2010年12月英語四級考試貫通詞匯文章(第10篇)

　　The Duet Tape

　　Among the contents of the toolboxes of most people in the western world you would expect to find a hammer and nails, a drill, screwdrivers(螺絲起子) and some screws. But if you were to ask people from North America what the most useful item in their toolboxes was, the majority of people would undoubtedly tell you that it was duct(輸送管) tape. Indeed, it has become an indispensable addition to every person’s perception of what constitutes necessity.

　　Maybe you have never heard of duct tape. It is the brand name of a tape. Not only is it a tape, but also it is a special kind of tape.

　　The name of the tape comes from the fact that it was designed as an insulating(絕緣的) tape that can be used in duct work (channels or conduits[導(dǎo)管] that are used for heat to travel through to get to different areas of a building). Incredible though it seems, someone actually put a picture of a duck on the packaging of the tape from one manufacturer perhaps just as a joke or maybe because the design artist did not understand the origin of the name. Neither the word duck nor duct was on the label. Presumably, it was assumed that everyone could identify the product.

　　You can recognize the genuine tape because of its silver grey color. The color was likely chosen because it closely resembles the color of the pipes the color of the pipes it would be used on. That was the primary intended use of the tape. It was unlikely that the inventor realized how many other uses could be found for this product.

　　Ingenious(善于創(chuàng)造發(fā)明的) people have found many alternative uses for this tape. The binder(粘合劑) on the tape is of good quality and it will stick to most surfaces. The tape is of great strength. It is impossible to tear the tape. It must be cut. The durable nature of the tape is one of its main assets(益處,優(yōu)點(diǎn)).

　　It comes in a variety of widths and the length of the tape on the roll will vary as well. The number of centimeters wide and the number of meters long will determine the price of the roll.

　　The duct tape is acquiring fame as the number of its uses for it exceeds the thoughts possible. The number of uses for this tape will amaze you. One internet Website(環(huán)球網(wǎng)的站點(diǎn)) started out trying to identify 101 uses for the duct tape and the list has well over 200 uses on it now. Maybe there are an infinite number of uses. Some of the items it lists involve an imagination but others are quite genuine. Not even a kindergarten student requires instruction on how to use it. One idea seems to generate(產(chǎn)生,引起) another, inspired by the unique way someone else has decided to make use of the tape. However, some of the uses are not feasible to execute. For instance, the use of the tape as a bandage is not recommended. It could cause injury when it is removed. You must evaluate the list with a sense of humor as some of the uses could embarrass a person. The commercial value of the tape is undoubtedly tremendous with huge profits resulting from the sales. The product practically promotes itself without much need for publicity.

　　Sometimes you see people, usually male rather than female, wearing shirts that have a slogan(標(biāo)語) written on them that says, “I can fix anything”——and then there is a picture of a duct tape below the saying. The implication presumably is that the duct tape replaces skill.

　　Another good marketing strategy(策略,戰(zhàn)略) that people enjoy is the use of a calendar. There is one page on the calendar for every day of the year and each page shows and describes a new use of the duct tape.

　　One of the typical uses of the duct tape is to repair a leak in a faucet(龍頭) or water tap. If the hose(水龍軟管) of a vacuum cleaner has a hole in it, the duct tape will come to rescue(援救,救助). Almost every household in North America has at least one roll of duct tape. People keep it handy and use it to repair almost everything. No one would think it necessary to justify the purchase of extra rolls of tape, so the sales continue to increase.

　　Many people like to boast about how often they use the tape. They say that the usage of duct tape has allowed them to simplify their life and to decrease the cost of repairs.

　　It can be used indoors in the interior of a house but there are abundant uses outside the house as well. If there is a chip out of a glass object, the duct tape can be used to protect the user from being injured.

　　Repairing or reinforcing a joint on an aluminum ladder that a person is using would be a valuable use of the tape.

　　The tape has proved to be bargain. Even if the manufacturers charged twice as much for the tape, it would still be a best seller in the western world. The retail price is very reasonable. In addition it is convenient to store, and despite the number of apparent uses, people are always finding more ways to utilize it. It has become a vital item for every household.

　　The glue on the tape is a wonderful adhesive(粘著的) agent and will bond well to anything from a piece of crystal to the handle of a broom. There have been reports of people using the tape to trap insects. Crickets(蟋蟀), for example, were found stuck to the tape by one person. Maybe the glue was able to attract them or maybe they just were in the wrong place. Criminals have been known to use the tape on their victims. During a robbery, a robber used the duct tape on the witnesses to keep them from reporting the crime until he had escaped. It was apparent that the robber came armed with the duct tape, anticipating the need for its use.

