英语翻译

2024年2月29日发(作者：工业经济运行分析)

Plastics

No other material in the history of the world

has been ud for so many different purpos.

But what special qualities do plastics have?

Why do countless people posss so many

things made of plastics? They buy plastic

articles becau they are not only cheaper but

also often much better than articles made of

other materials, becau their smooth surfaces

are so easy to keep clean, becau they will not

catch fire, and becau they are not damaged

by water.

It is quite extraordinary how many different

kinds and qualities of plastics there are. They

can be harder than wood or softer than rubber.

They can be made so strong that they will last

almost for ever. They can be made as clean as

glass or completely black. They can be made

any color you like to choo. They can even be

made to look like wood or rubber.

The manufacture of plastics requires a large

quantity of heavy machines as well as a

knowledge of science. Today the greater part

of plastics is manufactured by the world's great

oil refineries and chemical works. Chemical

works are factories which produce

chemicals ― a man-made liquids, gas and

solid materials. The refineries and chemical

works produce many different kinds of raw

plastics, which are then taken to the tens of

thousands of factories which made plastic

products.

Machines for making plastic objects are very

different from tho ud for manufacturing

articles of wood or metal or other natural

materials. For raw plastics must first be

softened by heat and then presd into moulds.

It is the moulds which give plastic objects their

shapes. The moulds can be of any shape or

size. And the same mould can be ud over and

over again. In fact one mould can produce

世界上没有哪种材料能有这么多用途。但是塑料有什么功能呢？为什么有数不清的人使用由塑料制作的东西？他们买塑料制品不仅是因为便宜，而是因为它比其他材料制造的东西好的多。塑料的表面很光滑，很容易保持干净；也由于塑料不易着火，也不会被水损坏。

有如此多的不同种类不同品质的塑料，这是多么神奇的事情啊。它可以比木头更硬，也可以比橡胶更软。它可以制造的如此牢固以致于永远都不会被损坏。它可以像玻璃一样干净或者就是全黑。它可以被制造成任何你想要的颜色。它甚至可以被制造成木头或橡胶一样。

制造塑料需要大量重型机械和科学技术。当今绝大部分的塑料都是由炼油厂和化工厂制造的。化工厂是制造像人造液体，气体和固体材料等的化学制品。炼油厂和化工厂制造的不同种类的塑料原料被送往成千上万制造塑料品的工厂。

制造塑料品的机器与那些制造木头、金属或其他天然材料的机器不一样。塑料原料必须要通过高温软化，然后用模具加压。模具是用来给塑料物品成形的。这些模具可以成为任何形状或尺寸。而且相同的模具可以被重复使用。事实上一种模具在淘汰之前，可以生产成千上万的物品。这就是为什么塑料制品

many thousands of articles before it wears out. 如此便宜的原因了。

This is one of the reasons why plastic things

are so cheap.