我們參加大大小小的考試，

都要帶上一根2B鉛筆來涂答題卡。

但是你知道這里的B是什麼意思嗎？

2B=2 Black

2B鉛筆是軟性鉛筆，

常用于涂抹答題卡和繪畫。

這的 B 就是 black，

表示鉛筆的黑度。

Pencils are graded using the ‘Graphite Scale’ which measures the softness/hardness of the lead.

鉛筆用石墨含量來給鉛芯的硬度或者黑度分級。

A pencil lead is made from graphite mixed with clay. Graphite is a naturally soft substance and clay is mixed with it to make it harder. This means a lead with a high graphite content is known as a soft lead and pencils with a soft lead will make a dark mark when used.

鉛芯是由石墨和粘土混合制成的。石墨是一種天然的軟物質，人們把它和粘土混合在一起使它變硬。這意味著石墨含量高的鉛被稱為軟鉛，軟鉛的鉛筆在使用時會留下黑色的痕跡。

Conversely， a lead with less graphite and higher clay content is known as a hard lead and will make a lighter mark.

相反，石墨少而黏土含量高的鉛被稱為硬鉛，它留下的痕跡較淺。

Soft leads are graded using the letter ‘B’ to designate how ‘black’ the mark they make is. Numbers are then used to indicate the degree of softness - the higher the number the softer the lead and the blacker the mark. For example， a 2B lead is softer than a B lead and will produce a blacker mark. A 4B lead is softer than a 2B etc.

軟鉛芯用字母B來表示它們黑的程度。然后，數字被用來表示柔軟程度——數字越高，鉛越軟，所以畫出來越黑。例如，2B鉛比B鉛軟，會產生更黑的痕跡。4B比2B等要軟。

Hard leads are graded in the same way but use an ‘H’ to show how ‘hard’ they are. A 2H is harder than an H and a 6H is really really hard.

硬鉛芯以同樣的方式評級，但用H來表示它們有多硬。2H比H硬，6H非常非常硬。

HB （hard black） leads are considered to be the happy medium on the graphite scale. There are no specific industry standards that set down how black HB leads should be， so an HB pencil made by one manufacturer will not necessarily leave the same mark as an HB pencil from a different manufacturer.

硬黑鉛被認為是石墨刻度上的理想中值。并沒有具體的行業標準來規定HB鉛筆芯應該有多黑，所以一個制造商生產的HB鉛筆并不一定會和另一個制造商生產的HB鉛筆留下相同的痕跡。

相關表達

pen lid 筆帽

sharpen [ˈʃɑːrpən] v. 使變尖；使鋒利

sharpen a pencil 削鉛筆

pencil sharpener 轉筆刀；卷筆刀

我們削鉛筆的是想要鉛筆的筆芯變得更尖，方便書寫，而不是只削掉鉛筆的皮，所以削鉛筆要說 sharpen a pencil，削鉛筆要用的卷筆刀就是 pencil sharpener.

例：

His mother told him to sharpen pencils before the exam.

媽媽叮囑過他，在考試前削好鉛筆。

各種筆的英文表達

eyebrow pencil 眉筆

lip pencil 唇線筆

eyeliner 眼線筆

pencil 鉛筆

mechanical pencil 自動鉛筆

pen 鋼筆

fountain pen 自來水筆

felt-tip [felt tɪp] pen 簽字筆

ballpoint pen 圓珠筆

chalk [tʃɑːk] 粉筆

crayon [ˈkreɪən] 蠟筆

Chinese writing brush 毛筆

highlighter [ˈhaɪlaɪtər] 熒光筆

marker [ˈmɑːrkər] 記號筆

paintbrush [ˈpeɪntbrʌʃ] 畫筆