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
abrasiometer
accuracy of forecasting techniques
Adcon-I
anadara taiwanica
bachelor apartments
balanced value
Baushar
be in duty bound to do
bellyaching
benzyl neocaprate
bighorn rivers
botulin
canalicyoplasty
cascom
character generation option
chopping device
consumer profiling
country-people
customary form
cyclically balanced budget
delve into sth
demultiplexers
distillest
down for lining
drugg
dutch-speaking
eigenspectra
eight-liter
environmental photobiology
eprolin-S
expect to departure
extended low-surface brightness source
f.f
Fay-wei
fixing powder
forgat
Franklin Mts.
gyrene
Habit-formation
ignition point
inquests
internal block brake
Ishinomaki
Kapachira Falls
Kefenrod
kemppi
lithotriptor
longitudinal median plane
Makushino
mal de raquette
malt vinegar
material surface
meshcement
moss-likest
neurofibromas
neuron nucleus
non-negative characteristic form
nonexistant
nucleus fastigii
orifice tube
periglacial
pile lighthouse
platinum-silver alloy
plumbous nitrate
Podophyllum hexandrum
prosopopoeia
pseudo-indole
quadrate (bone)
re-arrive
reciprocal coefficient
resonant-cavity maser
rice scoop
roof bar
rubbing off
scolithus
self-align type
self-parodying
simal
sixthform
sizzle reel
source neutron
spanandry
spirocheticidal
ST_technology_internet-terminology-and-abbreviations
Super Technirama
supernity
swarl
tabular calculation
taibi
taraghi
tectosilicates
temporary ramp
tighthead
trpes
tuberculum
vapour check
venae conjunctivales anteriores et posteriores
VG-BWS
vinyl tile
writing-pad
yarmuk
yoldia similis