VOA标准英语2014--Bottle Museum Showcases Centuries-Old Handmade Glass Bottles 玻璃瓶博物馆展出历史悠久的手工玻璃瓶

 

Bottle Museum Showcases Centuries-Old Handmade Glass Bottles 玻璃瓶博物馆展出历史悠久的手工玻璃瓶

BALLSTON SPA, NEW YORK — Until the beginning of the 20th century, glass bottles - for pharmacies¹, breweries², and dairy farms - were all produced by hand.  Demand in the 1800s was so tremendous that bottle making was the first mass production industry in the United States.  The National Bottle Museum in Saratoga County, New York preserves that history,  displaying Interesting and centuries-old handmade bottles

The liquor bottles, called Dutch Onions because of their origin and shape, are the oldest in the National Bottle Museum's collection.  They were made by hand in the early 1700s.  The milk bottles are the most recent additions, produced by modern techniques a few years ago.

Most of the more than 2,000 bottles, in various colors, shapes and sizes, were crafted with hand tools in the 1800s.  Bottle No. 32 was made in the early 1890s. 

“That is your first Coca Cola soft drink bottle," said Gary Moeller, the museum’s director. "The first company that bottled the soft drink was Biedenharn Candy Company of Vicksburg, Mississippi."

Some bottles bear the owners' names, giving a hint about the early value of recycling.  

“Because having the bottles made cost a lot of money.  So they wanted them back so that they could use them over and over again," said Moeller.

Some bottles here have never held anything.  They are collectibles and often feature famous politicians or entertainers.

“These bottles are commemoration of the 1972 presidential campaign.  The elephant one has Richard Nixon on one side, Spiro T. Agnew, who was the vice³ president, on the other side.  The two donkey-shape ones are for the Democratic Party," explained Moeller.

The three-story historic building that houses the museum is situated⁴ in what was a flourishing resort community in the 1800s, with many popular mineral water springs.  Now, there are only two left.

“Actually in the 1800s, across the street from the museum stood what in its day was one of the largest resort hotels in the United States: Sans Souci Hotel.  My understanding is Sans Souci had four running springs in the hotel," said Moeller.

Moeller says during the peak of its popularity, millions of bottles for the spring water were produced each year in Saratoga County alone and sent throughout the world.  The bottles were made exclusively with hand tools and human lung power until the automatic bottle machine was invented in 1903.

Peter Nash, who came to visit with his son, has been collecting bottles for years.

“I have a recreated old time bar in Boston. Most of the bottles I have are whiskies and rums from back in 1910 and 1920 era. I try to collect ones that were used in the bar back then," he said.

This was his son William's first visit.

“I was surprised to see all these bottles and some of the big ones and the little ones.  I like a lot of the little ones, and it is kind of a big, giant, fat one over there," William said.

Visitors also can view the hand tools and blow pipes, the molds used to shape bottles, and some whimsical glass sculptures the workers created at the end of their shifts.

“On a regular basis people will wander into the museum knowing absolutely nothing about what the museum is here for, what we are showing," Moeller said. "Some of those people end up staying for a long time and when they leave, they will tell us what a cool museum this is."

 

And, Moeller says, they leave with a new appreciation⁵ for these important, but often overlooked, historical artifacts.

1 pharmacies   

药店

参考例句：

• Still, 32 percent of the pharmacies filled the prescriptions. 但仍然有32%的药剂师配发了这两张药方。 来自互联网
• Chinese herbal pharmacies, and traditional massage therapists in the Vancouver telephone book. 中药店，和传统的按摩师在温哥华的电话簿里。 来自互联网

2 breweries   

酿造厂，啤酒厂( brewery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• In some cases, this is desirable, but most breweries prefer lighter-type beers. 在一些情况下，这是很理想的，但是大多数啤酒厂更倾向于生产酒度较低的啤酒。
• Currently, there are 58 breweries producing Snow Beeracross the country. 目前，全国共有58个雪花啤酒厂。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 situated   

adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的

参考例句：

• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
• She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。

5 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。