新概念英语第四册课文:Lesson 13 The search for oil 探寻石油

　　新概念英语第四册课文:Lesson 13 The search for oil 探寻石油

　　First listen and then answer the following question.

　　听录音，然后回答以下问题。

　　What do oilmen want to achieve as soon as they strike oil?

　　The deepest holes of all are made for oil, and they go down to as much as 25,000 feet. But we do not need to send men down to get the oil out, as we must with other mineral deposits. The holes are only borings, less than a foot in diameter. My particular experience is largely in oil, and the search for oil has done more to improve deep drilling than any other mining activity. When it has been decided where we are going to drill, we put up at the surface an oil derrick. It has to be tall because it is like a giant block and tackle, and we have to lower into the ground and haul out of the ground great lengths of drill pipe which are rotated by an engine at the top and are fitted with a cutting bit at the bottom.

　　The geologist needs to know what rocks the drill has reached, so every so often a sample is obtained with a coring bit. It cuts a clean cylinder of rock, from which can be seen the strata the drill has been cutting through. Once we get down to the oil, it usually flows to the surface because great pressure, either from gas or water, is pushing it. This pressure must be under control, and we control it by means of the mud which we circulate down the drill pipe. We endeavour to avoid the old, romantic idea of a gusher, which wastes oil and gas. We want it to stay down the hole until we can lead it off in a controlled manner.

　　T.F.GASKELL The Search for the Earth's Minerals from Discovery

　　An oil rig drilling in the Abu Dhabi offshore oilfields in the Persian Gulf

　　New words and expressions 生词和短语

　　mineral adj. 矿物的

　　boring n. 钻孔

　　derrick n. 井架

　　block and tackle 滑轮组

　　haul v. 拖，拉

　　rotate v. 使转动

　　cutting bit 钻头

　　geologist n. 地质学家

　　coring bit 取芯钻头

　　cylinder n. 圆柱体

　　strata n. 岩层[复]([单]stratum或strata [误用])

　　circulate v. 注入，环流

　　gusher n. 喷油井

　　Notes on the text 课文注释

　　1.they go down to as much as 25,0000 feet，as much as意为“多达”，“达到(量)”。

　　as+形容词+as表示“……达”，例如：as long as长达……，as tall as高达……，as expensive as贵至……。

　　例句：The rain could last for as long as several weeks in summer.

　　夏天的雨下起来可以长达几周。

　　2.as we must with other mineral deposits，must后面省去了与上句中相同的部分send men down。

　　3.a foot in diameter，直径一英尺。

　　4.every so often，时常。

　　例句：I no longer see John regularly, but every so often he drops in at my office.

　　我不再经常看见约翰了，但他偶尔还到我办公室来。

　　5.obtain a sample，取样。

　　To obtain something means to get it or achieve it. (FORMAL)获得，取得某物。

　　例句：Where can I obtain a copy of her latest book?

　　在哪里能买到她最新出版的书?

　　例句：He always manages to obtain what he wants.

　　他总是有办法得到他想要的东西。

　　形容词形式为obtainable：If something is obtainable, it is possible to get or achieve it.

　　例句：The timetable is obtainable post-free from the airline office.

　　航班时刻表可以向航空公司免费索取。

　　6.be under control处于控制之下。

　　例句：The fire has been brought under control.

　　火势已受到控制。

　　例句：You must get your spending under control.

　　你必须节制开支。

　　7.by means of，用……，靠……手段。

　　例句：They succeeded by means of hard working.

　　他们依靠努力工作而获得成功。

　　例句：They were able to position the yacht by means of radar.

　　他们能够用雷达测定快艇的方位。

　　8.endeavour to，努力去，尽力去。

　　If you endeavour to do something, you try very hard to do it. 同义词组喂strive to。

　　例句：They endeavoured to make her happy but in vain.

　　他们尽量使她快乐，却徒劳无功。

　　例句：Strive to build China into a powerful socialist country!

　　为把中国建成社会主义强国而奋斗!

　　参考译文

　　在所有洞穴中，为寻找石油所钻出的洞是最深的，这些洞可深达25,000英尺。但是，我们不必像开采其他矿藏那样，把人送到地下去把石油取出。这些洞只不过是一些钻孔，直径不到1英尺。我是专门搞石油的，寻找石油比其他任何采矿业对改进钻探作的贡献都要大。当确定钻孔地点后，我们就在那里竖起一个井架。井架必须很高，因为它像一个巨型滑轮组。我们必须把很长的钻杆一节节地钻入地下，然后再从地下拉出来。钻杆顶部安装的发动机带动钻杆旋转，它的底部装有钻头。

　　地质学家需要知道钻头已以到达什么样的岩层，因此时常要用芯钻头取样。这种钻头能切割一段光滑的圆柱形岩石，从中能看出所钻透的地层。一旦到达油层，石油就会由于地下巨大的压力流到地面上来，这种巨大的压力来自地下天然气或水。这种压力必须加以控制，我们让泥桨顺着钻杆向下循环，用这种方法来控制压力。我们尽量避免使用陈旧天真的喷井方法，那样会浪费石油和天然气。我们要让石油留在井下，直到我们能用一种有控制的方法把它引上来为止。

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