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There is a place on our earth where hot water and steam (蒸汽) come up from under the ground. It is
a large island in the Pacific. The island is North Island, in New Zealand.
The planet on which we live is a ball of very hot rock. It is a good thing for us that the outside shell
(壳) is cold. If it were not, no one could live here. What if our earth were only as big as an egg? Then
the outside part would be as thin.as the egg's shell.
The earth's shell has cracks in it in some places. In New Zealand this shell seems to have more cracks
than in other places on the earth. There are places where the ground is so hot that it burns your feet. In
some places, hot water shoots (喷射) into the air from time to time. In other places, you can see steam
coming up from pools of hot water.
In those places people make use of the heat that comes from inside the earth. Some of them cook in
the hot pools. They put food into a basket and place it in the water. Washing clothes is done in much the
same way.
Many people bring the hot water from below the earth into their homes. They do this by putting a long
pipe into the ground. In this way, they get hot water and steam for cooking and washing, and for heating
their homes.
For most of us, the heat under our feet is too far away to use. The people who get heat. from inside
the earth are lucky. They don't have to pay for the heat they use. |
