的相纸而发了大财。当贝克兰（Baekeland）忙于积累美元时，在塑料的开发方面取得了一些进步。1899年和1900年见证了第一批可以在工业规模上生产的半合成热固性材料的专利的出现。用纯粹的科学术语来说，Baekeland在该领域的主要贡献并不仅仅是发现了用他名字命名的材料，而是发现了可以控制苯酚和甲醛之间反应的方法，从而使它在商业基础上的制备成为可能。1907年7月13日，贝克兰（Baekeland）取得了描述之一制备过程的专利，其基本功能至今仍在使用。
第5自然段
The original patent outlined a three-stage process, in which phenol and formaldehyde (from wood or coal) were initially combined under vacuum inside a large egg-shaped kettle. The result was a resin known as Novalak, which became soluble and malleable when heated. The resin was allowed to cool in shallow trays until it hardened, and then broken up and ground into powder. Other substances were then introduced: including fillers, such as woodflour, asbestos or cotton, which increase strength and moisture resistance, catalysts (substances to speed up the reaction between two chemicals without joining to either) and hexa, a compound of ammonia and formaldehyde which supplied the additional formaldehyde necessary to form a thermosetting resin. This resin was then left to cool and harden, and ground up a second time. The resulting granular powder was raw Bakelite, ready to be made into a vast range of manufactured objects. In the last stage, the heated Bakelite was poured into a hollow mould of the required shape and subjected to extreme heat and pressure, thereby ‘setting’ its form for life.
原始专利概述了一个三阶段的过程，其中苯酚和甲醛（来自木材或煤炭）最初在真空下在一个蛋形大锅中混合，产生一种名为Novalak的树脂。它加热后可溶解并具有延展性。树脂在浅盘中冷却直至硬化，再将其敲碎并磨成粉末。然后引入了其他物质：包括填充剂，例如木粉，石棉或棉花。它们可提高强度和防潮性；催化剂（可加速两种化学物质之间的反应而又不与其中任何一种反应的物质）；氨和甲醛的化合物，提供了形成热固性树脂所需的额外甲醛。然后让该树脂冷却、硬化，并再次研磨。所得的颗粒状粉末就是未加工的Bakelite，可以制成各种制品。在最后阶段，将加热的Bakelite倒入所需形状的中空模具中，使其承受极高的热量和压力，从而固定其终生的形状。
第6自然段
The design of Bakelite objects, everything from earrings to television sets, was governed to a large extent by the technical requirements of the moulding process. The object could not be designed so that it was locked into the mould and therefore difficult to extract. A common general rule was that objects should taper towards the deepest part of the mould, and if necessary the product was moulded in separate pieces. Moulds had to be carefully designed so that the molten Bakelite would flow evenly and completely into the mould. Sharp corners proved impractical and were thus avoided, giving rise to the smooth, ‘streamlined’ style popular in the 1930s. The thickness of the walls of the mould was also crucial: thick walls took longer to cool and harden, a factor which had to be considered by the designer in order to make the most efficient use of machines.
从耳环到电视机，所有Bakelite物件的设计在很大程度上受制于成型工艺的技术要求。设计要避免物品在塑形过程中卡在模具里取不出来。一个普遍的通用规则是，物体应该随着模具的加深而逐渐变细。如有必要，产品应该被塑造成独立的零件。模具必须经过精心设计，以使融化的Bakelite可以均匀、完全地流入模具中。尖角被证明是不切实际的，因此应该避免。这也造成20世纪30年代光滑、流线型风格的流行。模具壁的厚度也很关键：厚壁需要更长的时间冷却和硬化，这是设计师为了充分利用机器而必须考虑的一个因素。
第7自然段
Baekeland’s invention, although treated with disdain in its early years, went on to enjoy an unparalleled popularity which lasted throughout the first half of the twentieth century. It became the wonder product of the new world of industrial expansion – ‘the material of a thousand uses’. Being both non-porous and heat-resistant, Bakelite kitchen goods were promoted as being germ-free and sterilisable. Electrical manufacturers seized on its insulating properties, and consumers everywhere relished its dazzling array of shades, delighted that they were now, at last, no longer restricted to the wood tones and drab browns of the pre-plastic era. It then fell from favour again during the 1950s, and was despised and destroyed in vast quantities. Recently, however, it has been experiencing something of a renaissance, with renewed demand for original Bakelite objects in the collectors’ marketplace, and museums, societies and dedicated individuals once again appreciating the style and originality of this innovative material.
贝克兰（Baekeland）的发明虽然在初期被轻视，但在后来却享受到无与伦比的欢迎。它在整个20世纪上半叶一直如此，成为工业扩张时期的奇迹产品-“千种用途的材料” 。Bakelite厨具既无孔又耐热，因此被认为是无菌且可灭菌的。电气制造商抓住了它的绝缘性能，世界各处的消费者都喜欢它令人炫目的颜色。他们高兴的是，现在终于不再局限于“前塑料时代”的木色调和棕褐色。然后，它在20世纪50年代再次失宠，被鄙视和大量销毁。然而，最近它正在经历复兴，收藏市场对原始Bakelite物件的需求不断增长。博物馆，社会和热衷于此的个人又开始重新欣赏这种创新材料的风格和独创性。
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