The function and fashion of eyeglasses | Small Thing Big Idea, a TED series

Transcriber: TED Translators admin Reviewer: Joanna Pietrulewicz

翻译人员: Wanting Zhong 校对人员: Jiasi Hao

I think that at the time,

我觉得当时

Catwoman had a really cool pair of glasses

电视剧《蝙蝠侠》系列中

in the Batman series that was on television.

猫女的眼镜特别酷。

And I wanted to be cool like her.

而我想变得和她一样酷。

我当时并没有意识到

It didn't occur to me

that glasses were really a medical device.

眼镜其实是一种医疗器械。

(Small Thing.)

[ 小事物 ]

(Big Idea.)

[ 大智慧 ]

When light rays reflect off an object

当光线在物体表面反射

and enter the eye through the cornea,

并通过角膜进入眼睛，

your retina converts this light into electrical impulses

你的视网膜会把这道光 转换成电脉冲，

that are sent to the brain,

传递到大脑。

which interprets the impulses

大脑则会转译这些电脉冲，

and allows you to understand what you're seeing.

让你明白自己所看到的东西。

Eyeglasses help you see.

眼镜能帮你看清世界。

The earliest forms of eye gear

最早的眼部装备

can be traced back 4,000 years.

可以追溯到四千年前。

Cultures that needed to adapt to climates that were snowy

需要适应多雪气候的族群

created eye shields,

创造了护目挡板——

and they were made of bone and animal hides.

它由骨头和动物皮毛制成。

They had small slits for people to see through,

上面留有些许小缝 让人能看到挡板外的事物，

but no lenses.

但没有镜片。

最早的助视器叫做“阅读石”，

The first vision aid was called a reading stone

and was invented over 1,000 years ago.

它发明于一千多年前。

It's not exactly clear who invented the first eyeglasses,

没有人知道 到底是谁发明了最早的眼镜，

but many people attribute it to the Italians.

但很多人将其归功于意大利人。

Early versions of eyeglasses were called rivet spectacles.

早期的眼镜 被称为“铆接型镜片”。

They were two magnifying glasses that were hinged together

它们由两片放大镜构成，

在鼻梁处用铰链连接。

at the bridge of the nose.

It took some time for eyeglasses to land

人们花了不少时间才摸索出了

on the perfect design.

眼镜的最佳设计。

They didn't really have sides,

刚开始它们并没有镜腿，

which are also called temples, or arms,

镜腿又称为“太阳穴”或“镜臂”。

until about the 17th century.

这种设计延续到 17 世纪。

Modern-day eyeglasses feature a pair of rims

现代眼镜的特点是 有一副镜圈

that hold corrective lenses,

能固定视力矫正镜片、

a bridge that connects the rims,

一个衔接两个镜圈的鼻梁、

sides that slide behind the ears,

架在耳朵上的镜腿，

还有把镜腿连接到镜圈上的铰链。

hinges that connect the sides to the frames,

有的眼镜上还有一对腿套，

and on some glasses, a pair of temple tips

for behind the ear comfort.

让耳后更加舒适。

In American culture,

在美国文化中，

20th century cinema helped popularize eyeglasses.

20 世纪的电影让眼镜开始风靡。

Audiences would see glamorous actresses and actors

观众看到魅力四射的演员们

donning glasses to take on a different persona.

戴上眼镜， 转身变为另一个人物。

Sometimes a pair of glasses became popularized

有时一副眼镜的流行

缘起于戴那副眼镜的人，

by the actual person that was wearing them,

and then that personality trait

之后那个人的性格特质

was projected into the actual device.

被投射到了眼镜上。

You had the aviator glasses,

比如飞行员眼镜

which showed a forward-thinking,

彰显了超前的思维

adventurous type of person.

和富有冒险精神的个性。

Glasses with heavy frames signified intelligence

镜框厚重的眼镜 则象征着智慧，

or nerdiness.

或者“技术宅”。

Wayfarers signified this kind of nerdy punk,

徒步旅行者眼镜 则代表着宅男朋克、

自我放逐， 与社会格格不入的特征。

the outlaw, the misfit.

Glasses have become so popular as a fashion device

眼镜作为一种时尚配置 已变得如此流行。

that some people actually don glasses

有些人甚至会戴上

without a prescription lens at all,

没有度数的眼镜，

because they want to portray a certain attribute about themselves.

因为他们想为自己 塑造出某种特质。

Glasses are a lifeline to people.

眼镜对人们至关重要。

People that can't see well enough to drive,

那些因视力不佳 而无法开车、

无法做饭、无法阅读的人，

well enough to cook, well enough to read

rely on glasses for maintaining their lives.

都需要依赖眼镜来维持正常生活。

在我们的社会中， 也有有很多其他物件

And there's lots of other objects in our society

that have been created

被创造出来

to help overcome various physical obstacles.

以帮助人们战胜各种生理障碍。

And it's only the eyeglasses

只有眼镜，

that have catapulted to that fashion statement.

登上了时尚舞台。

Wouldn't it be wonderful if anything that we use,

如果我们使用的所有东西，

any device that we've invented to help our humanity

为了帮助人类 而发明出的所有设备

都能以同种方式得到升华 那该有多么美妙？

could also be elevated in the same way?

(Upbeat music)