时间:2018-12-15 作者:英语课 分类:新东方背诵文选


英语课

An important new industry, oil refining, grew after the Civil war. Crude oil, or petroleum 1 - a dark, thick ooze 2 from the earth - had been known for hundreds of years, but little use had ever been made of it. In the 1850's Samuel M. Kier, a manufacturer in western Pennsylvania, began collecting the oil from local seepages and refining it into kerosene 3. Refining, like smelting 4, is a process of removing impurities 5 from a raw material.
Kerosene was used to light lamps. It was a cheap substitute for whale oil, which was becoming harder to get. Soon there was a large demand for kerosene. People began to search for new supplies of petroleum.
The first oil well was drilled by E.L. Drake, a retired 6 railroad conductor. In 1859 he began drilling in Titusville, Pennsylvania. The whole venture seemed so impractical 7 and foolish that onlookers 8 called it " Drake's Folly 9". But when he had drilled down about 70 feet(21 meters), Drake struck oil. His well began to yield 20 barrels of crude oil a day.
News of Drake's success brought oil prospectors 10 to the scene. By the early 1860's these wildcatters were drilling for " black gold" all over western Pennsylvania. The boom rivaled the California gold rush of 1848 in its excitement and Wild West atmosphere. And it brought far more wealth to the prospectors than any gold rush.
Crude oil could be refined into many products. For some years kerosene continued to be the principal one. It was sold in grocery stores and door-to-
door. In the 1880's refiners learned how to make other petroleum products such as waxes and lubricating oils. Petroleum was not then used to make gasoline or heating oil.


1 petroleum
n.原油,石油
  • The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
  • The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。
2 ooze
n.软泥,渗出物;vi.渗出,泄漏;vt.慢慢渗出,流露
  • Soon layer of oceanic ooze began to accumulate above the old hard layer.不久后海洋软泥层开始在老的硬地层上堆积。
  • Drip or ooze systems are common for pot watering.滴灌和渗灌系统一般也用于盆栽灌水。
3 kerosene
n.(kerosine)煤油,火油
  • It is like putting out a fire with kerosene.这就像用煤油灭火。
  • Instead of electricity,there were kerosene lanterns.没有电,有煤油灯。
4 smelting
n.熔炼v.熔炼,提炼(矿石)( smelt的现在分词 )
  • a method of smelting iron 一种炼铁方法
  • Fire provided a means of smelting ores. 火提供了熔炼矿石的手段。 来自辞典例句
5 impurities
不纯( impurity的名词复数 ); 不洁; 淫秽; 杂质
  • A filter will remove most impurities found in water. 过滤器会滤掉水中的大部分杂质。
  • Oil is refined to remove naturally occurring impurities. 油经过提炼去除天然存在的杂质。
6 retired
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的
  • The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
  • Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。
7 impractical
adj.不现实的,不实用的,不切实际的
  • He was hopelessly impractical when it came to planning new projects.一到规划新项目,他就完全没有了实际操作的能力。
  • An entirely rigid system is impractical.一套完全死板的体制是不实际的。
8 onlookers
n.旁观者,观看者( onlooker的名词复数 )
  • A crowd of onlookers gathered at the scene of the crash. 在撞车地点聚集了一大群围观者。
  • The onlookers stood at a respectful distance. 旁观者站在一定的距离之外,以示尊敬。
9 folly
n.愚笨,愚蠢,蠢事,蠢行,傻话
  • Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
  • Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。
10 prospectors
n.勘探者,探矿者( prospector的名词复数 )
  • The prospectors have discovered such minerals as calcite,quartz and asbestos here. 探矿人员在这里发现了方解石、石英、石棉等矿藏。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The prospectors have discovered many minerals here. 探矿人员在这里发现了许多矿藏。 来自辞典例句
学英语单词
'toons
absolute mean deviation
aggregometer
Agropoli
air-cooled graphite moderated reactor
aldehydic hydrogen
allomerisms
apex of earth motion
apodized aperture
beat-box
Bidens coronata
branded goods
broad-bean plants
Bulsār
candelabras
cheque board scan
cismadinone
Cleveland steamers
cmos gate array
contiguous sea area
cotton core
covariants
dahira obliquifascia
Danjuro
darkness adaption
directed set
divine-mind
dorsal tegmental nucleus
economic recession
epidote amphibolite
femtowebers
framework of fault
get too big for one's boots
hard right
Harmsworth, Harold Sidney
high-moisture grain silage
housekeeping digit
hydrofine
hydroiodination
industrial radiology
Itard-Cholewa sign
kaga
Kovel'
latricia
let something slide
manitology
meristoderm
Montsec
neutral position of brush
NOESY
nondefinable
nonstructural
observe measure s
periodontologists
physical shape
pincloth
polydelphous
polymorphic transition
poure
pure space science
quality circles
qualling
quantum step
Raphidia
recall of witness
regulize
reinforced concrete fence
renal embolism
reticulated veins
round mallet
scifier
selective conversion
self-murderer
sensitive plate processing
shaker convyer
sheet-ice
side tilt car
slimy waste material
small business management
smoothing by free hand
soil depleting crop
solar blind photomultiplier
speed matching
ST_easy-and-difficult_causing-difficulties-for-oneself-or-others
state correspondence error
strip a peg
super highway
tackle pulley
tar cooler box
telegraph selector
the book of fate
thread mill
three-putts
tighter than the barkon a tree
trisomy 18 syndrome
undivined
uniflow cooler
value insured rail traffic
wall of sound
whoopee do
Yemurtla
zookeep