Salt has always been important to people. In the past, it was as valuable as gold, people would trade for it. Over the years, people discovered different ways to get salt. Depending on the geography, some early people got salt from rocks. In other places, like on the islands, people got salt from the sea. They took sea water and put it in the sun. After a long time, the water dried up. Then people could get salt. Sometimes, they would boil the sea water in large pots to get salt faster.
盐对人们来说一直很重要。在过去，它和黄金一样珍贵，人们会拿东西去换盐。多年来，人们发现了不同的方法来获取盐。受地理环境影响，部分早期人类从岩石中获取盐。在其他地方，比如岛屿上，人们则从海里获取盐。他们取来海水并将之放在太阳下晒。很长时间过去，水分蒸发干了，人们就能获得盐。有时，他们还会把海水放在大锅里煮沸，以便更快获得盐。
Today, people still get salt from the sea. But most salt comes from salt mines and salt wells. They dig deep holes into the ground for salt. They also operate machines to aid themselves. To get salt from salt wells, people put two pipes into the ground. Water is sent down through one of the pipes. And the water is mixed with the salt in salt wells. It makes salt water. Then the salt water is pushed up through the other pipe. Later, the salt is taken out of the salt water.
如今，人们仍然从海里获取盐。但大部分盐来自盐矿和盐井。他们在地下挖深洞来采盐。他们还会操作机器来协助自己。为了从盐井中获取食盐，人们把两根管子插入地下。水通过其中一根管子被注入地下，并与盐井中的盐混合，形成盐水。然后，盐水通过另一根管子被抽上来。随后，再从盐水中提取出盐。
People once worked hard to find and make salt. Now, people can buy it at any food store. Salt is cheap and comes in packets or boxes. It is almost always there in the recipes you download online. You can use it when cooking noodles or making soup. It has become an important part of our everyday lives.
人们曾经不辞辛劳地寻找和制造盐。而现在，人们可以在任何一家食品店买到盐。盐很便宜，有袋装或盒装的。你在网上下载的食谱中几乎都能看到盐。你在煮面条或做汤时都可以用到它。盐已经成为我们日常生活中重要的一部分。