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Lesson 77 "There's Nothing Like Leather!"
第77课 “百货不如皮货”
Every child who reads this book knows that leather is made from the skins of animals. We cannot, of course, call any piece of skin "leather;" it must be carefully prepared before we can give it that name.
小朋友们都知道, 皮革由动物的毛皮制成。当然, 不是每一块毛皮都能够称之为“皮革”。它必须经过仔细的加工才可以获得这样的称号。
When the skin is stripped off the dead animal, it is still covered with hair on the outside, while on the inside there are many bits of fat and flesh. If nothing is done to preservethe skin, it soon begins to rot, and in a week or two it becomes quite decayed. If the skin is salted and dried, it will keep quite well, but it will become as hard and stiff as a board.
当人们从死亡的动物身上剥下毛皮时, 它的外面还是覆盖了一层毛发, 而里面则夹杂着很多脂肪和血肉的碎片。如果不采取任何保存措施, 那么皮毛很快就会变质。一到两周, 它就会彻底腐烂。在毛皮上涂上盐并晒干, 就可以很好地进行保存。不过, 它会变得像板子一样僵硬。
What the man has to do who turns the skins into leather is to preserve them from rotting, to keep them soft and flexible, and to make them look as nice as he can. This work is called tanning, and the place where it is done is called a tan-yard.
将毛皮制成皮革的工匠们需要防止它们变质、保存其柔软且极富弹性的质地, 尽量展现出美丽的光泽与外观。这个工作就称作制革, 而他们的工作场所就是制革厂。
The skins are first soaked in pits filled with lime-water—that is, water with which some quick-lime has been mixed. This loosens both the hair and the fat. The skins are then taken out and scraped on both sides with long two-handled knives.
首先, 人们将毛皮放入（由生石灰与水混合而成的）石灰水中浸泡。这样就可以去除毛发与脂肪。然后, 工匠们再把毛皮取出来, 用双柄长刀的两端在它的两面进行刮削。
After this has been done, the skins are so soft that they look almost like sheets of jelly. These jelly-like skins are well rinsed in fresh water, and are then put to soak in large pits filled with water and the bark of the oak-tree. The water draws out of this bark a substance known as tannin; and the tannin changes the soft, jelly-like skins into tough, strong leather. This takes a long time, and the skins have to remain in the tan-pits for about a year.
经过了这样的加工流程之后, 毛皮就会变得非常柔软, 就好似一片凝胶那样。接下来, 用清水把它彻底冲洗干净, 再放入装满了橡树皮和水的大窖之中。在水的作用下, 树皮能够分泌一种名叫鞣酸的物质, 而它就可以把凝胶一般柔软的毛皮变成结实、牢固的皮革。这个过程需要很长的时间, 毛皮需要在大窖中浸泡一年左右。
