Cai Lun was born to a poor family in Guiyang, China, during the Eastern Han dynasty around 50 AD. He was a smart and 1._________ (ambition) man. He became a clerical official in a palace at 2.________ young age and was much trusted by the emperor He of Han.
There is a story told about his journey to discovering paper. It all started one day when he was given a stack of documents to process at home by the emperor since he served 3._________ a court eunuch. These documents were carved on bamboo strips, 4._______ were given to several men to carry on a bull-drawn cart. On the way, the bull slipped and fell under the wheels halfway through the journey, making the bamboo strips fall to the ground as well. While trying to get another bull to carry the strips, Lun had time to think, and he 5.________(conclude) that the strips were just too heavy and difficult 6.________ carry and use. They were indeed a burden to the scholars.
There must be another way out? So much energy and effort had gone into handling the cumbersome bamboo strips. What about something lighter? With what? Lun had no 7.________(solve). As he was walking, he passed a hemp stalk, and looked at the hemp fiber and thought, “ maybe that could be useful.” He 8.________(careful) removed one layer after another from its fibers, wondering if they could somehow be written on. But they were just too rough and loose. He then thought of the wool from the remains of silk cocoons that might be useful, and that’s when he had it. He ran around seeking help for his experiment. The servants gathered bark, hemp, old silk cocoons, fishing nets, and cloth. They chopped the 9._________(ingredient) finely before cooking them. The result was then pounded to a starchy mixture and dissolved in water before adding another type of starch. When this new mixture was lifted out of the water, it had separated into many fine layers of fabric. Once 10.________(dry), they became sheets of paper.
答案
1.ambitious 2.a 3.as 4.which 5.concluded
6.to 7.solution 8.carefully 9.ingredients 10.dried
翻译
蔡伦出生在东汉时期桂阳的一个贫穷的家庭。他聪明而有抱负，年纪轻轻就在宫中做官，深受皇帝的信任。
这里有一个关于蔡伦造纸的故事——要从他担任宦官、皇帝让他在家处理一堆文件开始。当时的文件都写在竹简上，需要几个人用牛车搬运。在搬运途中，牛滑了一跤，竹简散落了一地。蔡伦觉得，竹简太重了，很难搬运和使用，沉重的竹简文件已经成为了大家的负担。
一定还会有办法！使用这些笨重的竹简太费精力了，有没有轻一点的材料？用什么去做？当时蔡伦也没有好的办法。他看到路边植物杆上的纤维，觉得也许能用得上。于是，他小心翼翼地把它们一层一层地剥掉，想试试在上面能不能写字，但这些纤维太过粗糙松散。随后，他想到了蚕茧里的毛，也许能派上用场。于是，他赶紧派人去准备实验。仆人们收集了树皮、麻、蚕茧、渔网和布。在煮之前把这些材料切碎，然后捣碎成粉状的混合物并溶在水中，再加入淀粉。从水里拿出来时，它们变成了一层一层的网状物。干燥后，就变成了纸。
词汇解析
ambitious / æmˈbɪʃəs /adj. 有抱负的，野心勃勃的
bamboo strips / ˌbæmˈbuː strɪp /竹片；竹简
fiber / ˈfaɪbə(r) / n. 纤维
chop / tʃɒp /v. 剁，砍，劈
dissolve / dɪˈzɒlv /v. （使）溶解
