For more than 5,000 years, humans have enjoyed using drinking straws to shiftbeverages from containersto their mouths. The earliest examples of drinking straws come from Sumerian history. These straws were much larger than the ones we know today, and they were designed to let people drink beer from large, heavy vatsthat sat on the floor.
The drinking straw was convenient in two different ways. First, it allowed the Sumerians sitting or standing nearby to drink beer together. Second, it allowed people to drink the liquid without slurpingup the solidsedimentboth floating on top and sitting at the bottom of the container.
Many other cultures used reedsas drinking straws. In the late 19th century, an American was not happy with the grassytaste of his drinking straw and decided to improve it. His first model was made of paper and held together with glue. He soon found that this strawfell apart in some liquids, so he built a machine to coat the paper in wax. After that, his straws turned out to be a huge success.
單字片語整理
Words in Use
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sip
[sɪp]
vt. & n. 啜飲
三態
sip / sipped [sɪpt] / sipped [sɪpt]
The guy sitting at the bar sipping coffee is my boyfriend.
那個坐在吧臺喝咖啡的男生是我男友。
Julie took a sip of her tea and went on reading.
茱莉品了一口茶後繼續閱讀。
高中 Level 3
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straw
[strɔ]
n. 稻草（不可數）；吸管（可數）
=
hay
You look very charming when you wear that straw hat.
妳戴著那頂草帽時模樣真迷人。
The little boy used a straw to drink his juice.
小男孩用一根吸管來喝果汁。
When the boss asked him to work overtime again, John said, “That’s the last straw! I quit!”
老闆要他再加班時，約翰便說：『我已到了忍無可忍的地步了！老子不幹了！』
高中 Level 3
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shift
[ʃɪft]
.vt. 轉移，改變
n. 輪班
Don’t try to shift the blame to me.
不要試圖把責任推到我身上。
What can I do to shift my son’sattention from computer games to his studies?
我該怎麼做才能把我兒子的注意力從電動玩具轉移到課業上？
I work on the night shift this week.
我這星期輪夜班。
多益藍色
英檢中級
高中 Level 4
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container
[kənˋtenɚ]
n. 容器
You should store these cookies in a container with a tight lid.
你應該把這些餅乾保存在一個有密閉蓋子的容器裡。
高中 Level 4
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solid
[ˋsɑlɪd]
a. 固體的；堅固的
n. 固體
=
liquid
=
gas
The water froze into a solid block of ice.
水凝結成一團冰塊。
The desk is made of solid wood.
這張桌子是用堅固的木頭製成的。
Wood is a solid while water is a liquid.
木頭是固體，水則是液體。
多益藍色
英檢中級
高中 Level 3
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float
[flot]
vi. 漂浮
n. 浮板
The first step in learning how to swim is to learn how to float.
學游泳的第一步就是學會如何漂浮。
The man used a piece of wood as a float to get back to shore.
該男子用了一塊木頭當浮板回到岸邊。
多益綠色
英檢中級
高中 Level 3
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wax
[wæks]
vt. 打蠟
n. 蠟
Wax will become liquid when it is heated.
加熱後的蠟會變成液體狀。
Father reminded me to wax his car after I finished washing it.
老爸提醒我車子洗完後要記得打蠟。
高中 Level 3
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beverage
[ˋbɛvərɪdʒ]
n. . 飲料
=
drink
You have to be at least 20 years old to buy alcoholic beverages in this country.
在這國家你要滿 20 歲才可以買酒精類飲料。
英檢中高
高中 Level 6
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vat
[væt]
n. 大桶
●
slurp
[slɝp]
vt. & vi. 出聲地吃／喝
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sediment
[ˋsɛdəmənt]
n. 沉澱物
●
reed
[rid]
n. （管樂器的）簧片，蘆葦
●
grassy
[ˋgræsɪ]
a. 長滿草的
Eric likes to lie down on grassy fields and watch the clouds float by.
艾瑞克喜歡躺在草地上看著空中的雲飄過。
高中 Level 3
Practical Phrases
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fall apart
散掉；解體
As soon as Maggie picked up the book, it fell apart.
麥姬一把書拿起來，書就解體了。
