日常英語 古代人夏日納涼的4個妙招

1. FAN CHAIRS 風扇椅

Philadelphia-based musical instrument maker John Cram invented a clever cooling device in the 1780s. People used their feet to operate the fan that moved above their head, much like someone would power an old sewing machine. Benjamin Franklin reportedly owned one as well, but the device seems to have had limited mass-market appeal.

18世紀80年代，美國費城的樂器匠人約翰·克萊姆發(fā)明了一種巧妙的納涼裝置。人們用腳讓懸在頭頂的風扇轉起來，就像運作老式縫紉機一樣。據稱，本杰明·富蘭克林也有一臺風扇椅，但是這種設備似乎在大眾市場上不太吃香。

2. CANVAS AWNINGS 遮陽篷

One thing you immediately notice when looking at photographs of famous buildings before the invention of A/C is that they frequently sported awnings over nearly every window. Going back to antiquity, awnings provided the shade vital for keeping the sun's heat at bay. In the latter half of the 19th century, new colors and patterns helped make canvas awnings more than a necessary utility: They became a key decorative feature of a home.

如果你去看空調尚未被發(fā)明時的著名建筑照片，你馬上就會注意到幾乎每個窗戶都帶有遮陽蓬。在古代，遮陽蓬對于阻隔日曬十分重要。到了19世紀下半葉，新花色的出現讓遮陽蓬不再僅僅是一個實用裝置，而是成了房子的重要裝飾品。

3. PUNKAHS 布屏風扇

These hand-operated ceiling fans have their origins in colonial India. Each year thousands of poor seasonal workers were contracted, or otherwise compelled, to spend monotonous days pulling a cord that swept a piece of fabric back and forth across a room for the country's elite.

這種手動操作的吊扇源自殖民時期的印度。那時候印度的權貴每年都會雇傭或強迫數千名窮苦的季節(jié)性工人從早到晚機械地重復拉繩子的動作，從而讓布屏來回擺動，給屋內帶來涼風。

4. DRINKING BUTTERMILK 飲用酪乳

The Indian subcontinent gave the world another refreshing idea for keeping cool in the searing heat: drinking buttermilk. Even today, many varieties of a spiced buttermilk are consumed in Southeast Asia and many diasporic communities around the world. It was also a common refreshment in late-19th and early 20th-century North America—the beverage was even recommended by physicians.

飲用酪乳這一清涼解暑的創(chuàng)意也來自印度次大陸。直到今天，東南亞和世界各地許多僑區(qū)的人都還在飲用各種加了香料的酪乳。酪乳也是19世紀晚期和20世紀早期北美常見的一種提神飲料，甚至連醫(yī)生也建議人們喝酪乳。