Luis國際資訊事務所

In early times, clothes were carried far away from home and then beaten against river rocks until they were clean. Even after people began doing their wash at home, removing the dirt1 from clothes was still hard work. Each piece of clothing had to be hit or scrubbed all by hand until there was no more dirt. Before modern washing machines, the laundry2 was the hardest housework3 of all because it took a lot of effort. Dirty clothes were worn longer so that people could save their strength.

　　Early washing machines helped, but not much. These machines were mostly turned by hand. Some let gravity4 do the work, which was to drop the clothes after raising them. Others used gears5 to turn rough boards that rubbed the clothes clean. Even with these simple machines, the laundry for one house could take an entire day of boring work.

　　Before the invention of the electric washing machine, laundry was a major chore. However, this work had to be done. Since traditionally women did the housework, laundry was one of the main things that kept them stuck at home. Who would ever think that cleaning shirts was so much trouble?

1. scrub　vt. 刷洗，擦洗
Monica scrubbed the old wok clean.
莫妮卡把那個舊的炒菜鍋刷得清潔溜溜。
2. strength　n. 力氣，力量
I don't have the strength to run another lap.
我已經沒有力氣再跑一圈了。
3. rough　a.（表面）不平的，粗糙的
The road to the mountain top is rough.
到山頂的路崎嶇難行。
4. invention　n. 發明；發明物
The iPod is an amazing invention.
iPod是一項絕妙的發明。
5. electric　a. 電動的，用電的
Nick owns several electric guitars.
尼克有好幾把電吉他。
6. major　a. 主要的；較大的
I have a major concern about your plan.
我對於你的計畫有一大疑慮。

1. remove A from B　　將 A 從 B 移走
Alice removed some chairs from the room.
艾麗絲從房內搬走了一些椅子。
2. take/require effort　　耗費時間與精力
It requires lots of effort to write a book.
寫書相當地費時耗力。

1. dirt　n. 灰塵，髒污
2. laundry　n. 洗好或待洗的衣物
3. housework　 n. 家務事
4. gravity　n. 地心引力
5. gear　n. 齒輪

...the hardest housework of all...
（……所有家事裡最困難的一項……）
句中凡有"of all..."片語出現時，一定要使用最高級。
This encyclopedia is the thickest book of all on the shelf.
（這本百科全書是書架上所有書當中最厚的。）
Of all types of movies, I like science fiction the best.
（在所有電影類型裡，我最喜歡科幻片。）

在早期，衣服都得拿到離家很遠的地方，然後在溪流的石頭上敲打直到乾淨為止。甚至到了人們開始在家裡洗衣服後，要去除衣服上的污漬仍是一件困難的工作。每 件衣服都必須親手敲打或用力搓洗到沒有任何髒污才行。在現代洗衣機發明前，洗衣服是所有家事裡最困難的一項，因為它相當地費時耗力。髒衣服都要穿得久一 點，這樣人們才可以省點力氣。

早期的洗衣機能幫的忙不多。這些機器多是用手來搖轉。有些洗衣機則是靠地心引力產生作用，也就是把衣物舉起來後再往下丟落。其它洗衣機則用齒輪來轉動凹凸不平的洗衣板，好把衣服搓洗到乾淨為止。就算有了這種簡易的洗衣機，洗衣服仍是需要耗費一整天時間的無聊工作。

在電動洗衣機發明前，洗衣服可是一大雜務。然而這項工作又必須要做。由於傳統上婦女要負責做家事，因此洗衣服是把她們困在家中的主因之一。有誰曾想過洗襯衫是一件那麼麻煩的事呢？