From our earliest origins, man has been making use of glass. Historians have discovered that a type of natural glass -obsidian -formed in places such as the mouth of a volcano as a result of the intense heat of an eruption melting sand-was first used as tips for spears. Archaeologists have even found evidence of man-made glass which dates back to 4000 BC;this took the form of glazes used for coating stone beads. It was not until 1500 BC, however, that the first hollow glass container was made by covering a sand core with a layer of molten glass.

从人类最早的起源开始，人们一直在使用玻璃器皿。历史学家们发现了一种天然的玻璃——黑曜石——由于火山喷发时的高温熔化了沙子而形成于火山口处——最初被用作矛尖。考古学家甚至发现了公元前4000年人造玻璃的依据，它其实是一些用来包裹石头散珠的玻璃釉层。然而，直到公元前1500年才出现了最早的空心玻璃容器，它是把一层熔化的玻璃覆盖住砂芯而制成的。

Glass blowing became the most common way to make glass containers from the first century BC.The glass made during this time was highly coloured due to the impurities of the raw material. In the first century AD, methods of creating colourless glass were developed, which was then tinted by the addition of colouring materials. The secret of glass making was taken across Europe by the Romans during this century. However, they guarded the skills and technology required to make glass very closely, and it was not until their empire collapsed in 476 AD that glass-making knowledge became widespread throughout Europe and the Middle East. From the 10th century onwards, the Venetians gained reputation for technical skill and artistic ability in the making of glass bottles, and many of the city's craftsmen left Italy to set up glassworks throughout Europe.

从公元前1世纪开始，玻璃吹制成为最常见的制作玻璃容器的方法。在此期间制作的玻璃都带有颜色，因为原材料含有杂质。公元1世纪，制造无色玻璃的工艺得到了发展，这些无色玻璃可以通过添加有色物质来染色。罗马人在此世纪将玻璃制作的秘诀传遍了欧洲各地。但是，他们严密把控玻璃制作所需的技能和技术，直到公元476年罗马帝国瓦解，玻璃制作的工艺才广泛传到欧洲和中东地区。公元10世纪以来，威尼斯人制作玻璃瓶的技术和艺术造诣享誉世界，城市中很多手工匠人离开意大利到欧洲各地建立了自己的玻璃作坊。

A major milestone in the history of glass occurred with the invention of lead crystal glass by the English glass manufacturer George Ravenscroft (1632-1683). He attempted to counter the effect of clouding that sometimes occurred in blown glass by introducing lead to the raw materials used in the process. The new glass he created was softer and easier to decorate,and had a higher refractive index, adding to its brilliance and beauty, and it proved invaluable to the optical industry. It is thanks to Ravenscroft's invention that optical lenses, astronomical telescopes, microscopes and the like became possible.

破璃发展史上一个重要的里程碑是英国玻璃制造商George Ravenscroft(1632-1683)发明的铅玻璃。为了避免有时在玻璃吹制的过程中会出现的雾化现象，他试着在制作使用的原材料中加入铅元素。他制作的这种新型玻璃更加柔软、更易装饰，并且有着更高的折射率，增加了玻璃的明亮度和美感，证明了其对于光学工业的无限价值。正是由于Ravenscroft的发明才使得光学镜片、天文望远镜和显微镜等类似东西的出现成为可能。

In Britain, the modern glass industry only really started to develop after the repeal of the Excise Act in 1845. Before that time, heavy taxes had been placed on the amount of glass melted in a glasshouse, and were levied continuously from 1745 to 1845. Joseph Paxton's Crystal Palace at London's Great Exhibition of 1851 marked the beginning of glass as a material used in the building industry. This revolutionary new building encouraged the use of glass in public,domestic and horticultural architecture. Glass manufacturing techniques also improved with the advancement of science and the development of better technology.

英国的现代玻璃工业是在1845年废除消费税法令之后才得到真正发展的。在那之前，玻璃作坊要根据熔化的玻璃总量上缴重税，并且从1745到1845年持续上税。1851年，Joseph Paxton为伦敦世界博览会所设计的水晶宫标志着玻璃成为了一种建筑材料。这座革命性的新建筑刺激了玻璃在公共、家庭和园艺建筑中的使用。玻璃制造的工艺也随着科学和技术的进步得到了进一步的提升。

From 1887 on wards, glass making developed from traditional mouth-blowing to a semi-automatic process, after factory-owner HM Ashley introduced a machine capable of producing 200 bottles per hour in Castleford, Yorkshire, England - more than three times quicker than any previous production method. Then in 1907, the first fully automated machine was developed in the USA by Michael Owens - founder of the Owens Bottle Machine Company (later the major manufacturers Owens Illinois) - and installed in its factory. Owens' invention could produce an impressive 2,500 bottles per hour. Other developments followed rapidly, but it was not until the First World War, when Britain became cut off from essential glass suppliers, that glass became part of the scientific sector. Previous to this, glass had been seen as a craft rather than a precise science.

从1887年开始，玻璃制造工艺从传统的人工吹制向半自动化的流程发展。当时工厂主HM Ashley在英格兰约克郡的卡索福德引进了一台能够每小时生产200个玻璃瓶子的机器，这相当于以前生产速度的3倍还多。之后，在1907年，美国出现了第一台全自动的机器，发明者是Michael Owens- 欧文斯玻璃瓶制造厂(即后来的玻璃主要制造商Owens Illinois )的创始人-这台机器安装在他的工厂。他的发明能够每小时制造出2500个玻璃瓶子，着实令人惊叹。其他的发展也相继快速出现，但直到一战时期英国被切断了必需的玻璃供给之 后，英国才开始发展玻璃制造业。在此之前，玻璃一直被视为一种手艺而非精密科学。

Today, glass making is big business. It has become a modem, hi-tech industry operating in a fiercely competitive global market where quality, design and service levels are critical to maintaining market share. Modem glass plants are capable of making millions of glass containers a day in many different colours, with green, brown and clear remaining the most popular. Few of us can imagine modem life with out glass. It features in almost every aspect of our lives - in our homes, our cars and whenever we sit down to eat or drink. Glass packaging is used for many products, many beverages are sold in glass, as are numerous foodstuffs,as well as medicines and cosmetics.

现如今，玻璃制造是一门大行业。它已经成为一个现代的高科技产业，在竞争激烈的全球市场上，质量、设计和服务水平对市场份额至关重要。现代的玻璃工厂一天里能够生产数百万计不同颜色的玻璃容器，其中以绿色、棕色和透明色为主。我们很难想象现代生活中缺少了玻璃会怎样。它几乎出现在我们生活的方方面面——家里、车里和任何我们坐下来喝水吃饭的地方。玻璃包装被用在许多产品上，很多饮料放入玻璃瓶中售卖，无数的食品、药品和化妆品也是如此。

Glass is an ideal material for recycling, and with growing consumer concern for green issues,glass bottles and jars are becoming ever more popular.Glass recycling is good news for the environment. It saves used glass containers being sent to landfill. As less energy is needed to melt recycled glass than to melt down raw materials,this also saves fuel and production costs. Recycling also reduces the need for raw materials to be quarried,thus saving precious resources.

玻璃是回收的理想材料，并且随着消费者对环保事件的关注度逐渐上升，玻璃瓶罐变得空前盛行。对于保护环境来说，玻璃回收是一个好消息。它使废旧玻璃容器免于扔进垃圾场。因为熔化回收玻璃比熔化原材料所需要的能耗要低，所以这样更加节约能源和生产成本。回收也会降低对原材料开采的需要，因此节约了宝贵的资源。