煉油業(yè)是現(xiàn)代重要的一種新興工業(yè)

An important new industry, oil refining, grew after the Civil war. Crude oil, or petroleum – a dark, thick ooze from the earth – had been known for hundreds of years, but little use had ever been made of it. In the 1850’s Samuel M. Kier, a manufacturer in western Pennsylvania, began collecting the oil from local seepages and refining it into kerosene. Refining, like smelting, is a process of removing impurities from a raw material.
一種重要的新興工業(yè)--煉油業(yè)在國(guó)內(nèi)戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)后成長(zhǎng)起來(lái)。未加工的石油，或原油--一種深色的地下的稠漿--數(shù)百年來(lái)一直為大眾所知，但是人們卻很少使用過(guò)它。在十九世紀(jì)五十年代，薩繆爾?M?科爾，賓西法尼亞西部的一位制造商，開始從當(dāng)?shù)氐囊绯鑫镏惺占筒⑺鼰挸擅河?。與冶煉礦石一樣，石油提煉是一個(gè)從未加工的原料中除去雜質(zhì)的過(guò)程。

Kerosene was used to light lamps. It was a cheap substitute for whale oil, which was becoming harder to get. Soon there was a large demand for kerosene. People began to search for new supplies of petroleum.
煤油被用來(lái)點(diǎn)燈。它是鯨油的一種便宜的替代品，而鯨油正變得越來(lái)越難以獲得。不久就產(chǎn)生了對(duì)煤油的大量需求。人們開始尋找新的石油供應(yīng)。

The first oil well was drilled by E.L. Drake, a retired railroad conductor. In 1859 he began drilling in Titusville, Pennsylvania. The whole venture seemed so impractical and foolish that onlookers called it “ Drake’s Folly”. But when he had drilled down about 70 feet(21 meters), Drake struck oil. His well began to yield 20 barrels of crude oil a day.
第一口油井為E.L.瑞克，一個(gè)退休的火車檢票員所鉆得。1859年他開始在賓西法尼亞的泰特斯維爾鉆井。整個(gè)的這項(xiàng)冒險(xiǎn)事業(yè)看起來(lái)是如此不現(xiàn)實(shí)和愚蠢以致旁觀者稱之為"鴨子的蠢行"。(譯者注：Drake'sFolly,drake在這里意含雙關(guān)，即指瑞克的名字，又指該詞的本義即鴨子。)但當(dāng)瑞克往下鉆至70英尺(21米)的時(shí)候，他發(fā)現(xiàn)了石油。他的油井從此每天生產(chǎn)20桶原油。

News of Drake’s success brought oil prospectors to the scene. By the early 1860’s these wildcatters were drilling for “ black gold” all over western Pennsylvania. The boom rivaled the California gold rush of 1848 in its excitement and Wild West atmosphere. And it brought far more wealth to the prospectors than any gold rush.
瑞克成功的消息將石油勘探者們吸引到現(xiàn)場(chǎng)。截止到19世紀(jì)60年代早期，這些冒險(xiǎn)者為尋找"黑色的金子"鉆探遍了整個(gè)賓西法尼亞西部。這項(xiàng)繁榮的事業(yè)在刺激性和粗獷的西部氣氛上可與1848年的加州淘金熱相媲美，而且它為勘探者帶來(lái)了遠(yuǎn)超過(guò)淘金潮的財(cái)富。

Crude oil could be refined into many products. For some years kerosene continued to be the principal one. It was sold in grocery stores and door-to-door. In the 1880’s refiners learned how to make other petroleum products such as waxes and lubricating oils. Petroleum was not then used to make gasoline or heating oil.
原油能被提煉成許多產(chǎn)品。多年以來(lái)煤油一直是主要的一種產(chǎn)品。它在雜貨店中出售由人挨戶推銷。19世紀(jì)八十九十年代煉油者們懂得了生產(chǎn)其它石油產(chǎn)品，如蠟和潤(rùn)滑油。那時(shí)石油還沒(méi)有被用來(lái)制造汽油或采暖裝置用油。