Millions of people around the world cook their food over a smoky fire every day. It is often difficult to find wood for the fire. People who do not have wood must spend large amounts of money on cooking fuel. However, there is a much easier way to cook food using energy from the sun.

世界上有数百万人每天在烟雾弥漫的火上烹煮食物。通常很难找到生火的木柴。没有木材的人必须花大量的钱在烹饪燃料上。然而，有一种更简单的方法利用太阳能烹饪食物。

Solar cookers, or ovens, have been used for centuries. A Swiss scientist made the first solar oven in seventeen sixty-seven. Today, people are using solar cookers in many countries around the world. People use solar ovens to cook food and to heat drinking water to kill bacteria and other harmful organisms.

太阳能炊具或烤箱已经使用了几个世纪。一位瑞士科学家在1767年制造了第一台太阳能烤箱。今天，全世界许多国家的人们都在使用太阳能炊具。人们使用太阳能烤炉做饭，加热饮用水以杀死细菌和其他有害生物。

There are three kinds of solar ovens. The first is a box cooker. It is designed with a special wall that shines or reflects sunlight into the box. Heat gets trapped under a piece of glass or plastic covering the top of the cooker. A box oven is effective for slow cooking of large amounts of food.

有三种太阳能烤炉。第一种是箱式炊具。它是用一种特殊的墙设计的，它能把阳光照进盒子里。热量被一个玻璃或塑料覆盖在炊具的顶部。盒式烤炉对于慢煮大量的食物是有效的。

The second kind of solar oven is a panel cooker. It includes several flat walls, or panels, that directly reflect the sun's light onto the food. The food is inside a separate container of plastic or glass that traps heat energy. People can build panel cookers quickly and with very few supplies. They do not cost much. In Kenya, for example, panel cookers are being manufactured for just two dollars.

第二种太阳能灶是板式炊具。它包括几块平坦的墙壁，或面板，直接反射阳光到食物上。食物在一个单独的塑料或玻璃容器内，可以捕捉热能。人们可以很快地建造板式炊具，而且几乎没有供应。它们成本不高。例如，在肯尼亚，板式炊具只生产两美元。

The third kind of solar oven is a parabolic cooker. It has rounded walls that aim sunlight directly into the bottom of the oven. Food cooks quickly in parabolic ovens. However, these cookers are hard to make. They must be re-aimed often to follow the sun. Parabolic cookers can also cause burns and eye injuries if they are not used correctly.

第三种太阳能灶是抛物面式炊具。它有圆形的墙壁，把阳光直接对准烤箱的底部。在抛物面形炉灶里食物熟得很快。然而，这些炊具很难制作。它们必须经常重新瞄准以跟随太阳。如果不正确使用，抛物面形炉灶也会导致灼伤和眼睛受伤。

You can make solar ovens from boxes or heavy paper. They will not catch fire. Paper burns at two hundred thirty-two degrees Celsius. A solar cooker never gets that hot. Solar ovens cook food at low temperatures over long periods of time. This permits people to leave food to cook while they do other things.

你可以用盒子或厚纸做太阳能烤炉。他们不会着火。纸燃烧在232摄氏度。太阳能炊具永远不会那么热。太阳能灶具在低温下长时间烹饪食物。这允许人们在做其他事情的时候离开食物做饭。