英国学生科学读本 第39期:柔韧的软金属-铅(1)

 　　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 limestone¹ 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 rusts² 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 plumbers⁴. If you watch a plumber³ at work, you will see how easily he bends the lead pipes, and how cleverly he hammers the sheet-lead with a mallet⁵, 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。

1 limestone   

n.石灰石

参考例句：

• Limestone is often used in building construction.石灰岩常用于建筑。
• Cement is made from limestone.水泥是由石灰石制成的。

2 rusts   

n.铁锈( rust的名词复数 )；（植物的）锈病，锈菌v.（使）生锈( rust的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Copper nails are better than iron nails because the iron rusts. 铜钉比铁钉好，因为铁会生锈。 来自辞典例句
• The axenic culture of rusts has been achieved on various defined media. 在各种规定的培养基上可得到锈菌的单体纯净培养物。 来自辞典例句

3 plumber   

n.(装修水管的)管子工

参考例句：

• Have you asked the plumber to come and look at the leaking pipe?你叫管道工来检查漏水的管子了吗？
• The plumber screwed up the tap by means of a spanner.管子工用板手把龙头旋紧。

4 plumbers   

n.管子工，水暖工( plumber的名词复数 )；[美][口]（防止泄密的）堵漏人员

参考例句：

• Plumbers charge by the hour for their work. 水管工人的工作是以小时收费的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Plumbers, carpenters, and other workmen finished the new house quickly. 管道工、木工及其他工匠很快完成了这幢新房子。 来自辞典例句

5 mallet   

n.槌棒

参考例句：

• He hit the peg mightily on the top with a mallet.他用木槌猛敲木栓顶。
• The chairman rapped on the table twice with his mallet.主席用他的小木槌在桌上重敲了两下。