　　One evening a sea breeze was causing a window on a campus dormitory to crash repeatedly as the clasp(鉤子) on it had been broken. The Duct tape put a swift end to the nuisance of the constant banging. Although it was obvious it was not a permanent solution of the problem, nevertheless, the temporary use of the duct tape was appreciated until the window could be replaced or someone could install a better latch.

　　You can even accomplish repairs on vehicles, which sometimes means the difference between being stopped in traffic or being able to continue your journey. Many motorists(汽車司機(jī)) have had to resort to the use of the duct tape in an emergency situation. Drivers often keep a roll of duct tape in the trunk of their car for that reason. It is a tremendous relief when you are able to wrap a piece of duct tape around a leaking hose that you discover at a time when it is not convenient to replace it. Thanks to the duct tape, the driver can become mobile again. The fear of being stranded(束手無策的) on a lonely stretch of highway is lessened when you carry a duct tape.

　　Other forms of transportation make good use of the tape as well. Usage for it can be found on boats, and also on airplanes. For instance, a sky driver once reported that jumping out of a small airplane did not scare her as much as riding in a small plane that appeared to have lots of duct tape.

　　Sports and recreational activities make good use of this tape as well. If you’re audio cassette player will not stay closed, use a piece of duct tape to position the tape holder. It might look odd but it will serve the purpose. If a hockey stick needs to be taped, use duct tape!

　　It can be used to compress a package, making more cargo fit in a carrier. You can use it repair a leaky toilet, or to fix a crack on a toilet seat.

　　If you wrap duct tape around a newspaper, it can be used to make a dog’s chew toy.

　　If you get an opportunity to use this product, you will also discover many uses for it and you will agree that it is one of the world’s best inventions.

　　管道膠帶

　　在西方，多數(shù)人的工具箱中，你可望找到一把錘子和一些釘子，一把鉆子，幾把螺絲刀和一些螺絲釘。不過，你要是問北美人什么是他們工具欄里最有用的東西，多數(shù)人會肯定地告訴你那是管道膠帶。的確，在每個人認(rèn)為必備的東西中，管道膠帶已經(jīng)是必不可少的物品了。

　　也許你還沒有聽說過管道膠帶吧。它是一種帶子的商標(biāo)名稱。它不僅是帶子，而且是一種很特殊的帶子。

　　這種帶子原是用于管道工程(用于將熱能傳送到大樓各個部分的管道或?qū)Ч?的一種絕緣密封帶子，并由此而得名。盡管看來不可思議，但確實(shí)有人將一幅鴨子的照片放在了一家生產(chǎn)這種帶子的產(chǎn)品包裝上。這也許只是一個玩笑，抑或是包裝設(shè)計(jì)師不懂這個名稱的由來。標(biāo)簽上既沒有鴨子也沒有管道字樣。大概每個人都是能認(rèn)得這種產(chǎn)品。

　　你可以認(rèn)出這種真正的帶子，它是銀灰色的。之所以選擇這種顏色，很可能是因?yàn)樗�與管道的顏色相似。那才是為這種帶子設(shè)計(jì)的主要用途。發(fā)明人未必想到人們可能會為它找到許多其他用途。

　　聰明的人們發(fā)現(xiàn)了這種帶子的許多其他用途。這種帶子上的粘合劑質(zhì)量很好，能夠粘著在大多數(shù)物體的表面。帶子的強(qiáng)度很大，不可能被撕破，所以必須用刀切割。耐久性是這種帶子的最可貴之處。

　　它被制成多種寬度，一卷帶子的長度也可以變化。一卷帶子有幾厘米寬和幾米長決定了它的價(jià)格。

　　管道膠帶之所以有名，在于它的用途超出人們的想象，多得讓人吃驚。一個互聯(lián)網(wǎng)站最開始為這種帶子列舉了101種用途，而現(xiàn)在這個清單上已經(jīng)超過200種了�？赡苡袛�(shù)不完的用途。在這個清單上有的用途可能只是一種想象，但其他一些用途確實(shí)是相當(dāng)實(shí)在的。甚至幼兒園的學(xué)童不用教就可以學(xué)會怎樣使用。別人以獨(dú)特的方式使用帶子的富有靈感的一個念頭似乎會引發(fā)另外的想法。不過，有些用途是不可行的。例如，將這種帶子作為繃帶就不值得推薦。去掉它時(shí)會造成傷害。你必須帶著幽默感去評價(jià)這份清單，因?yàn)橛行┯猛緯�給人帶來麻煩。這咱帶子的商業(yè)價(jià)值毫無疑問是巨大的，能帶來豐厚的銷售利潤。實(shí)際上，這種產(chǎn)品不需要廣泛宣傳，本身就可以促銷。

