原文

This is the 100 Club,/ our look atglobal brands that have been aroundfor 100 years or more.// Our nextcompany is a leader in electronics:Panasonic.// It may be a householdname today,/ but it got its start bymaking a very simple product.//

Before Panasonic made all ofthese,/ it made this,...//

“This is our first product,/ called［an］ attachment plug.”// （MasahiroEzaki, company historian, Panasonic）

...a small, simple, affordable electricaldevice/ that carried powerfrom light sockets to appliances.//

“People used to take electricityfrom a ceiling light,/ like this.”//（Masahiro Ezaki）

It was a product to bring electricityto the masses,/ accordingto company historian MasahiroEzaki.// It was also the beginning ofwhat would become an electronicsindustrygiant,/ founded by KonosukeMatsushita in Osaka, Japan.//

原文

In the beginning,/ the companywas called Matsushita Electric.// Ithad just a handful of employees,/including its founder, his wife andher brother.// But it quickly grew,/both with more employees andmore products.//

“Konosuke Matsushita wanted tomake life easier and comfortable/with the introduction of these electricappliances.”// （Masahiro Ezaki）

The 1920s were a big decade,/with the introduction of both theelectric iron and an electric lightfor bikes.// But it was also a darkdecade,/ not just for the companybut companies around the world,/as the United States stock marketcrashed in 1929.//