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Lesson19 A reel of cotton
第19課 一卷棉線
Let us take some of the white cotton off this reel, and try to find out what the thread of cotton is made of. We can pull the white thread to pieces, and then we see that it is made of many short fibres or hairs, which have been twisted together. COTTON FIBRE（棉纖維）
小朋友, 咱們從這個軸子上拿下點兒白色的棉線來, 看看棉線是什么做的。我們可以把這種白線拆成一條一條, 然后就可以看見, 棉線是很多短短的纖維或者“毛”擰在一起的。
These little hairs do not grow on an animal; we get them from a plant. They are found inside the seed-pod of the cotton-plant.
這些毛并不是動物身上長的, 而是從植物上采下來的, 是在一種叫“棉”的植物的種莢里找到的。
The cotton-plant is a low bush or shrub, not more than four or five feet high. To see this plant growing, we must go to warm countries.
棉花是一種矮灌木, 頂多只有四五英尺高。要看見這種植物, 一定要去比較暖和的地方。
The seeds of the cotton-plant are sown in spring; and the plant grows so quickly that its large yellow flowers appear in a few months.
棉花是在春天播種的。這種植物長得快極了, 只要幾個月, 就會開出大大的黃花來。
When the flowers drop off, we see large brown seed-pods. Soon these pods burst open, and then we see a ball of white cotton fibres, with some black seeds in the centre. SEED-POD AND FIBRES（種莢和纖維）
花兒落了, 就能看見大個兒的棕色種莢。種莢很快會裂開, 我們看見的是“棉桃”, 也就是棉花。棉桃是一團白色的棉纖維, 中間有點兒黑色的棉籽。
The seeds are sown and the cotton is picked by black people or negroes. They can bear the heat of the sun far better than white people.
工人再把棉籽播下去, 把棉桃采下來。從事這些工作的大部分是黑人, 他們承受日曬的能力要比白人強得多。
After the seeds have been taken out by a machine, the cotton is made into big bundles or bales. These bales of cotton are brought to England in ships.
工人用機器除去棉桃里的棉籽, 然后把棉花捆成大包將這些棉包用船運到英國。
The bales are taken from the ships to the cotton-mills. Here the cotton is again cleaned; and it is then carded, or combed out, so that all the fibres lie side by side. After this has been done, the fibres are spun or twisted into threads.
人們把棉包從船上卸下來, 送到棉紡織廠, 再次對棉花進行清潔, 然后進行“梳理”, 讓所有的棉纖維都排列整齊。梳理完了之后, 再把棉纖維“紡”成棉線。
Now get a small bit of calico or muslin, and begin to fray out the edge. If you are very careful, you can pull out little threads of cotton one by one. Soon you will pull all the calico into threads.
小朋友, 請你拿一小塊兒白棉布, 動手把邊兒上的線抽出來。要是你非常小心, 就能一根根地抽出細細的棉線, 很快就能把整塊棉布都變成細線了。
Look at the threads in the calico. There are two sets, crossing each other and going up and down as they cross, just as you see your mother crossing the threads of wool when she darns your stockings.
仔細看看棉布里的細線。細線有橫豎兩組, 交叉排成十字形, 就像媽媽給你補襪子的時候, 把羊毛線交叉排列起來一樣。
When threads are crossed in this way to make cloth, we say that they are woven. Weaving is done on a machine called a loom. Many people in England live by spinning and weaving cotton. Calico is bleached to make it white; or it can be dyed any colour that we like to make it.
把線這樣交叉起來, 用來做布的這個過程, 叫做“紡織”。紡織用的機器就是織布機, 英語叫loom。在英國有很多人靠紡線和織布為生。棉布可以漂白, 變成純白色, 也可以染成我們想要的任何顏色。
