第81課 一張紙
Let us tear a piece of blotting-paper across and look at the torn edges. We see that the paper is made of a great many very fine little threads or fibres. If we pull a cotton thread or a piece of twine to pieces, we shall find that it also is made of fibres.
我們撕開一張吸墨紙, 仔細(xì)觀察裂縫邊緣。我們發(fā)現(xiàn), 這種紙由許多細(xì)線或者叫“纖維”組成。扯開一根棉線或者麻繩, 就會(huì)看到, 它們同樣由纖維構(gòu)成。
In the twine and the thread the fibres lie side by side, and are spun or twisted together. But in blotting-paper, and in all other kinds of paper, the fibres run in all directions, crossing one another without any arrangement at all.
在麻繩和細(xì)線中, 纖維是并排的, 擰在一起或者說(shuō)相互交織在一起。然而在吸墨紙與其他所有種類的紙張中, 纖維向各個(gè)方向發(fā)散, 沒有任何規(guī)律地相互交叉。
Blotting-paper will soak up ink because it is full of tiny spaces or pores, as we call the little holes between the fibres. Writing-paper does not soak up ink as blotting-paper does. Both kinds of paper are made out of fibres in the same way, but the pores in writing-paper are filled up with a very weak glue, which is called size.
吸墨紙能夠吸收墨汁, 因?yàn)槠鋬?nèi)部充滿了許多微小的縫隙與孔洞, 這些小孔位于纖維之間。書寫紙吸收墨汁的本領(lǐng)沒有吸墨紙那么大。這兩種紙都是通過(guò)相同的方法用纖維制成, 不過(guò)書寫紙內(nèi)部的孔洞填充上了“膠料”, 這是一種粘性很小的膠水。
Paper used to be made only from cotton and linenrags. It is now made also from wood, from straw, and from several kinds of grass. All these are fibrous materials, and fibres are needed for making all kinds of paper.
以前, 人們只是利用棉布與亞麻布造紙。如今, 木材、稻草以及若干種青草都成為了造紙的原料。因?yàn)樗鼈兌际抢w維性材料, 而纖維是制造各類紙張所必須的。
The best paper is still made from rags. The rags are first sorted into linen and cotton, and into coloured and uncoloured rags. They are then put into machines, where they are beaten and pulled to pieces by iron nails.
不過(guò)品質(zhì)最好的紙張依舊是由布料制成。首先, 人們將麻布與棉布分開, 然后再將染色的與未染色的破布分開。然后這些材料都被放入到機(jī)器之中, 在鐵釘?shù)那么蛳禄癁榉鬯椤?/p>
英語(yǔ)美文