Vegetable oil has been known from antiquity. No household can get on without it, for it is used in cooking. Perfumes may be made from the oils of certain flowers. Soaps are made from vegetable and animal oils.
To the ordinary man, one kind of oil may be as important as another. But when the politician or the engineer refers to oil, he almost always means mineral oil the oil that drives tanks, aeroplanes and warships, motor-cars and diesel locomotives; the oil that is used to lubricate all kinds of machinery. This is the oil that has changed the life of the common man. When it is refined into petrol it is used to drive the internal combustion engine. To it we owe the existence of the motor-car, which has replaced the private carriage drawn by the horse. To it we owe the possibility of flying. It has changed the methods of warfare on land and sea. This kind of oil comes out of the earth. Because it burns well, it is used as fuel and in some ways it is superior to coal in this respect. Many big ships now burn oil instead of coal. Because it burns brightly, it is used for illumination; countless homes are still illuminated with oil-burning lamps. Because it is very slippery, it is used for lubrication. Two metal surfaces rubbing together cause friction and heat; but if they are separated by a thin film of oil, the friction and heat are reduced. No machine would work for long if it were not properly lubricated. The oil used for this purpose must be of the correct thickness; if it is too thin it will not give sufficient lubrication, and if it is too thick it will not reach all parts that must be lubricated.
The existence of oil wells has been known for a long time. Some of the Indians of North America used to collect and sell the oil from the wells of Pennsylvania. No one, however, seems to have realized the importance of this oil until it was found that paraffin-oil could be made from it; this led to the development of the wells and to the making of enormous profits. When the internal combustion engine was invented, oil became of world wide importance.
What was the origin of the oil which now drives our motor-cars and aircraft? Scientists are confident about the formation of coal, but they do not seem so sure when asked about oil. They think that the oil under the surface of the earth originated in the distant past, and was formed from living things in the sea. Countless billions of minute sea creatures and plants lived and sank to the sea bed. They were covered with huge deposits of mud; and by processes of chemistry, pressure and temperature were changed through long ages into what we know as oil. For these creatures to become oil, it was necessary that they sliould be imprisoned between layers of rock for an enormous length of time. The statement that oil originated in the sea is confirmed by a glance at a map showing the chief oilfields of the world; very few of them are far distant from the oceans of today. In some places gas and oil come up to the surface of the sea from its bed. The rocks in which oil is found are of marine origin too. They are sedimentary rocks, rocks which were laid down by the action of water on the bed of the ocean. Almost always the remains of shells, and other proofs of sea life, are found close to the oil. A very common sedimentary rock is called shale, which is a soft rock and was obviously formed by being deposited on the sea bed. And where there is shale there is likely to be oil.
如何才能更快地记住东西?
Post-truth当选牛津词典年度词汇
国内英语资讯:Premier Li urges more efforts to green Chinas energy system
锐步免费赠鞋 支持新百伦烧鞋抗议者
国内英语资讯:Full text of Chinese presidents signed article in Peruvian newspaper
从贝蒂•福特到梅拉尼娅•特朗普:引领美国时尚的第一夫人们
国内英语资讯:President Xi calls for aligning development strategies of China, Italy
国内英语资讯:Spotlight: Xis visit expected to lift China-Ecuador pragmatic cooperation to higher level
出生日期决定你得哪种感冒
国内英语资讯:Spotlight: Sustained momentum needed to translate commitments into climate action
聋哑人手语翻译智能手套亮相世界互联网大会
国内英语资讯:Chinese president calls for stronger exchanges between legislatures for better China-Ecuador
国内英语资讯:China, U.S. begin joint disaster relief drill
国内英语资讯:China renews call for building FTAAP as economic globalization falters
国内英语资讯:China, Laos eye more cooperation in anti-terrorism and drug control
国内英语资讯:Xi arrives in Ecuador, kicking off third LatAm visit since 2013
国内英语资讯:Chinese president pledges further support for Ecuadors post-quake rebuilding
国内英语资讯:2016 China Investment Forum concluded in Prague
日本电商乐天签下巴萨胸前广告
预言:特朗普被弹劾 彭斯当总统
第三届世界互联网大会 大佬们说了啥[1]
国内英语资讯:Full text of Chinese presidents signed article in Ecuadorian newspaper
国内英语资讯:History, people to remember Castro -- Chinese president
“虹膜识别技术”或将助力打拐
国际英语资讯:Hundreds of thousands of S.Koreans march to surround President Parks office
国内英语资讯:President Xi stresses intl cooperation in cyberspace governance
Remove, eliminate, delete 和 cancel 的区别
Post-truth当选牛津词典年度词汇
国内英语资讯:Interview: China strives for win-win solution in combating climate change: envoy
红包送多少?看看老外怎么说
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |