From our earliest origins, man has been making use of glass. 从我们人类最早的起源开始，就已经在利用玻璃了。 Historians have discovered that a type of natural glass — obsidian — formed in places such as the mouth of a volcano as a result of the intense heat of an eruption melting sand — was first used as tips for spears. 史学家发现了有一种天然玻璃-黑曜石,由于极高温熔岩的喷发，往往形成于火山口-它最开始被用来作箭簇。 Archaeologists have even found evidence of man-made glass which dates back to 4000 BC; this took the form of glazes used for coating stone beads. 考古学家甚至发现了人造玻璃的证据，它的年代可以追溯到公元前4000年，这采取了釉料的形式用于涂层石珠。 It was not until 1500 BC, however, that the first hollow glass container was made by covering a sand core with a layer of molten glass. 然而，直到1500年，第一个中空玻璃容器是用一层熔融玻璃覆盖的砂芯制成的。

Glass blowing became the most common way to make glass containers from the first century BC. 使用玻璃吹塑成为玻璃容器的方式是从公元前第一个世纪开始的。 The glass made during this time was highly coloured due to the impurities of the raw material. 在这段时间内制成的玻璃是对原材料杂质的高度着色的探索。 In the first century AD, methods of creating colourless glass were developed, which was then tinted by the addition of colouring materials. 在第一个世纪, 创造无色玻璃的方法有了发展，然后通过着色材料着色。 The secret of glass making was taken across Europe by the Romans during this century. 在本世纪，罗马人的玻璃制作的秘诀传遍欧洲。 However, they guarded the skills and technology required to make glass very closely, and it was not until their empire collapsed in 476 AD that glass-making knowledge became widespread throughout Europe and the Middle East. 然而, 他们谨慎的技术熟练的制作工艺使玻璃非常紧密，直到公元476年他们的帝国倒塌，玻璃制造的知识才广泛遍及欧洲和中东地区。 From the 10th century onwards, the Venetians gained a reputation for technical skill and artistic ability in the making of glass bottles, and many of the city’s craftsmen left Italy to set up glassworks throughout Europe. 从10世纪以来，威尼斯人获得了在制造玻璃瓶的技术技能和艺术能力的声誉，由此许多城市的工匠离开意大利在整个欧洲建立玻璃厂。

A major milestone in the history of glass occurred with the invention of lead crystal glass by the English glass manufacturer George Ravenscroft (1632—1688). 在玻璃发展史上出现了一项具有里程碑意义的发明，即英国制造商George Ravenscroft (1632-1683)的铅水晶玻璃的发明。 He attempted to counter the effect of clouding that sometimes occurred in blown glass by introducing lead to the raw materials used in the process. 他试图清除有时发生在玻璃吹制引入原材料使用的过程中导致浑浊污斑。 The new glass he created was softer and easier to decorate, and had a higher refractive index, adding to its brilliance and beauty, and it proved invaluable to the optical industry. 因此他创造的新玻璃更柔和, 更容易装饰, 并具有更高的折射率, 增加了它的光泽和美丽, 并证明它对于光学行业是无价之宝。 It is thanks to Ravenscroft’s invention that optical lenses, astronomical telescopes, microscopes and the like became possible. 多亏了拉文斯克罗夫特的发明, 光学透镜、天文望远镜、显微镜和类似物变得有可能。

In Britain, the modern glass industry only really started to develop after the repeal of the Excise Act in 1845. 在1845英国废除《消费税法》之后, 现代玻璃业才真正开始发展。 Before that time, heavy taxes had been placed on the amount of glass melted in a glasshouse, and were levied continuously from 1745 to 1845. 在那之前, 重税负担在玻璃熔化的温室，并且连续征收了多年，从1745年一直到1845年。 Joseph Paxton's Crystal Palace at London’s Great Exhibition of 1851 marked the beginning of glass as a material used in the building industry. 约瑟夫帕克斯顿的水晶宫在伦敦的1851年的大展览标志着玻璃作为建筑材料使用的开始。 This revolutionary new building encouraged the use of glass in public, domestic and horticultural architecture. 这种革命性的新建筑材料鼓励在公共、家居和园艺建筑中使用玻璃。 Glass manufacturing techniques also improved with the advancement of science and the development of better technology. 随着科学技术的进步和更好的技术的发展, 玻璃制造技术也得到了改进。

