Nitrogen is a gas with no colour and no smell. It is most of what you breathe — about four fifths of the air — but your body does not use that gas the way it uses oxygen. You breathe nitrogen in and out and almost nothing happens.

Nitrogen氮 is a gas with no colour and no smell是一種無色無味的氣體。It它 is most of what you breathe是你呼吸的空氣裡佔最多的部分 — about four fifths of the air大約是空氣的五分之四 — but但 your body does not use that gas the way it uses oxygen但你的身體不會像用氧氣那樣去利用這種氣體。You你 breathe nitrogen in and out把氮吸進去又呼出來 and且 almost nothing happens幾乎不會發生什麼事

Plants need nitrogen to grow, though actually they cannot take it from the air as it is; it has to be changed into other forms first, often nitrates in the soil.

Plants植物 need nitrogen to grow需要氮才能生長, though actually不過實際上 they植物 cannot take it from the air as it is沒辦法直接從空氣裡吸收氮; it氮 has to be changed into other forms first得先被轉變成其他形式, often nitrates in the soil通常是土壤裡的硝酸鹽

In a lab, liquid nitrogen is so cold it can freeze a flower in seconds.

In a lab在實驗室裡, liquid nitrogen液態氮 is so cold冷到, it can freeze a flower in seconds可以在幾秒內把一朵花凍住

The name came into English from French nitrogène, a word the French chemist Jean-Antoine Chaptal made in 1790. If you split the surface, it is nitro- + -gen, “that produces.” It was tied to niter, an old name for a salt used in gunpowder.

The name這個字 came into English from French nitrogène是從法文的 nitrogène 進到英文裡的, a word the French chemist Jean-Antoine Chaptal made in 1790是法國化學家尚—安托萬・夏普塔爾在 1790 年創造的字。If you split the surface如果拆開字面看, it是 nitro- + -gen, "that produces."是 nitro- 加上 -gen（意思是「產生」）。It它 was tied to niter跟 niter 這個字有關, an old name for a salt used in gunpowder是製作火藥用的一種鹽的舊稱

This is a science word you will meet in school, on weather and farm news, and on a tank in a lab.

This這 is a science word是一個科學用語 you你 will meet會遇到它 in school在學校裡, on weather and farm news在天氣和農業新聞裡, and還有 on a tank in a lab實驗室裡的鋼瓶上