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Why do clothes shrink? 衣服为什么会缩水？

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课文讲解

繁體中文譯本 

Dirk and Chloe are at a laundromat, removing Chloe’s clothes from a dryer.  德克和卡萝在一家自助洗衣店里，把卡萝的衣服从烘干机里拿出来。

D: Hey! What’s this? I didn’t know you were doing your little sister’s laundry!

嘿！这怎么搞的？我不晓得妳还帮妳小妹洗衣服啊！

C: Aahh! I just bought that top. Now look at it! I should have checked its washing instructions. Oh, why do some clothes shrink?

啊！那件上衣是我才新买的。怎么搞成这样子！我实在应该先瞧瞧它的洗濯标示。哦，为什么有些衣服会缩水？

D: Well, do you remember what I was telling you at breakfast about our eggs?

妳记得我早餐时讲鸡蛋的事吗？

C: You said that the white of an egg contains “long” molecules. Uncooked, the molecules are relaxed and the egg white is liquid. Then, something about heat …

你说蛋白有很多「长」分子。没煮之前，分子都很松散，蛋白呈液体状。然后，还讲了些关于热…

D: Right. Heat provides energy, which makes the molecules twist up, causing the egg white to solidify.

没错。「热」产生了「能」，而「能」使得分子卷曲，使得蛋白固体化。

C: So what does that have to do with my now too-tiny top?

但是那跟我这件现在变成太小的上衣有什么关连？

D: In their natural state, the fibers used to make cloth are twisted up like the molecules in the cooked egg white. Before spinning and weaving, these fibers are straightened, mechanically.

自然状态下，布纤维呈卷曲状，就像煮过的蛋白一样。但在纺成纱、织成布前，这些纤维都以机械方式被拉直过了。

C: So the infusion of heat, whether during washing or drying, causes the fiber in the cloth to gnarl up again, making the fabric contract. But how come some clothes don’t shrink?

所以不论洗或烫，因为加了热力因素，使得布纤维再度卷曲，所以布就扭曲变形了。但是为什么有些布不会缩水呢？

D: Synthetic fibers are designed so that they always remain in a straightened state.

合成纤维是有意设计让它能始终保持着笔直的状态。

C: Well, at least now I can tell my little sis how she came to get her new top.

那么，至少我现在能告诉我小妹她怎么会有这件新上衣的。

－by Grady Sales

Vocabulary

单词发音

shrink [ʃrɪŋk] v. 变小

laundromat [ˋlɔndrəmæt] n. 自助洗衣店

top [tɑp] n. 上衣

instruction [ɪnˋstrʌkʃən] n. 用法说明；操作指南

twist up 卷成螺旋形

solidify [səˋlɪdə͵faɪ] v.（使）变成固体

infusion [ɪnˋfjuʒən] n. 注入，灌入

gnarl [nɑr!] v. 扭

contract [kənˋtrækt] v. 缩小；收缩

synthetic [sɪnˋθɛtɪk] adj. 合成的，人造的

sis [sɪs] n.【美】【口】妹妹；（称呼）小姐

Sentence of the Day

There's no need to get your knickers in a twist over it.

没有必要为了它困扰忧烦。

get one’s knickers in a twist【英】【俚】恼火(或困惑、紧张等); 对某事物反应过激

knicker [ˋnɪkɚz] n.【英】女用灯笼裤型的扎口短裤