本文作者G.C.索恩利，美国著名的科技小说家，以科普作品见长。本文选自于English Through Reading，属于典型的非文学翻译，由庄绎传翻译。科技文献被动语态居多，本文主要学习被动语态的四种译法，可以结合《十二天突破英汉翻译(笔译篇)》同时学习。

There are three main groups of oils: animal, vegetable and mineral.

油可以分为三大类：动物油；植物油；矿物油。

Great quantities of animal oil come from whales, those enormous creatures of the sea which are the largest remaining animals in the world.

大量的动物油是从鲸鱼身上得来的。鲸鱼是海里的庞然大物，是世界上现有动物中最大的一种。

To protect the whale from the cold of the Arctic seas, nature has provided it with a thick covering of fat called blubber.

大自然为了保护鲸鱼，让它不致在北冰洋受冻，便让它长了厚厚的一层脂肪，叫做鲸脂。

When the whale is killed, the blubber is stripped off and boiled down, either on board ship or on shore.

鲸鱼杀死之后，把鲸脂剥下来熬油，这项工作有的是在船上进行的，有的是在岸上进行的。

It produces a great quantity of oil which can be made into food for human consumption.

这样，就能生产出大量的油，供人们食用。

A few other creatures yield oil, but none so much as the whale.

有些动物也出油，但都没有鲸鱼出得多。

The livers of the cod and the halibut, two kinds of fish, yield nourishing oil.

鳕鱼和比目鱼，这两种鱼的肝脏出的油营养丰富。

Both cod liver oil and halibut liver oil are given to sick children and other invalids who need certain vitamins.

从这两种鱼得来的鱼肝油可以给缺少某种维生素的患儿或其他病人服用。

These oils may be bought at any chemist's.

这两种鱼肝油在任何一家药房里都可以买到。

Vegetable oil has been known from antiquity.

植物油自古以来就为人们所熟悉。

No household can get on without it, for it is used in cooking.

任何家庭都离不开它，因为做饭的时候就要用它。

Perfumes may be made from the oils of certain flowers.

有花儿产生的油可以用来制造香水。

Soaps are made from vegetable and animal oils.

植物油和动物油还可以用来制作肥皂。

To the ordinary man, one kind of oil may be as important as another.

对一般人来说，这种油或那种油可能都是重要的。