One of the best ways to protect yourself and other people from getting sick is to wash your hands with soap (肥皂). To make soap, you need three main things: oil, water and lye (碱水).
The oil can come from animal fat or plant sources like avocado (鳄梨), coconut or sunflower. Lye can be found at markets and other stores that sell cleaning products. Lye is also called sodium hydroxide (氢氧化钠) or potassium hydroxide (氢氧化钾).
Be very careful. Lye can cause serious burns. It can also blind a person if it gets into the eyes. Do not breathe lye and do not let small children near it. And do not store lye in containers made of aluminum (铝). The lye will eat through the metal.
But the owner of a soap making business in California says that there is no lye present in the finished soap. Diane Longacre says the lye and oil molecules (分子) combine and chemically change into soap and glycerin (甘油).
Some people make soap with potash (碳酸钾) lye. You boil ashes in water until only dry black salts remain. Once the salts melt, a gray-white substance is left. This is potash.
One simple way to make soft soap requires nine kilograms of potash. You also need twelve kilos of any kind of oil and twenty-six liters of water. Mix the potash well with the water. Add it to the oil in a wooden bucket.
For the next three days, mix the materials well with a wooden stick or spoon. Do this several times a day for about three minutes at a time. Then let the soap sit in the wooden bucket for about a month. After that, it will be ready to use.
9. Why does the writer warn us not to let small children near lye?
A.Because lye can blind a person. |
B.Because lye can make a person catch a cold. |
C.Because lye can eat through the metal. |
D.Because lye can burn easily. |
10. According to Diane Longacre, which of the following is right?
A.Soap consists of three things: oil, water and lye. |
B.In the process of making soap, only chemical change occurs. |
C.In the process of making soap, lye is changed into other substances. |
D.Glycerin is a kind of substance harmful to people. |
11. What are the right steps of making soap with potash?
①boil ashes in water
②mix the potash well with the water
③mix the potash well with oil
④add the mixture to oil
⑤add the mixture to the water
⑥mix the materials well
12. The best title of this passage is________.
A.How to Protect from Lye | B.How to Make Soap |
C.Things Needed to Make Soap | D.Just Do-it-yourself |