20100503 Bamboo Cloth - the New Cotton (1)

Bamboo Cloth - the New Cotton

Not only can you sit and walk on bamboo, but you can wear it too

Furniture and flooring usually come to mind when we think of ways to use bamboo. Not many of us, though, think of bamboo clothing! But that might be changing with the popularity of an amazing fabric made from bamboo.

The process
How can a material used to make hard floors also be used to make soft cloth?
In 2001, researchers in Beijing figured out that it's all in the processing.
Today, two main methods are used.

Mechanical
In the mechanical process, woody parts of the bamboo plant are crushed. The fibers are then combed and spun into thread. Afterward, color can be added and the threads made into cloth.

Chemical
The chemical process is the most common and uses the entire bamboo plant. The crushed fibers are "cooked" in chemicals and then turned into thread. Some don't like this process and worry that the chemicals may hurt the environment. However, others believe that the many benefits of this bamboo fabric outweight the negatives.





come to mind 浮現腦海
=> first thing you think about when you hear the word
A:Do you know any good French restaurants?
您是否知道有什麼好的法國餐館？
B:Nothing comes to mind right now.
現在想不太出來,
eg: The name "Bee Gees" comes to mind when you talk about the 70's.
=> 當你提到70年代的時候,腦海就會浮現"Bee Gees"的名字.

process v. 處理
processing n. 加工/處理
=> take material and change them for a certain purpose
eg: Processing camera film is a thing of the past since most cameras today are digital,.
eg: 相機底片的沖洗已經是過去的事，因為現在大多數相機都是數位式的。
eg: This software can speed up data processing.
=> 這軟件可能加速電腦資料的處理。

mechanical adj. 機械的/使用機械的
eg: All the mechanical parts of this vehicle are imported from Germany.
=> 這輛車的所有機械零件都是德國被進口。
eg: The airplane crash was caused by mechanical failure.
=> 這一次的墬機事件是由機械故障造成的。


fabric n. 織物/織品/布料
spin v. 紡織
=> spin span span

thread n. 一線/一絲

//== Chat room ==//

The fibers are combed and spun into thread.
=> 這些纖維會加以梳理在紡織成絲線

comb n. 梳子
comb v. 梳理/梳整

comb v. 徹底的搜查/地毯式的搜索
comb through
eg: The police combed the area.
eg: The police combed through the area.

go over something with a fine-tooth comb
=> 徹底地仔細地檢察搜尋某個地方

fine-tooth comb
=> 齒牙很密的梳子