英國學(xué)生科學(xué)讀本 Lesson 50 只是一塊石頭(2)
這些從巖石中找到的古老甲殼，名叫“化石”。
Another kind of rock in which many fossils are found is called limestone. A drop of acid or of strong vinegar will tell you whether a stone is limestone or not.
另外一種含有很多化石的石頭，叫做“石灰?guī)r”也叫“灰?guī)r”。想分辨一塊石頭是不是石灰?guī)r，只要用一滴酸液或者一滴濃醋就行了。
As soon as the acid touches the limestone, it begins to fizz and to bubble. The acid causes a little of the limestone to dissolve, and a gas is formed, which escapes in small bubbles.
酸液一落到石灰?guī)r的表面，就會冒氣泡，發(fā)出嘶嘶的聲音。酸液“溶解”了一點(diǎn)兒石灰?guī)r，形成一種氣體，變成小氣泡冒出來。
Clay is also a rock; and when it has been pressed a great deal, it is called shale. Shale splits very easily.
粘土也是一種石頭，經(jīng)過大力擠壓之后，叫做“頁巖”。頁巖可以很容易地分成很多片。
Some stones are made up of a great many little bits with flat shining sides and sharp corners, called crystals. Granite is a rock of this kind. Such stones were long ago heated inside the earth till they melted, and then, as they cooled, the crystals were formed.
有些石頭，是很多很多表面平整閃光、棱角鋒利的小塊組成的，這些小塊叫做“晶體”?；◢弾r就屬于這種石頭。這樣的石頭，是很久以前在地下被加熱到熔化，然后又冷卻的。冷卻的時候，就形成了這些晶體。
Granite is a very pretty rock. Pillars made of polished granite are often used in public buildings. No fossils are ever found in granite. If there ever were any in it, they were destroyed when the rock was melted.
花崗巖是一種十分漂亮的石頭，英國的公共建筑，經(jīng)常用打磨過的花崗巖做柱子。花崗巖里，從來沒有找到過化石，如果有過化石，也在花崗巖熔化的時候毀壞了。
There are great granite quarries in Cornwalland in Scotland. A soft white limestone forms the chalk hills of the south-east and the east of England; and a hard limestone forms many of the hills in the north of England.
英國的康沃爾郡和蘇格蘭王國，都有大型的采石場。英格蘭東南部和東部，有很多白堊的小山，是一種軟質(zhì)白色石灰?guī)r構(gòu)成的;英國北部則有很多小山，是硬質(zhì)的石灰?guī)r構(gòu)成的。
