Ballpoint pens(珠笔)are everywhere. Around the world, 57 ballpoint pens arc bought every second,
The history of the ballpoint pen goes back to the 1930s. Laszlo Biro was a Hungarian newspaper editor(编辑). While working, he noticed that his fountain pen (钢笔)created problems. He had to fill it with ink from time to time. He wondered if it was possible to produce a better pen. So, he did.
The first one was invented by John J. Loud in 1888 in America, but it didn't work well. Biro made two important improvements. First, he placed a small metal ball at the tip (尖端)of the pen, so it no longer cut the paper. The ball and small space around it also made sure that the ink didn't come out too fast The second improvement was ink quality.
This was an important change—people didn't need to wait for the ink to dry.
Biro's pens worked very well, but it wasn't successful until a French man bought the rights (权利)to make it in 1950. Marcel Bich divided the pen into eight pieces that were easy to make and put together in a factory.
| A. Biro didn't invent the ballpoint pen but improved it. B. How did such a simple pen become so popular? C. The first ballpoint pen was invented in France. D. By 1965t ballpoint pens were available around the world. E. And sometimes the ink made a mess on the paper. F. Marcel Bich sold Biro's ballpoint pens to the world. G. Biro and his brother George developed a kind of thick ink which dried quickly. |
