【文／寂天文化】
You look in your closet and say, “Mom, I don’t have a thing to wear! Can we go shopping?” You may spend hours in the store choosing garments. You want to wear clothes that make you look and feel good. But where do all those clothes come from? Who made them, and how? 
你看著你的衣櫃說：「媽，我沒有衣服穿！我們可以去逛街買衣服嗎？」你接下來可能會在服飾店待好幾個小時選衣服，想買穿起來舒服，又能讓你看起來亮眼的衣服。但是衣服到底是怎麼來的？是誰做的？又是怎麼做的？
Jeans
If you’re like most people, you have jeans. Levi Strauss invented them for gold miners in 1873. Today’s jeans look much like the first ones. The pockets still have copper rivets. Strauss added them to make the pockets strong so that miners could carry gold.
牛仔褲
如果你跟大多數人一樣，那麼你一定有牛仔褲。Levi Strauss在1873年為採金礦的礦工發明了牛仔褲。現在的牛仔褲看起來跟當時的差不多，口袋上仍有銅鉚釘。Strauss加上銅鉚釘是為了讓口袋更牢固，好讓礦工們在裡面裝金塊。
Raincoats
If you own a raincoat, you can thank Charles Macintosh. He made the first waterproof cloth. He put a thin layer of rubber between two pieces of cloth. The cloth had a special liquid on it that helped the rubber stick to it. He made the cloth into raincoats. People loved them! They could stay dry when it rained.
雨衣
如果你有雨衣，那你得好好感謝Charles Macintosh，因為他製作出第一件防水衣。他在兩層布料間塗上一層薄薄的橡膠，布料上特殊的液體能幫助橡膠附著，然後再把這塊布製成雨衣。大家都很愛這個發明！因為就算下雨，也不會被雨淋濕。
Shoes
Years ago, cobblers made shoes for people when they ordered them. After they measured the person’s foot, they chose the shoe form that matched. The cobblers used the form to cut leather uppers and soles. They sewed together the pieces of the uppers. Finally, they used tiny wooden pegs to attach the uppers and soles. All of this took days. Today, shoe pieces are mainly cut and put together on machines. Some shoes are stitched, and others are glued. This makes shoes cost less so that people can afford more pairs.
鞋子
很多年前，鞋匠只在客人下單後，才會開始製做鞋子。他們會先量顧客腳的尺寸，再選擇適合的鞋版。鞋匠用這個鞋版來裁剪皮革鞋面與鞋底，然後再將裁好的皮革鞋面一片片縫起來。最後，他們用小木釘將鞋面與鞋底釘起來。做一雙鞋通常要花上好幾天的時間。現在製鞋的主要工作都是由機器來完成，以機器裁剪、縫製鞋面與鞋底。有些鞋子是用縫的，有些則是用黏的。如此一來，鞋子的成本更低，大家就買得起更多雙的鞋子。
本篇選自「FUN學美國英語閱讀寫作課本1」。此內容轉載自【寂天英語學習充電報】，歡迎訂閱！
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