英国学生科学读本 第57期:硫(2)

 　　The fumes¹ of burning sulphur will bleach² straw, silk, and other things, and make them white and clean. These fumes are also useful for killing³ the germs which cause fevers and other diseases.

　　燃烧的硫磺冒出的烟，可以“漂白”稻草、丝绸和其他的物品，让它们变得又白又干净。这种烟，还能杀死那些导致发烧和其他疾病的细菌。

　　Let us put some bits of roll sulphur in an iron spoon, and hold the spoon over a clear fire. The sulphur soon melts into a clear yellow liquid. If we let this melted sulphur get hotter, it will become thick, and nearly black in colour.

　　咱们把一根硫棒的一些碎屑，放进一个铁勺子里。把铁勺子举到明火上，硫很快就会熔化，变成一种清澈的黄色液体。要是继续加热这种熔化的硫，它就会变得粘稠，颜色也会几乎变成黑色。

　　With more heat still, the sulphur will become thin again; and if we then pour it into cold water, it will change into a soft brown mass almost like india-rubber. After a few days, this will become hard and yellow again. If the sulphur is made very hot indeed, it will turn into yellow sulphur vapour.

　　继续加热，硫会再次变稀；把它倒进冷水中，会变成一种棕色的软东西，差不多有点像天然橡胶。几天之后，这东西就会变回又硬又黄的状态。如果把硫磺加热到极高的温度，会化作黄色的硫蒸汽。

　　Sulphur is a mineral. It is found near volcanoes, and must have been brought up by them from a very great depth. It is also found in the earth joined with other elements, in the form of stony⁴ masses called ores.

　　硫是一种矿物，可以在火山附近找到，显然是火山从地球深处带上来的。在地下也可以找到跟其他元素混在一起的硫磺，形态是类似石头的东西，叫做“矿石”。

　　But sulphur is not a metal. It has qualities very different from those of the metals. A metal conducts heat well. If you put one end of a metal rod into the fire, the other end soon grows hot also. But sulphur conducts heat very badly.

　　但硫磺并不是金属，它的特性跟金属的特性很不一样。金属的“导热性”非常好，如果把一根金属棒的一头放到火中，另一头很快也会变热。但是硫磺的导热性却很差。

　　Metals have also a lustrous⁵ or shining surface, but sulphur has no lustre⁶. For these reasons sulphur is said to be a non-metal—that is, an element which is not a metal.

　　金属也有一种“有光泽的”或是“亮闪闪的”表面，但硫却没有光泽。所以人们把硫磺叫做“非金属”，也就是“不是金属的元素”。

1 fumes   

n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体

参考例句：

• The health of our children is being endangered by exhaust fumes. 我们孩子们的健康正受到排放出的废气的损害。
• Exhaust fumes are bad for your health. 废气对健康有害。

2 bleach   

vt.使漂白；vi.变白；n.漂白剂

参考例句：

• These products don't bleach the hair.这些产品不会使头发变白。
• Did you bleach this tablecloth?你把这块桌布漂白了吗？

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 stony   

adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的

参考例句：

• The ground is too dry and stony.这块地太干，而且布满了石头。
• He listened to her story with a stony expression.他带着冷漠的表情听她讲经历。

5 lustrous   

adj.有光泽的；光辉的

参考例句：

• Mary has a head of thick,lustrous,wavy brown hair.玛丽有一头浓密、富有光泽的褐色鬈发。
• This mask definitely makes the skin fair and lustrous.这款面膜可以异常有用的使肌肤变亮和有光泽。

6 lustre   

n.光亮，光泽；荣誉

参考例句：

• The sun was shining with uncommon lustre.太阳放射出异常的光彩。
• A good name keeps its lustre in the dark.一个好的名誉在黑暗中也保持它的光辉。