The Miniature World of Snow Globes|雪花水晶球里的梦幻世界

by Rebecca A. Fratzke

Most people think of them as simple souvenirs, but some snow globes are works of art.

The idea is not very complicated. It's just a small scene in a glass ball with a bunch of fake flakes _(1)_ around the water inside. There is something about snow globes, once called snowstorms, waterglobes, and snowdomes, that brings smiles to people's faces. These spherical objects that sometimes have built-in music boxes are so _(2)_ that everyone wants to pick them up and give them a gentle shake.

It is hard to say whether anyone expected snow globes to be as popular today as when they were first _(3)_ to the world at the Paris Universal Expo in 1878. What is known, however, is that they were a huge _(4)_ then. Just one year later, five companies were hurriedly filling _(5)_ from all across Europe. It wasn't until the 1920s that snow globes became popular collectors' items in America.

Although snow globes are said to have been _(6)_ in France during the early 19th century, it was the Expo and an unknown instrument technician that popularized them. This mystery man is Erwin Perzy, an Austrian. Perzy began testing his own design after failing in an experiment to _(7)_ light bulbs. Though he did not make rooms more illuminated, he did find his invention lovely to _(8)_. Soon after, a friend asked Perzy to create a miniature of a famous basilica in Austria. Perzy _(9)_ the miniature with his invention and created what would soon be the first patented snow globe design. The Perzy family is still in the snow globe business today. They also _(10)_ the Snow Globe Museum in Vienna. From toys to treasures, snow globes capture a magic that people of all ages can appreciate.

(A) combined    (B) hit (C) floating    (D) run (E) brighten

(F) appealing   (G) around  (H) look at (I) orders  (J) introduced

雪花水晶球里的梦幻世界

大多数人把雪花水晶球视为简单的纪念品，但其实有些水晶球本身就是件艺术品。

　　玻璃球里有个小景象，伴随大量的人造雪花漂浮于球体内的水中，这样的想法其实不会太复杂。雪花水晶球曾叫做 snowstorm、waterglobe和 snowdome，它有种让人们露出笑容的特质。这些有时内建八音盒的球形物体是如此具吸引力，让每个人都想拿起它们，轻轻地摇晃一下。

　　很难说是否有人曾料到，雪花水晶球今日受欢迎的程度，会和它在 1878 年巴黎世界博览会首次问世时一样。然而，我们只知道它在当时相当风行。问世不过一年，就有 5 间公司忙于处理来自全欧洲的订单。不过要到 1920 年代，雪花水晶球在美国才成为热门的收藏家商品。

　　虽说雪花水晶球在 19 世纪初期就存在于法国，不过是世界博览会和一位没没无闻的仪器技师才让它得已普及。这位神秘人士是名叫厄温‧裴瑞兹的奥地利人。在使灯泡变得更加明亮的实验失败之后，他开始测试自己的设计。虽然无法将房间变得更为明亮，他却发现自己的发明看起来很美丽。不久之后，有位朋友请求裴瑞兹创作奥地利一间著名的长方形教堂的模型。裴瑞兹结合此模型和自己的发明，创造出之后第 1 个拥有专利的雪花水晶球设计。裴瑞兹家族至今仍从事雪花水晶球的事业，他们也在维也纳经营雪花水晶球博物馆。不论是玩具或是珍品，雪花水晶球拥有一种各年龄层的人都能欣赏的魔力。

答案：  1. (C)  2. (F)  3. (J)  4. (B)  5 . (I)

6. (G)  7. (E)  8. (H)  9. (A)  10. (D)

1900年，外科仪器修理师厄温‧裴瑞兹（Erwin Perzy）决定把水和小麦面粉放进玻璃球内，希望能改善开刀房的照明设备，让房间更明亮。裴瑞兹孙子厄温三世（Erwin III）笑着表示，房间照明虽仍未获改善，但雪花水晶球却因此『意外』诞生。111年后的今天，裴瑞兹家族仍旧于维也纳郊区的一间朴实工作坊，持续制造雪花水晶球。

工作坊的 15名员工，每年制造出 20 万个雪花水晶球，远从日本、美国至中东地区，都可见其热销足迹。这间最老牌的工作坊虽是一家规模不大的家族企业，但客户群中，不乏有声望显赫者。前美国总统里根（Ronald Reagan）就委托此公司，以他的加州农场和最爱的红色吉普车，特制 1 颗雪花水晶球。前美国总统柯林顿（Bill Clinton），也以他就职典礼时的五彩纸屑，特制了 1 颗雪花水晶球。（数据源：奇摩新闻）