Oil
油
1. The existence of oil wells has been known for a long time. Some of the Indians of North America used to collect and sell the oil from the wells of Pennsylvania. No one, however, seems to have realized the importance of this oil until it was found that paraffin-oil could be made from it; this led to the development of the wells and to the making of enormous profits. When the internal combustion engine was invented, oil became of worldwide importance.
1、油井的存在由來已久。北美的一些印第安人過去常常去賓夕法尼亞的油井采集油來出售。一直以來，沒有人認識到這種油的重要性，后來人們發(fā)現(xiàn)它可提煉出煤油來，情況才為之一變。自此油井遂蓬勃發(fā)展，巨額利潤也由此產(chǎn)生。當(dāng)內(nèi)燃機發(fā)明后，石油更具有世界性重要意義。
2. What was the origin of the oil which now drives our motor-cars and aircraft? Scientists are confident about the formation of coal, but they do not seem so sure when asked about oil. They think that the oil under the surface of the earth originated in the distant past, and was formed from living things in the sea. Countless billions of minute sea creatures and plants lived and sank to the sea bed. They were covered with huge deposits of mud; and by processes of chemistry, pressure and temperature were changed through long ages into what we know as oil. For there creatures to become oil, it was necessary that they should be imprisoned between layers of rock for an enormous length of time. The statement that oil originated in the sea is confirmed by a glance at a map showing the chief oilfield of the world; very few of them are far distant from the oceans of today. In some places gas and oil come up to the surface of the sea from its bed. The rocks in which oil is found are of marine origin too. They are sedimentary rocks, rocks which were laid down by the action of water on the bed of the ocean. Almost always the remains of shells, and other proofs of sea life, are found close to the oil. A very common sedimentary rock is called shale, which is a soft rock and was obviously formed by being deposited on the sea bed. And where there is shale there is likely to be oil.
2、現(xiàn)在驅(qū)動汽車和飛機的油的起源是什么？科學(xué)家對煤的形成一清二楚，然而論及石油時，它們就不那么有把握了。他們認為，處于地表下的油起源于遠古，并是由海洋生物形成的。數(shù)億的微小海洋動物和植物繁衍生殖并沉到海底。它們被厚厚的泥沙沉積物所覆蓋，并由于化學(xué)變化、壓力和溫度的作用過程，在漫長的時間中變成了我們所知道的石油。這些生物要變成石油，必須被密封在巖石之中很長時間。如果瞧一瞧標明世界主要油田的地圖，石油起源于海洋之說便可以得到證實，極少有油田是遠離今天的海洋的。在某些地方，天然氣和石油從海底冒出海面。含油的巖石與海洋也有淵源關(guān)系。它們是水成巖，是由海水作用沉至海底的。在有石油地方的附近幾乎總是有貝殼遺骸和其他海洋生物的證據(jù)。一種十分常見的水成巖叫油頁巖，他是一種很軟的巖石，很明顯是因為被壓積在海底而后形成的。而哪兒有油頁巖，哪兒就可能有石油。
3. Geologists, scientists who study rocks, indicate the likely places to the oil drillers. In some cases oil comes out of the ground without any drilling at all and has been used for hundreds of years. In the island of Trinidad the oil is in the form of asphalt, a substance used for making roads. Sir Walter Raleigh visited the famous pitch lake of Trinidad in 1595; it is said to contain nine thousand million tons of asphalt. There are probably huge quantities of crude oil beneath the surface.
3、研究巖石的科學(xué)家即地質(zhì)學(xué)家給石油鉆井工指明可能產(chǎn)生油處。有些地方，根本無需挖掘，油自動冒出地面，并已這樣使用了幾百年。在特立尼達島，石油以瀝青—即用作鋪路的物質(zhì)—形式存在。在沃爾特·羅利爵士在1595年訪問過特立尼達的著名瀝青湖，據(jù)說該湖的瀝青容量有90億噸。在其地表下可能有大量原油。
4. The king of the oilfield is the driller. He is a very skilled man. Sometimes he sends his drill more than a mile into the earth. During the process of drilling, gas and oil at great pressure may suddenly be met, and if this rushes out and catches fire, the oil well may never be brought into operation at all. This danger is well known and steps are always taken to prevent it.