From 1887 onwards, glass making developed from traditional mouth-blowing to a semi-automatic process, after factory-owner HM Ashley introduced a machine capable of producing 200 bottles per hour in Castleford, Yorkshire, England — more than three times quicker than any previous production method. 自1887年起, 玻璃制造从传统的口吹法开始发展，在英国约克郡卡斯尔福德，工厂业主HM艾希礼引进一个能在每小时内生产200瓶，比以往任何生产方式快三倍以上的机器之后，玻璃制造实现了半自动化。 Then in 1907, the first fully automated machine was developed in the USA by Michael Owens — founder of the Owens Bottle Machine Company (later the major manufacturers Owens- Illinois) — and installed in its factory. 然后在 1907年，第一个完全自动化的机器由美国开发，由欧文斯瓶机公司的迈克尔-创立者 (以后主要制造商欧文斯-伊利诺伊)-并安装在它的工厂。 Owens’ invention could produce an impressive 2,500 bottles per hour. 欧文斯的发明能每小时给人带来2500瓶的惊人产量。 Other developments followed rapidly, but it was not until the First World War, when Britain became cut off from essential glass suppliers, that glass became part of the scientific sector. 其他的发展紧随其后， 但它直到第一次世界大战， 当英国与基本的玻璃供应商切断关联时，玻璃才成为科学界的一部分。 Previous to this, glass had been seen as a craft rather than a precise science. 在此之前，玻璃只被视为一种工艺而不是精确的科学。

Today, glass making is big business. 今天, 玻璃制作是大生意。 It has become a modern, hi-tech industry operating in a fiercely competitive global market where quality, design and service levels are critical to maintaining market share. 它已经成为一个现代化的高科技产业，在竞争激烈的全球市场中，质量、设计和服务水平对维持市场份额至关重要。 Modern glass plants are capable of making millions of glass containers a day in many different colours, with green, brown and clear remaining the most popular. 现代玻璃工厂能使成千上万的玻璃容器在许多不同的粘土颜色中，绿色、棕色和透明的最受欢迎。 Few of us can imagine modern life without glass. 很少有人能想像没有玻璃的现代生活。 It features in almost every aspect of our lives — in our homes, our cars and whenever we sit down to eat or drink. 它的性能几乎遍布在我们的生活的每个方面，我们的家园，我们的汽车，或每当我们坐下吃饭喝酒。 Glass packaging is used for many products, many beverages are sold in glass, as are numerous foodstuffs, as well as medicines and cosmetics. 玻璃包装用于许多产品, 许多饮料是放在玻璃容器中销售，如许多食品，医药以及化妆品。

Glass is an ideal material for recycling, and with growing consumer concern for green issues, glass bottles and jars are becoming ever more popular. 玻璃是一种理想的回收材料，随着消费者对绿色生态问题的日益关注，玻璃瓶和玻璃罐子越来越受欢迎。 Glass recycling is good news for the environment. 玻璃回收对于环境来说是个好消息。 It saves used glass containers being sent to landfill. 它节省了被送往垃圾填埋场的二手玻璃容器。 As less energy is needed to melt recycled glass than to melt down raw materials, this also saves fuel and production costs. 由于回收熔化玻璃成品所需的能量更少，而非熔化原材料，这也节省了燃料和生产成本。 Recycling also reduces the need for raw materials to be quarried, thus saving precious resources. 回收还减少了对原材料的开采需求, 从而节约了宝贵的资源。