英国学生科学读本 第50期:只是一块石头(2)

 　　Such old shells found in the rocks are called fossils.

　　这些从岩石中找到的古老甲壳，名叫“化石”。

　　Another kind of rock in which many fossils are found is called limestone¹. A drop of acid or of strong vinegar will tell you whether a stone is limestone or not.

　　另外一种含有很多化石的石头，叫做“石灰岩”也叫“灰岩”。想分辨一块石头是不是石灰岩，只要用一滴酸液或者一滴浓醋就行了。

　　As soon as the acid touches the limestone, it begins to fizz and to bubble. The acid causes a little of the limestone to dissolve, and a gas is formed, which escapes in small bubbles.

　　酸液一落到石灰岩的表面，就会冒气泡，发出嘶嘶的声音。酸液“溶解”了一点儿石灰岩，形成一种气体，变成小气泡冒出来。

　　Clay is also a rock; and when it has been pressed a great deal, it is called shale². Shale splits very easily.

　　粘土也是一种石头，经过大力挤压之后，叫做“页岩”。页岩可以很容易地分成很多片。

　　Some stones are made up of a great many little bits with flat shining sides and sharp corners, called crystals. Granite³ is a rock of this kind. Such stones were long ago heated inside the earth till they melted, and then, as they cooled, the crystals were formed.

　　有些石头，是很多很多表面平整闪光、棱角锋利的小块组成的，这些小块叫做“晶体”。花岗岩就属于这种石头。这样的石头，是很久以前在地下被加热到熔化，然后又冷却的。冷却的时候，就形成了这些晶体。

　　Granite is a very pretty rock. Pillars made of polished granite are often used in public buildings. No fossils are ever found in granite. If there ever were any in it, they were destroyed when the rock was melted.

　　花岗岩是一种十分漂亮的石头，英国的公共建筑，经常用打磨过的花岗岩做柱子。花岗岩里，从来没有找到过化石，如果有过化石，也在花岗岩熔化的时候毁坏了。

　　There are great granite quarries⁴ in Cornwalland in Scotland. A soft white limestone forms the chalk hills of the south-east and the east of England; and a hard limestone forms many of the hills in the north of England.

　　英国的康沃尔郡和苏格兰王国，都有大型的采石场。英格兰东南部和东部，有很多白垩的小山，是一种软质白色石灰岩构成的；英国北部则有很多小山，是硬质的石灰岩构成的。

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 shale   

n.页岩，泥板岩

参考例句：

• We can extract oil from shale.我们可以从页岩中提取石油。
• Most of the rock in this mountain is shale.这座山上大部分的岩石都是页岩。

3 granite   

adj.花岗岩，花岗石

参考例句：

• They squared a block of granite.他们把一块花岗岩加工成四方形。
• The granite overlies the older rocks.花岗岩躺在磨损的岩石上面。

4 quarries   

n.（采）石场( quarry的名词复数 )；猎物（指鸟，兽等）；方形石；（格窗等的）方形玻璃v.从采石场采得( quarry的第三人称单数 )；从（书本等中）努力发掘（资料等）；在采石场采石

参考例句：

• This window was filled with old painted glass in quarries. 这窗户是由旧日的彩色菱形玻璃装配的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They hewed out the stones for the building from nearby quarries. 他们从邻近的采石场开凿出石头供建造那栋房子用。 来自辞典例句