隨着新冠疫情蔓延全球，免洗消毒液的銷量飛漲。它能用在無法洗手的場合，而且攜帶方便，因而受到追捧。其實，免洗消毒液的歷史只有短短的幾十年。
The history of hand sanitizer
by Tom Huddleston Jr.
Panic buying over the coronavirus pandemic（大流行病） has led to a variety of household products flying off the shelves at grocery stores. That includes one product that's only been commercially available for a few decades, but which many people clearly now view as a necessity: hand sanitizer.
panic /ˈpænɪk/ n. 恐慌
coronavirus /kəˈrəʊnəˌvaɪərəs/ n. 冠狀病毒
lead to 導致
household /ˈhaʊshəʊld/ n. 住戶、家庭
grocery /ˈɡrəʊs(ə)ri/ store 食品雜貨店
commercially /kəˈmɜːʃ(ə)li/ adv. 商業上（由commercial加後綴-ly變成副詞）
decade /ˈdekeɪd/ n. 十年
view /vjuː/ v. 看待
necessity /nəˈsesəti/ n. 必需品
hand sanitizer /ˈsænɪtaɪzə(r)/ 免洗消毒液
Purchases of the disinfecting gel have skyrocketed in the U.S. ever since the first case of COVID-19 hit the country. Supermarkets and pharmacies across the country have sold out of hand sanitizer, leaving only empty shelves where disinfectant products would normally be found.
purchase /ˈpɜːtʃəs/ n. 購買、購買的物品
disinfect /ˌdɪsɪnˈfekt/ v. 消毒（由infect加上表示否定的前綴dis-）
gel /dʒel/ n. 粘稠的膏狀液體（就像洗髮水、洗潔精等）
skyrocket /ˈskaɪˌrɒkɪt/ v. 飛漲、急劇上升
COVID-19 是新冠肺炎的正式名稱
hit /hɪt/ v. 到達
pharmacy /ˈfɑːməsi/ n. 藥店
sell out 賣完、售罄
disinfectant /ˌdɪsɪnˈfekt(ə)nt/ adj. 消毒的（由disinfect加後綴-ant變成形容詞）
Modern hand sanitizer can be traced back to Goldie and Jerry Lippman, the married couple that developed a waterless hand cleaner in 1946 for rubber plant workers. The product, which they called Gojo, is a mix of petroleum jelly, mineral oil and less than 5% alcohol. It's still used today by workers to clean off substances like grease（油脂） and oil.
trace /treɪs/ v. 追根溯源
waterless /ˈwɔːtələs/ adj. 無水的（由water加上表示否定的後綴-less並變成形容詞）
cleaner /ˈkliːnə(r)/ n. 清潔劑（由clean加上表示人或物的後綴-er）
rubber /ˈrʌbə(r)/ n. 橡膠
plant /plɑːnt/ n. 工廠
petroleum jelly 凡士林
mineral /ˈmɪn(ə)r(ə)l/ adj. 礦物的
substance /ˈsʌbst(ə)ns/ n. 物質
Over the following decades, Gojo continued selling their products as industrial cleaners. Then, in 1988, the company invented the hand gel Purell, which consists of 70% ethyl alcohol as its primary ingredient. It took some time for stores to carry the product that most everyday customers weren't really asking for. As such, Gojo did not release Purell onto the consumer market until 1997.
industrial /ɪnˈdʌstriəl/ adj. 工業的（由industry加後綴-al變成形容詞）
consist /kənˈsɪst/ of 由…組成
ethyl alcohol 乙醇（是酒精的化學名稱）
primary /ˈpraɪm(ə)ri/ adj. 主要的
ingredient /ɪnˈɡriːdiənt/ n. 配料、成分
everyday /ˈevrideɪ/ adj. 普通的、平常的
as such 嚴格意義上、嚴格來說
release /rɪˈliːs/ v. 發佈（新產品）
consumer /kənˈsjuːmə(r)/ n. 消費者
Hand sanitizer sales did not start taking off until the 2000s. It was 2002 that the CDC first revised its hand hygiene guidelines to recommend alcohol-based hand sanitizer as a possible alternative for both health care personnel and the average person looking to eliminate germs when soap and warm water are not available, or as a time-saving solution. Throughout the 2000s, hospitals around the world started the widespread practice of placing hand sanitizer pumps throughout medical facilities.
sales /seɪlz/ n. 銷售量、銷售額
take off 起飛、快速成功
CDC 疾控中心
revise /rɪˈvaɪz/ v. 修訂
hygiene /ˈhaɪdʒiːn/ n. 衛生
guideline /ˈɡaɪdlaɪn/ n. 指導方針、指南
-based 後綴，意思是“基於”
alternative /ɒlˈtɜːnətɪv/ n. 替代品、另一種選擇
health care 健康照護、醫療衛生
personnel /ˌpɜːsəˈnel/ n. 人員
eliminate /ɪˈlɪmɪneɪt/ v. 消除、清除
germ /dʒɜːm/ n. 微生物、致病菌
throughout /θruːˈaʊt/ prep. 從…的開始到結束、遍及
widespread /ˌwaɪdˈspred/ adj. 分佈廣的、普遍的
practice /ˈpræktɪs/ n. 做法
pump /pʌmp/ n. 水泵（這裏指按壓式包裝瓶，就像配圖中的那種）
medical /ˈmedɪk(ə)l/ adj. 醫療的
facility /fəˈsɪləti/ n. 設施
For the average American consumer, who hopefully doesn't have to worry about finding clean water and soap, and isn't facing a time crunch that an emergency room doctor might have to deal with, hand sanitizer is an attractive option, especially now, for on-the-go situations where they might not be able to duck into a bathroom to wash their hands.
face /feɪs/ v. 面對、面臨
time crunch /krʌntʃ/ 時間緊張
emergency /ɪˈmɜːdʒ(ə)nsi/ n. 緊急情況（emergency room就是急診室）
on the go 忙個不停
duck /dʌk/ v. 溜走
"For example, you're out and about in New York City, or maybe you're somewhere where you just don't have a chance to wash your hands. Hand sanitizer is a good alternative for hand-washing in those situations," says Dr. Anjali Bharati, an emergency medicine physician at New York City's Lenox Hill Hospital.★
physician /fɪˈzɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 內科醫生
★ 注：這裏說在紐約市的時候要用免洗消毒液，是因爲紐約市現在是美國疫情的重災區。
Meanwhile, even though health officials have certainly come around to the benefits of alcohol-based hand sanitizers over the past two decades, they also remain adamant（堅決的） that the best method for avoiding germs is washing your hands thoroughly with soap and water. "The physical act of hand-washing and running water really does remove a very, very large percentage of bacteria, dirt and grime（污垢）, something that hand sanitizer does not do," says Dr. Bharati.
meanwhile /ˈmiːnwaɪl/ adv. 與此同時
official /əˈfɪʃ(ə)l/ n. 官員
come around 改變看法
thoroughly /ˈθʌrəli/ adv. 全面地、徹底地（由thorough加後綴-ly變成副詞）
physical /ˈfɪzɪk(ə)l/ adj. 身體的
act /ækt/ n. 行爲、舉動
run /rʌn/ v. （液體）流動
percentage /pəˈsentɪdʒ/ n. 百分比
bacterium /bækˈtɪəriəm/ n. 細菌（bacteria /bækˈtɪəriə/ 是複數）
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