IELTS_Reading_C5T2P1_BAKELITE The birth of modern plastics

BAKELITE

The birth of modern plastics

正确率11/13，耗时25min，生词很多，实验流程类文章不熟悉，阅读速度慢

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获得了专利。他的发明，他命名为“胶木”，具有巨大的技术重要性，并有效地启动了现代塑料工业。（背景）

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特质 of being the first totally synthetic thermosetting plastic.

“塑料”一词来自希腊语plassein，意思是“模制”。有些塑料来自天然来源，有些是半合成的（对天然物质的化学作用的结果），有些是完全合成的，即用煤或石油的成分进行化学工程。有些是“热塑性塑料”，这意味着，就像蜡烛一样，它们在加热时会融化，然后可以重塑。其他一些是“热固性的”：就像鸡蛋一样，它们不能恢复到原来的粘性状态，因此它们的形状是永远固定的。胶木是第一种完全合成的热固性塑料。（背景）

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。这些早期塑料发展背后的动力是由许多因素产生的——化学领域的巨大技术进步，加上更广泛的文化变革，以及为减少的“奢侈”材料（如龟甲和象牙）寻找可接受的替代品的实际需求。（背景）

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.

贝克兰对塑料的兴趣始于1885年，当时他还是比利时一名年轻的化学学生，开始研究酚醛树脂 ，这是一组由苯酚（石炭酸） 与醛（一种类似于酒精的挥发性液体） 结合产生的粘性物质。然而，他很快就放弃了这个话题，几年后才重新开始。到1905年，他已经是一个富有的纽约人，最近发明了一种新的相纸，发了财。当贝克兰忙于积累美元时，塑料的发展取得了一些进展。1899年和1900年，第一种可以在工业规模上制造的半合成热固性材料获得了专利。从纯科学的角度来看，贝克兰对该领域的主要贡献与其说是他命名的材料的实际发现，不如说是控制苯酚和甲醛反应的方法，从而使其在商业基础上的制备成为可能。1907年7月13日，贝克兰获得了描述这种制剂的著名专利，其基本特征至今仍在使用。（过程）

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.

最初的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）最初在一个大型蛋形釜内真空混合。其结果是一种名为Novalak的树脂，加热后变得可溶且具有延展性。让树脂在浅托盘中冷却，直到硬化，然后破碎并研磨成粉末。然后引入了其他物质：包括填料，如木粉、石棉或棉花，它们可以提高强度和防潮性，催化剂（在不与任何一种化学物质结合的情况下加速两种化学物质之间反应的物质）和hexa，一种氨和甲醛的化合物，它提供了形成热固性树脂所需的额外甲醛。然后将这种树脂冷却并硬化，并再次研磨。得到的颗粒状粉末是生电木，可以制成各种各样的制成品。在最后一个阶段，将加热的胶木倒入所需形状的空心模具中，并承受极端的热量和压力，从而“定型”其生命形式。（过程）（流程题答案段）

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，电木制品的设计在很大程度上受到成型工艺技术要求的制约。该物体不能被设计成锁定在模具中，因此难以取出。一个常见的一般规则是，物体应向模具的最深部分逐渐变细，如有必要，产品应分块成型。模具必须精心设计，使熔融的胶木均匀、完全地流入模具。尖角被证明是不切实际的，因此被避免了，从而产生了20世纪30年代流行的光滑、“流线型”的风格。模具壁的厚度也很关键：厚壁需要更长的时间来冷却和硬化，这是设计师必须考虑的一个因素，以便最有效地利用机器。
（过程）（多选和判断主要答案来源，阅读时理解不透彻，导致一些答案半蒙半猜）

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.

贝克兰的发明虽然在早期受到轻视，但在整个二十世纪上半叶继续享有无与伦比的受欢迎程度。它成为工业扩张新世界的奇迹产品——“千用之材”。胶木厨房用品既不透气又耐热，被宣传为无菌和可消毒。电气制造商抓住了它的绝缘性能，各地的消费者都喜欢它令人眼花缭乱的色调，很高兴它们现在终于不再局限于塑料时代前的木色调和单调的棕色。然后，在20世纪50年代，它再次失宠，被大量鄙视和摧毁。然而，最近它经历了一场复兴，收藏家市场对原始胶木制品的需求重新出现，博物馆、社会和敬业的个人再次欣赏这种创新材料的风格和原创性。（影响）

Which TWO of the following factors influencing the design of Bakelite objects are mentioned in the text?
A.the function which the object would serve
B.the ease with which the resin could fill the mould
C.the facility with which the object could be removed from the mould
D.the limitations of the materials used to manufacture the mould
E.the fashionable styles of the period

以下哪两个文中提到的因素影响Bakelite的设计
A物体提供的功能
B树脂可以填满模型的容易程度
C物体从模具中移除的设施
D用来制作模具的材料的限制
E这段时间的潮流
按逻辑，A和E险种概率不大，事实也确实。BCD需要从原文中找，D没有提到，选BC

13 Bakelite was only available in a limited range of colours.

Bakelite只有有限的颜色种类