4、油田的主角是鉆井工。他們是熟練技術(shù)工人。有時他得把鉆頭鉆入地下一英里深。在鉆探過程中，由于巨大的壓力，可能會突然碰上氣和油，而如果油氣噴出來并著了火，此油井便可能永遠無法啟用。這種危險是人人共知的，因此人們采取防護措施。
5. There is a lot of luck in drilling for oil. The drill may just miss the oil although it is near; on the other hand, it may strike oil at a fairly high level. When the drill goes down, it brings up soil. The samples of soil from various depths are examined for traces of oil. If they are disappointed at one place, the drillers go to another. Great sums of money have been spent, for example in the deserts of Egypt, in 'prospecting' for oil. Sometimes little is found. When we buy a few gallons of petrol for our cars, we pay not only the cost of the petrol, but also part of the cost of the search that is always going on.
5、在鉆井采油中也常要碰運氣。鉆頭可能離油很近，但卻失之交臂。而有時鉆頭可能在很淺處就碰上了油。鉆頭鉆下去，把土帶上來。人們檢驗從不同深處帶上來的土樣以探明油跡。如果一處落空了，鉆井工就轉(zhuǎn)移到另一處。為了“勘探”石油，已花費了巨額錢財，例如在埃及沙漠就是那樣。有時所獲甚微。當(dāng)我們?yōu)樽约旱钠囐徺I幾加侖汽油時，我們付的不僅僅是汽油的價錢，而且還包括了一部分不斷在進行著的勘探費用。
6. When the crude oil is obtained from the field, it is taken to the refineries to be treated. The commonest form of treatment is heating. When the oil is heated, the first vapors to rise are cooled and become the finest petrol. Petrol has a low boiling point; if a little is poured into the hand, it soon vaporizes. Gas that comes off the oil later is condensed into paraffin. Last of all the lubricating oils of various grades are produced. What remains is heavy oil that is used as fuel.
6、當(dāng)原油從油田取得后，就被送往煉油廠去處理。最常見的處理方式是加熱。油加熱時最早升起的蒸汽冷卻后就為最好的汽油。汽油沸點低，如果倒入少許在手上，它立即就蒸發(fā)掉。稍后從油中分離出來的氣體就被冷凝成煤油，最后制出的各種不同等級的潤滑油。而剩下的部分是用作燃料的重油。
7. There are four main areas of the world where deposits of oil appear. The first is that of the Middle East, and includes the regions near the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea, the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, another is the area between North and South America, and the third, between Asia and Australia, Includes the islands of Sumatra, Borneo and Java.
7、世界上已探明的主要蘊藏石油地區(qū)有4個，第一是中東地區(qū)，包括里海、黑海、紅海和波斯灣附近地區(qū)，另一個是北美和南美間的油區(qū)，而第三個是亞洲和澳洲之間的地區(qū)，包括蘇門答臘、婆羅洲和爪洼島。
8. The forth area is the part near the North Pole. When all the present oilfields are exhausted, it is possible that this cold region may become the scene of oil activity. Yet the difficulties will be great, and the costs may be so high that no company will undertake the work. If progress in using atomic power to drive machines is fast enough, it is possible that oil-driven engines may give place to the new kind of engine. In that case the demand for oil will fall, the oilfields will gradually disappear, and the deposits at the North Pole may rest where they are for ever.
8、第四個油區(qū)是靠近北極那部分區(qū)域。當(dāng)所有現(xiàn)今的油田都枯竭了的時候，這一寒冷地區(qū)可能會成為石油競爭活動的場所。然而困難將是很大的，同時代價也可能很高，因此沒有一家公司肯承擔(dān)這一任務(wù)。如果利用原子能來開動機器方面的工作進展迅速，那么以油為動力的發(fā)電機可能讓位于新型發(fā)動機。在那種情況下，對石油的需求量將下降，油田將逐漸消失，而北極的儲油也可能永遠睡在原地。
