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Lesson 13 THE METAL CALLED IRON
第十三課 一種叫鐵的金屬
Iron is the most useful of all metals. Hammers, nails, grates, horse-shoes, railings, bridges, and many other things are made of iron.
在所有金屬里面, 鐵是最有用的一種。錘子、釘子、爐子門口的柵欄、馬蹄鐵、鐵路、橋梁, 還有好多好多別的東西, 都是鐵做的。
If we rub a piece of iron well, it looks quite bright. But if we leave the bright iron lying in the damp air, we shall soon find it covered with red rust.
要是把一塊鐵好好打磨打磨, 看起來會很亮。但是如果把光亮的鐵放在潮濕的空氣中, 我們很快就會發現, 它蓋上了一層紅色的鐵銹。
How can we keep iron from rusting and spoiling in the damp air? We can do that in several ways—by painting the iron, or black-leading it, or even by oiling it in order to keep the air from touching the metal.
怎么才能不讓鐵在潮濕的空氣中生銹, 變成廢品呢? 有好幾種辦法, 比如給鐵涂上油漆, 涂上石墨, 或者哪怕涂上油也行, 這樣都能不讓空氣碰到金屬。
Since iron is so useful, we ought to know something about it. It is found among the rocks under the ground. But we do not find it by itself; it is mixed with other things, and it is then known as iron ore.
鐵這么有用, 我們應該了解它。人們最早是在地下的石頭里找到鐵的, 但是找到的不是純粹的鐵, 而是跟別的東西混在一起的鐵, 我們把這時候的鐵叫“鐵礦石” （iron ore）。
Looking at a piece of iron ore, no one would think that there was any of the bright metal in it: it is just like a dirty black or red stone. This iron ore is first mixed with coal and piled in great heaps on the ground; then the coal is set on fire, and the iron ore is roasted. CASTING PIG-IRON （鑄造毛鐵）
光看鐵礦石的話, 誰也不會想到里面有那種光亮的金屬, 只是一塊臟兮兮的黑石頭, 或者紅石頭。人們先把鐵礦石跟煤混在一塊兒, 在地上堆成很大的一堆一堆, 然后把煤點著火, 把鐵礦石烤一遍。
It is next mixed with some more coal and with lime, and the whole is put into a tall furnace. The heat of the coal melts the iron, and it sinks to the bottom of the furnace.
然后, 把鐵礦石跟更多的煤, 還有瀝青混在一塊兒, 一起放進一座高爐里頭。煤的熱度會把鐵熔化, 讓熔化的鐵水流到高爐底下。
The liquid iron is then allowed to run out through a hole into moulds or hollows in beds of sand, where it soon cools, and turns solid again. These solid lumps are called pig-iron.
然后, 讓鐵水通過一個洞流出來, 流到模具或者沙床中間的空隙, 在這兒, 鐵水會很快冷卻, 又變成固體, 這些鐵塊兒叫“毛鐵” （pig-iron）。
Iron is heavy. You would not like to carry a big lump of it very far. It is so hard that it blunts your knife at once, if you try to cut it.
鐵是很重的。要把一大塊鐵搬很遠, 小朋友們肯定不愿意。鐵也是很硬的, 你要是想拿刀切鐵塊兒, 鐵塊兒一下子就會把刀碰鈍了。
When iron is melted, it runs like water. Then you can make it take any shape you please by pouring it into a mould made in the shape you wish. THE BLACKSMITH（鐵匠）
鐵在熔化的時候, 是可以像水一樣流動的。這樣, 做一個你想要的形狀的模子, 把鐵水倒進模子里, 就能把鐵鑄成那樣的形狀。
But iron becomes soft and easy to bend, even if it be made only red-hot. Watch the blacksmith as you pass his shop some day, and you will perhaps see him bending bars of red-hot iron to make horse-shoes, and cutting the hot metal quite easily with his tools. HORSE-SHOE MADE FROM A BENT BAR OF IRON （用彎曲的鐵條制造的馬蹄鐵）
不過, 只要把鐵燒到紅熱, 鐵也能變軟, 容易彎曲。小朋友, 你以后路過鐵匠鋪的時候, 往里看一看, 可能就會看見鐵匠把鐵條折彎, 來做馬蹄鐵；或者用工具, 很容易地把紅熱的鐵塊切開。
