Lesson 39 A Soft And Flexible Metal—Lead
第39课 柔韧的软金属——铅
In Wales, in Derbyshire, and in the north of England, hills made of limestone are very common. In the cracks of this limestone we often find a beautiful silvery mineral called galena. It is made of lead mixed with sulphur.
在威尔士王国、在德比郡、在英格兰的北部, 有很多石灰岩构成的小山。在石灰岩的缝隙里面, 我们经常能够发现一种美丽的银色矿物, 叫做“方铅矿”, 它是硫和铅的化合物。
Minerals or stones, like galena, which contain useful metals, are known as ores. To get the lead from it, thisore is first broken down into powder and roasted in a furnaceat a gentle heat. Then the furnace is made hotterand hotter, until the lead melts and runs off.
像方铅矿这样, 含着有用的金属的矿物或者石头, 我们叫它“矿石”, 英语是ore。要想把铅从矿石里头弄出来, 首先要把它碾成粉末, 用不算太高的温度在熔炉里加热。然后, 把熔炉烧得越来越热, 最后铅就熔化了, 流了出来。
Lead is between blue and grey in colour, so we call it bluish-grey. It is so soft that it can be easily scratched with the thumb nail. If we scrape a piece of lead with a knife, the new surface is bright and shining. Butin a few days it gets dim or rusts by being exposed to the air.
铅的颜色介于蓝色和灰色之间, 所以叫“蓝灰色”, 英语是bluish-grey。铅的质地特别软, 用大拇指的指甲就很容易划出痕迹。如果我们用小刀切下一块铅来, 铅的断面就是闪闪发亮的。但是过了几天, 暴露在空气中的断面, 就会暗淡下去, 生锈了。
Men who work with lead are called plumbers. If you watch a plumber at work, you will see how easily he bends the lead pipes, and how cleverly he hammers the sheet-lead with a mallet, and makes it fit into any corner. Because lead bends so easily, we call it a flexible metal.
加工铅的人叫“管子工”, 要是你见过管子工的工作, 你就会看见他很容易地弯曲铅管, 巧妙地用木槌, 把铅皮敲成适合任何角落的形状。因为铅可以很容易地弯曲, 所以它是“柔韧性”很好的金属。
Lead can be hammered or rolled out into thin sheets.
铅可以用锤子敲成, 或者压成薄片儿。