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w关键词：clothing/衣服，material/材料，cotton/棉花，fiber/纤维 |
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w目录：Science/科技 |
w话题：服装，纺织 |
w类型：说明文 |
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w难度级别：
初级 |
w词汇要求：800 |
w文章词数：420 |
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Cotton
material was not known
in Europe until much later. |
Clothing
衣服
|
作者：Unknown |
来源：www.englishfree.com.cn |
|
日期：2008-4-5 |
责编：Emma |
In addition to food and shelter,
man has a third basic need. This is clothing. Modern man wears
clothing for three purposes: for protection, for decoration, and
for modesty.
It is thought that prehistoric
man wore clothing for a fourth reason, as a kind of magic. For
example, he may have worn the skins of animals either to
celebrate his victories over them, or perhaps to gain strength
and wisdom from the animals he had killed.
Until fairly recently it was
possible to use only natural materials of various kinds for the
making of clothing. Both plants and animals supply these natural
materials. From plants we get cotton and linen. From animals we
get such materials as wool, silk, leather and furs.
Wool was one of the first fibers
to be used for cloth, and for a long time it was the most common
textile fiber in Europe. The fiber which we call wool comes
mainly from sheep, but the hair of a few other animals is also
used for cloth.
Cotton has been used for over
three thousand years, especially in warm countries. Cotton
material was not known in Europe until much later. Material made
from the cotton plant can be very soft, cool and comfortable.
The finest cotton materials were very expensive at one time, and
only the rich people could buy them.
Two other fibers, linen and silk,
have also been used extensively in the making of clothing. In
addition to the natural materials from plants and animals,
modern man now has cloth which is made synthetically.
Early in the seventeenth century
it was first suggested that fibers could be produced
synthetically. However, it was not until 1884 that the first
artificial fiber was made. Called artificial silk, the fiber was
made by treating cellulose with chemicals. (Cellulose is a woody
material found in all plants.)
Scientists continued to
experiment with various ways of working with cellulose and they
produced many different kinds of fibers -- among them, rayon. In
the twentieth century, man has learned to create completely
synthetic fibers. These are made from coal, glass, petroleum,
milk and wood. Nylon, dacron and orlon are the names of a few of
these synthetic fibers.
Recent synthetic products include
disposable paper clothing and artificial leather. In many ways
synthetic fibers are much better than natural fibers. It is
possible to create specific fibers to be used for specific
purposes. Of all the fibers now used by man, a very large
percentage is man-made.
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