Level 1 · Reading series
Lesson 27 · Why Soap Works
Audio track 27
Listen first
Listen once before opening the English passage.
Open the English passage and hover for word help
Water and oil do not easily mix. So water alone cannot remove all the grease from a plate.
Soap is made of special molecules. One end of a soap molecule holds on to water. The other end holds on to oil. Many soap molecules surround small drops of oil. Then water can rinse away the drops.
Soap also helps lift dirt and many germs from our hands when we wash well.
Sentence practice
Play any sentence in Dicvo’s Jenny English voice. Before playing all, choose how many times each sentence plays. A practice pause about as long as the sentence follows each play, including before the next sentence. The complete reading remains above.
Choose a sentence to begin.
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Water and oil do not easily mix.
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So water alone cannot remove all the grease from a plate.
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Soap is made of special molecules.
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One end of a soap molecule holds on to water.
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The other end holds on to oil.
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Many soap molecules surround small drops of oil.
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Then water can rinse away the drops.
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Soap also helps lift dirt and many germs from our hands when we wash well.
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
水和油不容易混在一起，所以只用水，无法洗掉盘子上的全部油污。
肥皂由特殊的分子组成。肥皂分子的一端能与水结合，另一端能与油结合。许多肥皂分子围住小油滴，水便能把油滴冲走。
认真洗手时，肥皂也能帮助我们把污垢和许多细菌从手上洗掉。
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- oil
- 油。
- mix
- 混合；使……混合。
- remove
- 去除。
- grease
- 油脂；油污。
- soap
- 肥皂。
- molecule
- 分子。
- end
- 末端；结尾。
- hold on to
- 抓住不放；保持住。
- surround
- 围住；包围。
- rinse away
- 用水冲洗掉。
Background notes (Chinese)
肥皂和洗涤剂分子都有亲水的部分，以及容易附着油脂的部分。它们把油包成小滴，使油能随水流走。洗手时，应使用肥皂充分搓洗，再用流动的水冲净。
资料来源：American Chemical Society, How does soap work?；CDC 洗手指导资料。