TheDuetTapeAmongthecontentsofthetoolboxesofmostpeopleinthewesternworldyouwouldexpecttofindahammerandnails,adrill,screwdrivers(螺絲起子)andsomescrews.ButifyouweretoaskpeoplefromNorthAmericawhatthemostusefulitemintheirtoolboxeswas,themajorityofpeoplewouldundoubtedlytellyouthatitwasduct(輸送管)tape.Indeed,ithasbecomeanindispensableadditiontoeveryperson’sperceptionofwhatconstitutesnecessity.Maybeyouhaveneverheardofducttape.Itisthebrandnameofatape.Notonlyisitatape,butalsoitisaspecialkindoftape.Thenameofthetapecomesfromthefactthatitwasdesignedasaninsulating(絕緣的)tapethatcanbeusedinductwork(channelsorconduits[導管]thatareusedforheattotravelthroughtogettodifferentareasofabuilding).Incrediblethoughitseems,someoneactuallyputapictureofaduckonthepackagingofthetapefromonemanufacturerperhapsjustasajokeormaybebecausethedesignartistdidnotunderstandtheoriginofthename.Neitherthewordducknorductwasonthelabel.Presumably,itwasassumedthateveryonecouldidentifytheproduct.Youcanrecognizethegenuinetapebecauseofitssilvergreycolor.Thecolorwaslikelychosenbecauseitcloselyresemblesthecolorofthepipesthecolorofthepipesitwouldbeusedon.Thatwastheprimaryintendeduseofthetape.Itwasunlikelythattheinventorrealizedhowmanyotherusescouldbefoundforthisproduct.Ingenious(善于創造發明的)peoplehavefoundmanyalternativeusesforthistape.Thebinder(粘合劑)onthetapeisofgoodqualityanditwillsticktomostsurfaces.Thetapeisofgreatstrength.Itisimpossibletotearthetape.Itmustbecut.Thedurablenatureofthetapeisoneofitsmainassets(益處,優點).Itcomesinavarietyofwidthsandthelengthofthetapeontherollwillvaryaswell.Thenumberofcentimeterswideandthenumberofmeterslongwilldeterminethepriceoftheroll.Theducttapeisacquiringfameasthenumberofitsusesforitexceedsthethoughtspossible.Thenumberofusesforthistapewillamazeyou.OneinternetWebsite(環球網的站點)startedouttryingtoidentify101usesfortheducttapeandthelisthaswellover200usesonitnow.Maybethereareaninfinitenumberofuses.Someoftheitemsitlistsinvolveanimaginationbutothersarequitegenuine.Notevenakindergartenstudentrequiresinstructiononhowtouseit.Oneideaseemstogenerate(產生,引起)another,inspiredbytheuniquewaysomeoneelsehasdecidedtomakeuseofthetape.However,someoftheusesarenotfeasibletoexecute.Forinstance,theuseofthetapeasabandageisnotrecommended.Itcouldcauseinjurywhenitisremoved.Youmustevaluatethelistwithasenseofhumorassomeoftheusescouldembarrassaperson.Thecommercialvalueofthetapeisundoubtedlytremendouswithhugeprofitsresultingfromthesales.Theproductpracticallypromotesitselfwithoutmuchneedforpublicity.Sometimesyouseepeople,usuallymaleratherthanfemale,wearingshirtsthathaveaslogan(標語)writtenonthemthatsays,“Icanfixanything”——andthenthereisapictureofaducttapebelowthesaying.Theimplicationpresumablyisthattheducttapereplacesskill.Anothergoodmarketingstrategy(策略,戰略)thatpeopleenjoyistheuseofacalendar.Thereisonepageonthecalendarforeverydayoftheyearandeachpageshowsanddescribesanewuseoftheducttape.Oneofthetypicalusesoftheducttapeistorepairaleakinafaucet(龍頭)orwatertap.Ifthehose(水龍軟管)ofavacuumcleanerhasaholeinit,theducttapewillcometorescue(援救,救助).AlmosteveryhouseholdinNorthAmericahasatleastonerollofducttape.Peoplekeepithandyanduseittorepairalmosteverything.Noonewouldthinkitnecessarytojustifythepurchaseofextrarollsoftape,sothesalescontinuetoincrease.Manypeopleliketoboastabouthowoftentheyusethetape.Theysaythattheusageofducttapehasallowedthemtosimplifytheirlifeandtodecreasethecostofrepairs.Itcanbeusedindoorsintheinteriorofahousebutthereareabundantusesoutsidethehouseaswell.Ifthereisachipoutofaglassobject,theducttapecanbeusedtoprotecttheuserfrombeinginjured.Repairingorreinforcingajointonanaluminumladderthatapersonisusingwouldbeavaluableuseofthetape.Thetapehasprovedtobebargain.Evenifthemanufacturerschargedtwiceasmuchforthetape,itwouldstillbeabestsellerinthewesternworld.Theretailpriceisveryreasonable.Inadditionitisconvenienttostore,anddespitethenumberofapparentuses,peoplearealwaysfindingmorewaystoutilizeit.Ithasbecomeavitalitemforeveryhousehold.Theglueonthetapeisawonderfuladhesive(粘著的)agentandwillbondwelltoanythingfromapieceofcrystaltothehandleofabroom.Therehavebeenreportsofpeopleusingthetapetotrapinsects.Crickets(蟋蟀),forexample,werefoundstucktothetapebyoneperson.Maybethegluewasabletoattractthemormaybetheyjustwereinthewrongplace.Criminalshavebeenknowntousethetapeontheirvictims.Duringarobbery,arobberusedtheducttapeonthewitnessestokeepthemfromreportingthecrimeuntilhehadescaped.Itwasapparentthattherobbercamearmedwiththeducttape,anticipatingtheneedforitsuse.Oneeveningaseabreezewascausingawindowonacampusdormitorytocrashrepeatedlyastheclasp(鉤子)onithadbeenbroken.TheDucttapeputaswiftendtothenuisanceoftheconstantbanging.Althoughitwasobviousitwasnotapermanentsolutionoftheproblem,nevertheless,thetemporaryuseoftheducttapewasappreciateduntilthewindowcouldbereplacedorsomeonecouldinstallabetterlatch.Youcanevenaccomplishrepairsonvehicles,whichsometimesmeansthedifferencebetweenbeingstoppedintrafficorbeingabletocontinueyourjourney.Manymotorists(汽車司機)havehadtoresorttotheuseoftheducttapeinanemergencysituation.Driversoftenkeeparollofducttapeinthetrunkoftheircarforthatreason.Itisatremendousreliefwhenyouareabletowrapapieceofducttapearoundaleakinghosethatyoudiscoveratatimewhenitisnotconvenienttoreplaceit.Thankstotheducttape,thedrivercanbecomemobileagain.Thefearofbeingstranded(束手無策的)onalonelystretchofhighwayislessenedwhenyoucarryaducttape.Otherformsoftransportationmakegooduseofthetapeaswell.Usageforitcanbefoundonboats,andalsoonairplanes.Forinstance,askydriveroncereportedthatjumpingoutofasmallairplanedidnotscareherasmuchasridinginasmallplanethatappearedtohavelotsofducttape.Sportsandrecreationalactivitiesmakegooduseofthistapeaswell.Ifyou’reaudiocassetteplayerwillnotstayclosed,useapieceofducttapetopositionthetapeholder.Itmightlookoddbutitwillservethepurpose.Ifahockeystickneedstobetaped,useducttape!Itcanbeusedtocompressapackage,makingmorecargofitinacarrier.Youcanuseitrepairaleakytoilet,ortofixacrackonatoiletseat.Ifyouwrapducttapearoundanewspaper,itcanbeusedtomakeadog’schewtoy.Ifyougetanopportunitytousethisproduct,youwillalsodiscovermanyusesforitandyouwillagreethatitisoneoftheworld’sbestinventions.管道膠帶在西方，多數人的工具箱中，你可望找到一把錘子和一些釘子，一把鉆子，幾把螺絲刀和一些螺絲釘。不過，你要是問北美人什么是他們工具欄里最有用的東西，多數人會肯定地告訴你那是管道膠帶。的確，在每個人認為必備的東西中，管道膠帶已經是必不可少的物品了。也許你還沒有聽說過管道膠帶吧。它是一種帶子的商標名稱。它不僅是帶子，而且是一種很特殊的帶子。這種帶子原是用于管道工程(用于將熱能傳送到大樓各個部分的管道或導管)的一種絕緣密封帶子，并由此而得名。盡管看來不可思議，但確實有人將一幅鴨子的照片放在了一家生產這種帶子的產品包裝上。這也許只是一個玩笑，抑或是包裝設計師不懂這個名稱的由來。標簽上既沒有鴨子也沒有管道字樣。大概每個人都是能認得這種產品。你可以認出這種真正的帶子，它是銀灰色的。之所以選擇這種顏色，很可能是因為它與管道的顏色相似。那才是為這種帶子設計的主要用途。發明人未必想到人們可能會為它找到許多其他用途。聰明的人們發現了這種帶子的許多其他用途。這種帶子上的粘合劑質量很好，能夠粘著在大多數物體的表面。帶子的強度很大，不可能被撕破，所以必須用刀切割。耐久性是這種帶子的最可貴之處。它被制成多種寬度，一卷帶子的長度也可以變化。一卷帶子有幾厘米寬和幾米長決定了它的價格。管道膠帶之所以有名，在于它的用途超出人們的想象，多得讓人吃驚。一個互聯網站最開始為這種帶子列舉了101種用途，而現在這個清單上已經超過200種了。可能有數不完的用途。在這個清單上有的用途可能只是一種想象，但其他一些用途確實是相當實在的。甚至幼兒園的學童不用教就可以學會怎樣使用。別人以獨特的方式使用帶子的富有靈感的一個念頭似乎會引發另外的想法。不過，有些用途是不可行的。例如，將這種帶子作為繃帶就不值得推薦。去掉它時會造成傷害。你必須帶著幽默感去評價這份清單，因為有些用途會給人帶來麻煩。這咱帶子的商業價值毫無疑問是巨大的，能帶來豐厚的銷售利潤。實際上，這種產品不需要廣泛宣傳，本身就可以促銷。有時候你看到人們，通常是男性而非女性，穿的襯衫上寫著：“我能維修一切”的字樣，下面有張管道膠帶的圖片。其含義當然是這種管道膠帶能取代技能。另一個人們慣用的有效營銷策略是利用日歷。有種日歷上一年中的每一天都有單獨一頁，每頁上都展示和說明管道膠帶的一種新用途。管道膠帶的一個典型的用途是修理水龍頭。如果真空吸塵器上面的軟管有個洞，管道膠帶就派上用場了。幾乎北美的每個家庭都至少有一卷管道膠帶。人們身邊有了它，可以修理幾乎所有東西。人人都認為購買額外的帶子是必要的，所以銷量在繼續攀升。許多人喜歡夸耀他們是如何經常地使用這種帶子。他們說使用管道膠帶簡化了他們的生活，并且減少了修理費用。它不僅可用于室內，在室外也有廣泛的用途。