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“It is funny, isn’t it?”nodded the bookkeeper. “Now on this other side of the room they are blending fleeces. Sometimes we blend different qualities of wool to get a desired effect; sometimes we mix the wool with cotton or with another kind of fiber. We take a thin layer of wool and put another layer of a different kind over it. Then it is all picked until a uniform mixture is secured.”
“这很有趣，不是吗?”簿记员点了点头。“现在在房间的另一边，他们正在混合羊毛。有时我们混合不同质量的羊毛以达到预期的效果；有时我们把羊毛和棉花或另一种纤维混合在一起。我们取一层薄薄的羊毛，在上面再盖一层不同的羊毛。然后全部拾取，直到得到均匀的混合物。”
“It is a surprise to me to learn that the wool has to go through so much before it comes to the spinning,”Thornton said.
“当我得知羊毛在纺丝之前要经过很多工序时，我感到很惊讶，”桑顿说。
“It is a long process,”responded their guide. “When I first saw it, it seemed endless; now I think little of it.”
“这是一个漫长的过程，”向导回复道。“当我第一次看到它时，似乎是无穷无尽的；现在我觉得没什么。”
Just then a hearty laugh came from behind them; turning, they saw Mr. Clark and Mr. Munger.
就在这时，他们身后传来一阵爽朗的笑声；他们转过身，看见了克拉克先生和芒格先生。
“I came to hunt you up,”said Mr. Clark. “It seemed to me that by this time you must have finished spinning your next-winter’s overcoat, Donald.”
“我是来找你的，”克拉克先生说。“在我看来，到这个时候，唐纳德，你一定已经纺完了你下一个冬天的大衣。”
“But I haven’t, father,”retorted the boy, smiling into his father’s face. “I have not even begun to make the cloth at all.”
“但我并没有，爸爸，”那孩子回嘴，对着他父亲的脸笑。“我甚至还没有开始做布。”
“The yarn is not spun yet, sir,”said the bookkeeper.
“纱线还没有纺好，先生，”簿记员说。
“You are a slow guide, I fear,”said Mr. Munger with a laugh, laying a kindly hand on his bookkeeper’s shoulder. “Now let us hurry along. These men must get back to Boston today, you know.”Mr. Munger bustled ahead, conducting his visitors across a bridge and into the next mill.
“恐怕你是个迟钝的向导，”芒格先生笑着说，一只亲切的手放在簿记员的肩上。“现在我们快走吧。你知道，这些人今天必须回到波士顿。芒格先生急匆匆地走在前面，领着他的客人们穿过一座桥，进入下一家工厂。”
Here was the carding room. Layers of wool entered the carding machine and were combed by a multitude of wire teeth until all the fibers lay parallel. The thin film of wool then passed into a cone-like opening and came out later in a thick, heavy rope of untwisted fibers.
这里是梳妆室。一层层的羊毛进入梳理机，由许多钢丝齿梳理，直到所有的纤维平行排列。这层薄薄的羊毛薄膜随后进入一个圆锥形的开口，然后以一根粗而重的无捻纤维绳的形式流出。
“It is now ready to go to the drawing-frames,”Mr. Munger explained. “You will notice how these drawingframes pull the wool into shape for twisting and spinning, drawing it out to uniform size and finally winding it on bobbins. The machine is a complicated one to explain, but you can watch and see what it does.”
“现在可以上画框了，”芒格解释说。“你会注意到这些画框是如何将羊毛拉出形状，然后进行扭转和纺丝，将其拉伸到均匀的尺寸，最后在筒子上缠绕。这台机器很难解释，但你可以观察它的功能。”
“How wonderful it is that machinery can do all this work” Mr. Clark remarked thoughtfully.
“机器能完成所有这些工作是多么奇妙啊”克拉克先生若有所思地说。
“Yes, it is” Mr. Munger agreed. “Years ago every part of the work was done by hand. But little by little, machines have been made so perfect that they seem almost human. Shall we go now and see the yarn spun?”
“是的，确实是。”芒格表示同意。“数年前，所有的工作都是手工完成的。但是一点一点地，机器被造得如此完美，它们看起来几乎像人。我们现在去看纺纱好吗？”
