I Love to Wear Shades酷炫太陽眼鏡

  The sunglasses we know and love today are available in all shapes and sizes. However, they appeared long after people started experimenting with lenses2. In Rome, Emperor Nero is said to have watched events through an emerald, which may have acted as a magnifying glass3. In the mid-18th century, James Ayscough tried using green- and blue-tinted4 glass to correct vision5 problems. Interestingly, all of the first types of "sunglasses" actually had nothing to do with sunshine.

  The stars of silent movies in the early 1900s became some of the first people to wear glasses to block out light. Extremely bright lights were required for shooting films. Therefore, actors' eyes often became sore. Dark glasses allowed their eyes to rest between takes6. Sam Foster sold the first pair of real sunglasses in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1930. Shortly after, US Army Air Corps7 scientists developed dark-green sunglasses for pilots.

  In the 1960s, advertising and the continued use of sunglasses by film stars increased their popularity. By the 1970s, everyone wore them, and it remains the same today. Just like in the past, people now wear sunglasses for all kinds of reasons.




  如今我們所認識且喜愛的太陽眼鏡,有著各式各樣的造型和尺寸。不過,它們是在人們開始試驗鏡片很久之後才出現的。據說在古羅馬時代,尼祿皇帝會透過祖母綠寶石來觀看比賽,其用途很可能是當成放大鏡用。在十八世紀中葉,詹姆士‧艾斯可夫試圖用綠色和藍色的玻璃鏡片來矯正視力問題。有趣的是,以上所有最早種類的『太陽眼鏡』,其實都和陽光毫不相關。

  二十世紀初,默片演員成為最早戴眼鏡來阻隔光線的先驅之一。拍電影需要極強的亮光。因此演員們的眼睛常會痠痛。深色鏡片讓他們的雙眸得以在各場戲間稍作休息。1930年,山姆‧佛斯特在紐澤西州的亞特蘭大市賣出第一副真正的太陽眼鏡。不久之後,美國陸軍空戰部隊的科學家便為飛行員研發出深綠色的太陽眼鏡。

  1960年代,廣告和影星對太陽眼鏡的持續配戴,使它們更加流行。在1970年代時,人人都戴上了太陽眼鏡,時至今日也是如此。就像往昔,如今人們也因各種理由而戴上太陽眼鏡。

《Building Your Vocabulary》
1. extremely adv. 極度,極其
Ann looks extremely pretty in her new dress.
穿著新洋裝的小安看起來美極了。
2. shoot vt. 拍攝(照片、電影等)
The director will shoot the final scene again.
導演將重拍最後一個鏡頭。
3. sore a. 痠痛的;疼痛的
My arms were sore after carrying the boxes.
搬完那些箱子後,我的手臂很酸。

《Phrases for Learning》
1. experiment with...  試驗∕試用……
We can experiment with this recipe by using other ingredients.
我們可以使用其它食材來試煮這個食譜。
2. act as...  充當∕代理……
Joseph will act as the accountant while Nicki is on vacation.
妮琪去度假時,喬瑟夫將會代理會計師的職務。
3. block out.../block...out  擋……(光)
The curtain totally blocked the sunshine out.
這個窗簾完全擋掉了陽光。

《參考字詞》
1. shades n. 太陽眼鏡,墨鏡(恆為複數)
2. lens n. 鏡片;透鏡
3. magnifying glass n. 放大鏡
4. tinted a.(玻璃)有色的
5. vision n. 視力(本文中作形容詞用)
6. take n.(電影或電視)一次拍攝的鏡頭
7. corps n. 特殊部隊;特殊兵種

《TIPS IN USE》
...they appeared long after people started experimenting with lenses.
(……它們是在人們開始試驗鏡片很久之後才出現的。)
 long, shortly, right, immediately 等副詞常與 before 或 after 並用,形成下列句構:
long/shortly/right/immediately + before/after 引導的介詞片語或副詞子句  在……之前∕後很久∕沒多久
We arrived right before the beginning of the meeting.
(我們在會議開始前沒多久到達。)
The game was forced to stop shortly after the storm.
(比賽在暴風雨開始之後沒多久便被迫停止。)

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