IELTS Listening Part 4: A Lecture on the History of Glass

Part Four. You will hear a lecture about the history of glass.

第四部分。你將聽到一場關於玻璃歷史的講座。

You have some time to look at questions thirty-one to forty.

你有一些時間閱讀第三十一至第四十題。

Now listen carefully and answer questions thirty-one to forty.

現在請仔細聽，並回答第三十一至第四十題。

Good afternoon, everyone. Today's topic is something you use every day.

大家午安。今天的主題是你們每天都會用到的東西。

Have you ever wondered where glass actually comes from?

你們有沒有想過，玻璃到底是從哪裡來的？

Well, let's start at the very beginning.

好，我們從最一開始講起。

Glass is made mainly from sand, heated to very high temperatures.

玻璃主要是把沙子加熱到極高溫製成的。

Believe it or not, people made glass four thousand years ago!

信不信由你，人類早在四千年前就會做玻璃了！

The earliest glass objects were tiny beads, not windows.

最早的玻璃製品是小小的珠子，不是窗戶。

Let's turn to the Romans, because they changed everything!

接下來談談羅馬人，因為是他們改變了一切！

Around two thousand years ago, they started blowing glass through a tube.

大約兩千年前，他們開始用一根管子吹製玻璃。

Suddenly, cups and bottles were cheap enough for ordinary families.

一下子，杯子和瓶子便宜到一般家庭也買得起了。

Now, what's interesting is what happened later, in Venice.

有趣的是後來在威尼斯發生的事。

In twelve ninety-one, the city moved all its glassmakers,

1291年，這座城市把所有玻璃工匠

to a small island called Murano.

遷到一座叫做穆拉諾的小島上。

Officially, it was to protect the city from fires.

官方說法是為了保護城市不發生火災。

But the glassmakers weren't allowed to leave the island!

可是玻璃工匠們卻不准離開這座島！

Let's move on to Britain, where glass caused a strange problem.

我們接著看英國，玻璃在那裡引發了一個奇怪的問題。

From sixteen ninety-six, people actually paid a tax on windows!

從1696年起，人們居然要為窗戶繳稅！

Sadly, many families bricked up their windows to save money.

可惜的是，很多家庭為了省錢，把窗戶用磚頭封死了。

The tax was finally removed in eighteen fifty-one.

這項稅直到1851年才終於廢除。

And that same year, London built the amazing Crystal Palace!

就在同一年，倫敦蓋起了令人驚嘆的水晶宮！

Now, let's jump ahead to the twentieth century.

現在，我們直接跳到二十世紀。

In the nineteen fifties, a new method made flat glass much cheaper.

1950年代，一種新製程讓平板玻璃便宜了許多。

That's why modern buildings can have whole walls of glass.

這就是為什麼現代建築可以有一整面玻璃牆。

And today, thin glass fibres carry the internet under the oceans!

而現在，細細的玻璃纖維在海底傳送著網路！

To sum up, what makes glass so special today?

總結一下，玻璃在今天為什麼這麼特別？

Glass can be recycled again and again, without losing quality.

玻璃可以一再回收，而且品質不會變差。

Next week, we'll look at how glass recycling actually works.

下週我們來看看玻璃回收實際上是怎麼運作的。

Thanks for listening, everyone. Enjoy your afternoon!

謝謝大家聆聽。祝大家午後愉快！

That is the end of Part Four.

第四部分到此結束。