英國學生科學讀本 Lesson 43 一塊粘土(2)

What has become of the water? Dry clay is full of tiny pores, and it has sucked up the water into its pores.

水上哪兒去了?干燥的粘土滿是細小的孔洞，把水都吸到孔洞里去了。

Now let us mould our lump of soft clay into the form of a cup, and fill it with water. The water does not soak through the clay, for all its pores are already full of water. Now you see why clay is used to line the bottoms and sides of ponds and canals. Clay will not let water pass through it: it is waterproof.

咱們再把這個軟軟的粘土大塊，塑成一只杯子的形狀，盛滿水。水是不會滲過粘土的，因為粘土的孔洞已經(jīng)盛滿了水?，F(xiàn)在你就知道，人們?yōu)槭裁从谜惩?，來鋪在池塘和水渠的底下和側面了，因為粘土不會讓水透過去，粘土是“防水的”。

Let us mould another lump of clay into the shape of a brick. We shall take this lump of clay to a brick-maker, and ask him to bake it for us in his kiln. There it will become a hard red block like a brick, which would be very useful in helping to build a house.

咱們把另一大塊粘土塑成磚的形狀，把這塊粘土拿給燒磚的工人，讓他在磚窯里給我們燒一遍。這樣，粘土就會變成一種暗紅色的塊兒，跟磚一樣。這種粘土，在修建房子的時候非常有用。

Drain-pipes, tiles, chimney-pots, and many other articles are made of baked clay. Clay burned in rough lumps is sometimes used for making roads and foot-paths. It soaks up the rain-water, and so keeps the road dry.

滲水管、瓦片、煙筒的管帽，還有很多其他的物件，都是燒制的粘土做的。燒過的粘土大塊，有時候用來修建街道和人行道。粘土能把雨水吸干凈，讓道路保持干燥。

Jugs and basins and cups and saucers are also made of baked clay. These vessels must not be porous, or they will let the liquids escape which we put into them. The pores of such articles are filled up by dipping them into a mixture that makes them smooth like glass.

水壺、臉盆、杯子、碟子也是燒過的粘土做的，但是這些器皿可不能“滲透”，不然盛上液體就會漏出去。這種材料里的小孔，是浸在一種混合物里才堵上的，這種混合物，能讓粘土像玻璃一樣光滑。

A man who makes vessels out of clay is called a potter. He has a flat wheel in front of him on which he places the soft lump of clay, and as it spins round he moulds it with his hands into any shape he likes. Dishes made of clay are called pottery or earthenware.

用粘土制作器皿的人叫“陶工”，陶工前面有一個扁平的輪子，他把軟粘土放在上面，輪子一邊轉(zhuǎn)，他就一邊用手，把粘土塑造成他想要的形狀。粘土做的器皿統(tǒng)稱陶器。

 

英語美文