Lezioni, Inglese

To  transfer  –  transferred  –  transferred    

To  mean  –  meant  –  meant    

To  press  –  pressed  –  pressed  

To  wrap  –  wrapped  –  wrapped  

To  squeeze  –  squeezed  –  squeezed    

To  sing  –  sang  –  sung    

To  write  –  wrote  –  written  

To  put  –  put  –  put  

Paper  has  had  an  essential  role  in  the  spreading  of  information  

The  steps  in  the  papermaking  process  have  been  the  same.    

Chlorine  bleaching  has  been  criticised  by  environmentalists.    

The  introduction  of  machinery  has  speeded  up  paper  production.  

Terminologia  della  stampa  

Printer  =  stampatore  

Pioneer  =  pioniere  

Movable  type  =  carattere  mobile  

Previously  =  precedentemente  

Privilege  =  privilegio  

To  modify  =  modificare    

Full  size  =  dimensioni  reali  

To  sack  =  sacchegiare  

To  print  =  stampare  

Leaflet  =  volantini  

To  force  =  costringere  

To  give  up  =  smettere/abbandonare  

To  make  sure  =  assircurarsi  

Printing  press  =  macchina  da  stampa  

Craftmanship  =  lavoro  artigianale  

Calcography  =  calcografia  

    Johannes  Gutenberg    

✔

Johannes  Gutenberg  was  born  in  Mainz,  Germany,  in  1398  and  died  in  1468.      

His  father  was  responsible  for  the  commerce  in  precious  metals  and  minting  coins,  in  fact  the  city  of  Mainz  

was  an  important  centre  for  gold  and  silver  work.  Johannes  had  a  good  knowledge  of  Latin  and  the  classic  

writers.  And  he  became  also  a  printer.  He  was  a  pioneer  and  in  1438,  was  the  first  European  to  print  with  

hand-­‐set  types.  Thanks  to  his  invention,  about  200  copies  of  the  Bible  were  printed.  

The  modern  printing  process  caused  a  revolution  in  the  paper  industry  and  also  in  the  education  of  the  

public.  Previously,  they  had  little  access  to  the  few  books  that  existed.  Culture  and  education  were  a  

privilege  of  the  nobles  and  the  Church  but  were  accessible  to  everyone  who  was  interested.  

The  first  book  that  was  printed  was  probably  the  “Gutenberg  Bible”,  also  called  the  Mazarin  Bible,  probably  

finished  by  late  1456.    Sadly,  Gutenberg  was  forced  to  give  up  (abandon)  his  printing  press  and  types  to  pay  

off  some  debts.  Then,  because  of  political  problems  in  Mainz,  Gutenberg’s  apprentices  moved  to  different  

European  cities  and  they  spread  the  new  printing  techniques.  In  Italy,  in  Venice,  Aldo  Manuzio  first  

replaced  the  gothic  character  used  to  print  the  books  with  the  cursive,  or  italic  type,  called  “Aldino”.  

Exercise:  

1. Johannes  Gutenberg  was  probably  born  in  Mainz,  Germany,  in  1398.  

2. He  was  the  son  of  Friele  Gensfleisch  vom  Hofe  zum  Gutenberg  and  Else  Wirich.  

3. Gutenberg  asked  to  a  loan  to  put  his  invention  into  practice.  

rd

4. On  3  February  1468  Gutenberg  died  in  Mainz.  

LEZIONE  10  

Past  simple:  finished  actions  in  the  past  

Past  continuous:  was/were  +  verbs  +  ing:  ti  describe  an  action  in  progress  at  a  specific  time  in  the  past  

Past  perfect:  had  +  past  participle:  when  you  are  talking  about  the  past  and  you  want  to  talk  about  an  

earlier  past  action.    

  The  history  of  paper    

✔

The  word  Paper  comes  from  the  Latin  papyrus,  used  by  the  early  Egyptians  comprising  the  pith  of  a  plant  

which  was  sliced  into  layers  and  beaten  or  pressed  into  sheets.    

Some  sheets  of  papyrus  have  been  found  in  Egyptian  tombs  of  3500  BC.  Eastern  civilisation  developed  

more  or  less  simultaneously  with  the  civilisations  of  the  Middle  East  and  of  Europe,  but  as  if  in  a  separate  

world.  This  is  why  paper,  which  was  in  general  use  in  China  about  2000  years  ago,  was  unknown  further  

west  until  the  capture  of  Chinese  prisoners  by  Arabs  at  Samarkand  in  the  eighth  century.  In  793  AD,  

Chinese  workmen  were  introduced  to  a  factory  in  Baghdad.  

The  next  centre  was  Damascus;  the  main  source  of  supply  for  Europe  for  several  centuries.  Then  craft  was  

introduced  also  in  Europe.    

The  earliest  reference  to  England’s  first  mill  was  in  a  book  printed  by  William  Caxton,  around  1490.  Its  

products  were  used  for  an  edition  of  Chaucer’s  Canterbury  Tales.  This  mill  belonged  to  John  Tate.  In  1588,  

Also  Sir  John  Spielman  had  a  paper  mill  and  was  granted  special  privileges  by  Queen  Elizabeth  I.    

These  early  paper  mills  (carterie)  do  not  have  been  very  successful.  One  reason  was  the  belief  that  the  

materials  used  helped  to  spread  the  Plague.    

However,  the  influx  of  Huguenots  from  France  following  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  in  1685  

brought  news  into  the  industry.    

The  first  effects  of  the  Industrial  Revolution  were  felt  particularly  in  the  cotton,  wool  and  iron  commerce  

and,  indirectly,  in  the  paper  industry.    

There  was  a  great  increase  in  population  and  an  increase  in  the  supplies  of  raw  materials  such  as  rags  

(stracci).  Paper  was  always  more  and  more  increasingly  required  for  schoolbooks  and  writing  materials.  

The  Napoleonic  Wars  of  1793-­‐1815  increased  the  difficulty  of  importing  foreign  raw  materials.    

The  increase  in  population  and  the  spread  of  industry,  commerce &