国外媒体:印度打字机工厂的消失

India is well known for its legions of computer programmers, but the country also has another face as the last bastion of the typewriter. Manual typewriters stayed popular in India long after developed nations had entirely¹ switched to the keyboard and mouse.

印度以拥有众多的程序设计师而闻名，但它也有不同的另一面：印度是打字机的最后的供应商。在发达国家完全使用键盘和鼠标代替人工打字机之后，人工打字机在印度还是很受欢迎。

As recently as the 1990s, the Mumbai plant of a company named Godrej and Boyce was turning out 50,000 typewriters a year. They were popular in a nation where reliable electricity supplies - essential for computers - are still by no means guaranteed.

早在20世纪90年代， Mumbai一家叫做Godrej and Boyce的公司每年生产5万台打字机。打字机曾在一个只能给计算机提供供电的国家（这还无法保证）十分流行。

But even in India, typewriter sales have slumped² in the last ten years. Gradually, every manufacturer stopped making them, leaving only Godrej's Mumbai plant - and that switched to making fridges two years ago. And now the firm says it only has 500 typewriters left in stock.

但即使在印度，打字机的销售在过去10年中已经大幅度下滑。最近，几乎所有的工厂都停止生产大机子了，只剩下Godrej的孟买工厂——那家工厂2年前转向生产电冰箱了。现在哪家公司说只有500台的存货。

It's a far cry from the heyday³ of the 1950s, when India's then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru held up the humble⁴ typewriter as a symbol of the nation's independence and industrialisation.

这和20世纪50年代截然不同，那是印度的首相Jawaharlal Nehru将简陋的打字机示威国家独立和工业化的象征。

The first commercial typewriters were produced in the United States in the 1860s. The machine was then the dominant⁵ office technology for more than a century until the computer came along.

第一批打字机是美国在19世纪60年代生产的。打字机在计算机出现之前是一个多世纪的主要办公技术。

1 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

2 slumped   

大幅度下降，暴跌( slump的过去式和过去分词 )； 沉重或突然地落下[倒下]

参考例句：

• Sales have slumped this year. 今年销售量锐减。
• The driver was slumped exhausted over the wheel. 司机伏在方向盘上，疲惫得睡着了。

3 heyday   

n.全盛时期，青春期

参考例句：

• The 19th century was the heyday of steam railways.19世纪是蒸汽机车鼎盛的时代。
• She was a great singer in her heyday.她在自己的黄金时代是个了不起的歌唱家。

4 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

5 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。