James Watt and the Tea Kettle
A little Scotch boy was sitting in his grandmother's kit- chen. He was watching the red flames in the wide open fire- place and quietly wondering about the causes of things. In- deed, he was always wondering and always wanting to know.
"Grandma," he presently asked, "what makes the fire burn ?"
This was not the first time he had puzzled his grand- mother with questions that she could not answer. So she went on with her preparations for supper and paid no heed to his query.
Above the fire an old-fashioned teakettle was hanging. The water within it was beginning to bubble. A thin cloud of steam was rising from the spout. Soon the lid began to rattle and shake. The hot vapor puffed out at a furious rate(2). Yet when the lad peeped under the lid he could see nothing.
"Grandma, what is in the teakettle ?" he asked.
"Water, my child--nothing but water(3)."
"But I know there is something else. There is some- thing in there that lifts the lid and makes it rattle."
The grandmother laughed. "Oh, that is only steam," she said. "You can see it coming out of the spout and puffing up under the lid."
"But you said there was nothing but water in the kettle. How did the steam get under the lid ?"
"Why(4), my dear, it comes out of the hot water. The hot water makes it." The grandmother was beginning to feel puzzled.
The lad lifted the lid and peeped inside again. He could see nothing but the bubbling water. The steam was not visible until after it was fairly out of the kettle.
"How queer !" he said. "The steam must be very strong to lift the heavy iron lid. Grandma, how much water did you put into the kettle?"
"About a quart(5), Jamie(6)."
"Well, if the steam from so little water is so strong, why would not the steam from a great deal of water be a great deal stronger? Why couldn't it be made to lift a much greater weight ? Why couldn't it be made to turn wheels ?"
The grandmother made no reply. These questions of Jamie's were more puzzling than profitable,(7) she thought. She went about(8) her work silently, and Jamie sat still in his place and studied the teakettle.
From Thirty More Famous Stories Retold
by James Baldwin
注释:
(1) James Watt： 詹姆斯·瓦特(1736--1819)，苏格兰工程师，蒸汽机的发明者。
(2) at a furious rate： 猛烈地。
(3) nothing but water： 除了水以外什么也设有；只有水，
(4) why： 感叹词,"嗳"(此处表示犹豫)。
(5) quart： 夸脱(英美容量单位，等于四分之-加仑或二品脱)。
(6) Jamie： 杰米，是James的爱称。
(7) These questions…more puzzling than profitable： 这句的意思是：与其说杰米的问题有什么用处，倒不如说它们令人困惑。
(8) went about：从事;干。
汉译：
詹姆斯·瓦特和水壶
詹姆斯．鲍德温
一个苏格兰小男孩坐在祖母的厨房里。他望着大壁炉里逼红的火焰，默默地思索着事物发生的缘由。确实，他总是产生疑惑，总是想要知道究竟。
"奶奶，什么东西使炉火燃烧的?"一会儿他问道。
奶奶被他提出的问题所难倒已经不是第-次了。所以她继续做她的晚餐，不理会他的疑问。
悬吊在炉子上的一只老式水壶里，水开始沸腾，壶嘴冒出淡淡的云雾般的蒸气。不一会儿，壶盖开始掀动，发出格格的响声。接着，热气猛烈地喷将出来。可是，孩子仔细窥看壶盖下面，却什么也没看见。
"奶奶，壶里装的是什么呀？"他问道。
"水呀，孩子，没有别的东西。"
"但是我知道还有别的东西，里面有东西在把壶盖顶起来，而且使壶盖格格响。"
奶奶笑了起来，说："啊那是蒸气。你可以看见蒸气从壶口冒出来，还在壶盖底下噗吱噗吱着。"
"但你刚才说壶里只有水，没有别的东西。那未壶盖底下的蒸气又是打哪儿来的呢？"
"嗳，亲爱的，它是从热水里出来的。热水产生蒸气。"奶奶开始感到说不清楚了。
孩子拎起壶盖，再一次缶壶里窥探，只见壶里的水在噗噗地冒着气泡，其他可什么也没发现。蒸气只有在完全离开水壶以后才看得见。
"多么奇怪！"他说。"蒸气要顶起这样重的铁盖子，力量一定很不小。奶奶，你在壶里装了多少水呢？"
"大约一夸脱，杰米。"
"噢，如果这么一点点水产生的蒸气力量有那么大，那末大量的水产生的蒸气力量不就大得多了吗？为什么不可以使蒸气顶起比这重得多的东西呢？为什么不可以使蒸气转动轮子呢？"
奶奶没有回答。她想：杰米的这些问题没有什么用处，却难以回答。她默默地继续干她的活，而杰米仍一动不动地坐在老地方研究着这把水壶。
