a pot in which substances are heated to high temperatures, metals are melted, etc. 坩埚；熔炉 
- (formal or literary)
a place or situation in which people or ideas are tested severely, often creating something new or exciting in the process 熔炉；严峻的考验；磨炼 an alliance forged in the crucible of war 在战争的严峻考验中结成的联盟 The Lake District in 1800 was the crucible of the new Romantic movement in English poetry. 1800年的湖区是英国新浪漫主义诗歌运动的熔炉。
Word Originlate Middle English: from medieval Latin crucibulum ‘night lamp, crucible’ (perhaps originally a lamp hanging in front of a crucifix), from Latin crux, cruc- ‘cross’.