The little splints of wood which we call "matches" are made out of deal or pine wood which has been soaked in melted paraffin wax to make it burn more easily. The "heads" or tips of the matches consist of phosphorus and chlorate of potash, mixed with glue to make them stick to the wood. Other substances are also used, different manufacturers of matches using slightly different mixtures.
这种被我们称之为“火柴”的薄木片由欧洲赤松（松树）制成, 在液体的石蜡中浸泡过, 这样燃烧起来就更加容易。火柴“头”的成分包括磷与氯酸钾, 人们利用胶水将它们固定在火柴棒上。当然, 不同厂家的火柴所使用的火柴头成分稍微有些差异。
Phosphorus is a yellowish substance, like wax, which takes fire so easily that it must always be kept in cold water. It is a very dangerous substance to handle, and if you want to cut it you must hold it under cold water while you are doing so.
磷是一种类似蜡的黄色物质, 极为易燃, 因此必须保存在冷水之中。这是一种非常危险的物质, 想要切割磷, 也必须要在冷水中进行操作。
Chlorate of potash is got in the form of white crystals. It is a useful medicine. Perhaps you have had to suck some chlorate of potash lozenges when you had a sore throat. It is used for tipping matches, because it contains a good deal of the gas known as oxygen, which helps other things to burn.
氯酸钾呈现白色水晶状。这是一种非常有用的药剂。也许你曾经就因为喉咙疼痛而服用过氯酸钾。人们之所以将其用于火柴头之中就是因为它包含有大量的助燃气体——氧气。
A match-box has one side covered with some rough substance, such as sand-paper. By rubbing the head of a match against this sandpaper, heat is produced. The heat sets fire to the phosphorus, and the chlorate of potash assists in the burning; the paraffin wax next takes fire, and afterwards the wooden splint. Thus we get in a moment what it often takes the savage an hour or more to produce—a blazing piece of wood.
火柴盒的一侧覆盖有一些粗糙的物质, 例如砂纸。将火柴头在砂纸上进行摩擦就能够产生热量。这些热量可以点燃磷, 在氯酸钾的助燃下, 石蜡便燃烧起来, 而整个火柴棒也就被点燃了。原始人需要花费一个小时甚至更长时间才能点燃一块木头, 而现在, 我们在一瞬间就可以实现这个目标。
There are some matches called "safety matches, " which will light only when they are rubbed on the box. This is because the phosphorus has been put on the box, instead of being added to the mixture with which the matches are tipped.
有些火柴被称作“安全火柴”, 因为它们只有与火柴盒发生摩擦之后才会燃烧。这是因为人们将磷从火柴头中转移到了火柴盒之上。
A great many matches are made in Sweden, and sent to this country. The pine-tree, from which matches and match-boxes are made, grows very well in Sweden, and its wood is very cheap there. Every year many millions of boxes of matches are used in Britain, and in our large towns hundreds of children get their living by selling them in the streets.
许多火柴都是由瑞典制造, 然后转运到英国。制作火柴棒与火柴盒的松树在瑞典生长得特别茁壮, 价格也非常便宜。每年, 英国都需要使用数百万盒火柴。在很多大城市中, 好多孩子都靠着在街上贩卖火柴为生。