精美英文欣赏:炼油

Oil Refining

An important new industry, oil refining, grew after the Civil War. Crude oil, or petroleum¹ -- a dark, thick ooze² 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 kerosene³. Refining, like smelting⁴, is a process of removing impurities⁵ from a raw material.

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.

The first oil well was drilled by E. L. Drake, a retired⁶ railroad conductor. In 1859 he began drilling in Titusville, Pennsylvania. The whole venture seemed so impractical⁷ and foolish that onlookers⁸ called it "Drake's Folly⁹".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.

News of Drake's success brought oil prospectors¹⁰ 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.

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.

炼油

一种重要的新兴工业--炼油业在国内战争后成长起来。 未加工的石油，或原油--一种深色的地下的稠浆--数百年来一直为大众所知，但是人们却很少使用过它。 在十九世纪五十年代，萨缪尔 ·M ·科尔，宾西法尼亚西部的一位制造商，开始从当地的溢出物中收集石油并将它炼成煤油。与冶炼矿石一样，石油提炼是一个从未加工的原料中除去杂质的过程。煤油被用来点灯。 它是鲸油的一种便宜的替代品，而鲸油正变得越来越难以获得。 不久就产生了对煤油的大量需求。 人们开始寻找新的石油供应。 第一口油井为 E ·L ·瑞克，一个退休的火车检票员所钻得。

1859年他开始在宾西法尼亚的泰特斯维尔钻井。 整个的这项冒险事业看起来是如此不现实和愚蠢以致旁观者称之为"鸭子的蠢行"。 (译者注：Drake's Folly, drake 在这里意含双关，即指瑞克的名字，又指该词的本义即鸭子。 )但当瑞克往下钻至70 英尺(21 米)的时候，他发现了石油。 他的油井从此每天生产20 桶原油。 瑞克成功的消息将石油勘探者们吸引到现场。 截止到 19 世纪 60 年代早期，这些冒险者为寻找"黑色的金子"钻探遍了整个宾西法尼亚西部。 这项繁荣的事业在刺激性和粗犷的西部气氛上可与1848 年的加州淘金热相媲美，而且它为勘探者带来了远超过淘金潮的财富。 原油能被提炼成许多产品。多年以来煤油一直是主要的一种产品。它在杂货店中出售由人挨户推销。 19世纪八十九十年代炼油者们懂得了生产其它石油产品，如蜡和润滑油。 那时石油还没有被用来制造汽油或采暖装置用油。

1 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

2 ooze   

n.软泥，渗出物；vi.渗出，泄漏；vt.慢慢渗出，流露

参考例句：

• Soon layer of oceanic ooze began to accumulate above the old hard layer.不久后海洋软泥层开始在老的硬地层上堆积。
• Drip or ooze systems are common for pot watering.滴灌和渗灌系统一般也用于盆栽灌水。

3 kerosene   

n.(kerosine)煤油，火油

参考例句：

• It is like putting out a fire with kerosene.这就像用煤油灭火。
• Instead of electricity,there were kerosene lanterns.没有电，有煤油灯。

4 smelting   

n.熔炼v.熔炼，提炼（矿石）( smelt的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• a method of smelting iron 一种炼铁方法
• Fire provided a means of smelting ores. 火提供了熔炼矿石的手段。 来自辞典例句

5 impurities   

不纯( impurity的名词复数 )； 不洁； 淫秽； 杂质

参考例句：

• A filter will remove most impurities found in water. 过滤器会滤掉水中的大部分杂质。
• Oil is refined to remove naturally occurring impurities. 油经过提炼去除天然存在的杂质。

6 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

7 impractical   

adj.不现实的，不实用的，不切实际的

参考例句：

• He was hopelessly impractical when it came to planning new projects.一到规划新项目，他就完全没有了实际操作的能力。
• An entirely rigid system is impractical.一套完全死板的体制是不实际的。

8 onlookers   

n.旁观者，观看者( onlooker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A crowd of onlookers gathered at the scene of the crash. 在撞车地点聚集了一大群围观者。
• The onlookers stood at a respectful distance. 旁观者站在一定的距离之外，以示尊敬。

9 folly   

n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话

参考例句：

• Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
• Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。

10 prospectors   

n.勘探者，探矿者( prospector的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The prospectors have discovered such minerals as calcite,quartz and asbestos here. 探矿人员在这里发现了方解石、石英、石棉等矿藏。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The prospectors have discovered many minerals here. 探矿人员在这里发现了许多矿藏。 来自辞典例句