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“It is funny, isn’t it?”nodded the bookkeeper. “Now on this other side of the room they are blending fleeces. Sometimes we blend different qualities of wool to get a desired effect; sometimes we mix the wool with cotton or with another kind of fiber. We take a thin layer of wool and put another layer of a different kind over it. Then it is all picked until a uniform mixture is secured.”
“這很有趣，不是嗎?”簿記員點了點頭。“現在在房間的另一邊，他們正在混合羊毛。有時我們混合不同質量的羊毛以達到預期的效果；有時我們把羊毛和棉花或另一種纖維混合在一起。我們取一層薄薄的羊毛，在上面再蓋一層不同的羊毛。然后全部拾取，直到得到均勻的混合物。”
“It is a surprise to me to learn that the wool has to go through so much before it comes to the spinning,”Thornton said.
“當我得知羊毛在紡絲之前要經過很多工序時，我感到很驚訝，”桑頓說。
“It is a long process,”responded their guide. “When I first saw it, it seemed endless; now I think little of it.”
“這是一個漫長的過程，”向導回復道。“當我第一次看到它時，似乎是無窮無盡的；現在我覺得沒什么。”
Just then a hearty laugh came from behind them; turning, they saw Mr. Clark and Mr. Munger.
就在這時，他們身后傳來一陣爽朗的笑聲；他們轉過身，看見了克拉克先生和芒格先生。
“I came to hunt you up,”said Mr. Clark. “It seemed to me that by this time you must have finished spinning your next-winter’s overcoat, Donald.”
“我是來找你的，”克拉克先生說。“在我看來，到這個時候，唐納德，你一定已經紡完了你下一個冬天的大衣。”
“But I haven’t, father,”retorted the boy, smiling into his father’s face. “I have not even begun to make the cloth at all.”
“但我并沒有，爸爸，”那孩子回嘴，對著他父親的臉笑。“我甚至還沒有開始做布。”
“The yarn is not spun yet, sir,”said the bookkeeper.
“紗線還沒有紡好，先生，”簿記員說。
“You are a slow guide, I fear,”said Mr. Munger with a laugh, laying a kindly hand on his bookkeeper’s shoulder. “Now let us hurry along. These men must get back to Boston today, you know.”Mr. Munger bustled ahead, conducting his visitors across a bridge and into the next mill.
“恐怕你是個遲鈍的向導，”芒格先生笑著說，一只親切的手放在簿記員的肩上。“現在我們快走吧。你知道，這些人今天必須回到波士頓。芒格先生急匆匆地走在前面，領著他的客人們穿過一座橋，進入下一家工廠。”
Here was the carding room. Layers of wool entered the carding machine and were combed by a multitude of wire teeth until all the fibers lay parallel. The thin film of wool then passed into a cone-like opening and came out later in a thick, heavy rope of untwisted fibers.
這里是梳妝室。一層層的羊毛進入梳理機，由許多鋼絲齒梳理，直到所有的纖維平行排列。這層薄薄的羊毛薄膜隨后進入一個圓錐形的開口，然后以一根粗而重的無捻纖維繩的形式流出。
“It is now ready to go to the drawing-frames,”Mr. Munger explained. “You will notice how these drawingframes pull the wool into shape for twisting and spinning, drawing it out to uniform size and finally winding it on bobbins. The machine is a complicated one to explain, but you can watch and see what it does.”
“現在可以上畫框了，”芒格解釋說。“你會注意到這些畫框是如何將羊毛拉出形狀，然后進行扭轉和紡絲，將其拉伸到均勻的尺寸，最后在筒子上纏繞。這臺機器很難解釋，但你可以觀察它的功能。”
“How wonderful it is that machinery can do all this work” Mr. Clark remarked thoughtfully.
“機器能完成所有這些工作是多么奇妙啊”克拉克先生若有所思地說。
“Yes, it is” Mr. Munger agreed. “Years ago every part of the work was done by hand. But little by little, machines have been made so perfect that they seem almost human. Shall we go now and see the yarn spun?”
“是的，確實是。”芒格表示同意。“數年前，所有的工作都是手工完成的。但是一點一點地，機器被造得如此完美，它們看起來幾乎像人。我們現在去看紡紗好嗎？”