　　有時(shí)候你看到人們，通常是男性而非女性，穿的襯衫上寫著：“我能維修一切”的字樣，下面有張管道膠帶的圖片。其含義當(dāng)然是這種管道膠帶能取代技能。

　　另一個人們慣用的有效營銷策略是利用日歷。有種日歷上一年中的每一天都有單獨(dú)一頁，每頁上都展示和說明管道膠帶的一種新用途。

　　管道膠帶的一個典型的用途是修理水龍頭。如果真空吸塵器上面的軟管有個洞，管道膠帶就派上用場了。幾乎北美的每個家庭都至少有一卷管道膠帶。人們身邊有了它，可以修理幾乎所有東西。人人都認(rèn)為購買額外的帶子是必要的，所以銷量在繼續(xù)攀升。

　　許多人喜歡夸耀他們是如何經(jīng)常地使用這種帶子。他們說使用管道膠帶簡化了他們的生活，并且減少了修理費(fèi)用。

　　它不僅可用于室內(nèi)，在室外也有廣泛的用途。比如玻璃制品破裂后產(chǎn)生碎片，管道膠帶可用于保護(hù)使用者不受傷害。

　　修理或加固一個人正在使用的鋁制梯子的接頭時(shí)，可以利用這種帶子。

　　這種帶子的確是廉價(jià)品。即使廠家把售價(jià)提高一倍，它在西方仍然是暢銷貨。它的零售價(jià)非常合理。此外，它容易儲存，雖然有許多明顯的用途，人們?nèi)匀豢梢园l(fā)現(xiàn)更多新的使用方法。它已經(jīng)成為每個家庭必備的物品。

　　這種帶子的粘膠是一種極好的粘合劑，它能牢固地粘接到任何東西上，不論是一塊水晶還是一個掃帚把。據(jù)報(bào)道，有人用這種帶子誘捕昆蟲。例如有人曾用帶子粘住蟋蟀。也許是這種粘膠對昆蟲有吸引力，也可能只是認(rèn)錯了地方。罪犯們也知道將這種帶子用于受害者。在一次搶劫中，一個劫犯用管道膠帶將目擊者粘住，使他們不能去報(bào)案，直到罪犯逃之夭夭。顯然，那個劫犯是帶著管道膠帶來的，事先考慮到它的用途。

　　一天晚上，一陣海風(fēng)使校園宿舍的一扇窗子碰來碰去，響個不停，因?yàn)樯厦娴你^子壞了。管道膠帶很快就止住宅樓了那討厭的持續(xù)不斷的碰撞聲。盡管那顯然不是解決問題的長遠(yuǎn)之計(jì)，但在換掉那扇窗子或有人為它安裝一個好插銷之前，仍不失為一種值得贊許的臨時(shí)辦法。

　　你甚至可以成功地修理交通工具，有時(shí)候這就決定了你是停止前進(jìn)還是繼續(xù)你的行程。許多機(jī)動車駕駛員在緊急情況下不得不求助于管道膠帶。為此，駕駛員們常常在他們的車廂里放上一卷管道膠帶。當(dāng)你發(fā)現(xiàn)管子漏了，又不便于更換，而你卻能夠用一段管道膠帶包纏好時(shí)，該是多么的愜意啊。用了管道膠帶，駕駛員又可以上路了。只要你備有管道膠帶，對在公路的偏僻路段上束手無策的擔(dān)心就會少多了。

　　在其他的交通方式上管道膠帶也有它的用途。在船上有它的用途，在飛機(jī)上也有。比如，一個跳傘運(yùn)動員曾說，如果所乘的小飛機(jī)上同時(shí)還載有很多管道膠帶的話，從小飛機(jī)上跳出來比乘坐小飛機(jī)還安全。

　　運(yùn)動和娛樂活動也是這種帶子的用武之地。如果你的盒式磁帶放音機(jī)不緊，就用一節(jié)管道膠帶固定磁帶卡吧�？雌饋碛悬c(diǎn)怪怪的，卻很管用。如果曲棍球棍需要用帶子包纏，那就用管道膠帶吧!運(yùn)動員們，不管是職業(yè)的還是業(yè)余的，都喜歡用它。

　　它可以用來壓緊包裹，使得一件行李中裝進(jìn)更多的東西。可以用它修補(bǔ)漏水的馬桶，修理馬桶座圈的裂縫。

　　如果用管道膠帶纏卷一張報(bào)紙，就可以用做狗嚼棒。

　　你要是有機(jī)會使用這種產(chǎn)品，并發(fā)現(xiàn)它的許多用途，你就會同意說它是世界上最好的發(fā)明之一。