2008-11-22 地下镇Coober Pedy

Beneath the hot-skillet surface of the outback where the baked soil crumbles¹ like ashes, there are treasures to be found. In endless warrens of burrowing² and hole, every hour of every day, you can find people digging. And virtually all of these individuals are like Peter Rowe. “And I come here to make a million dollars and million dollars are pretty much, I can become more cheerful”. That could only be one thing.

“To find opal -- that’s what I come here for. --To find out illusive³ beautiful gem⁴ that they sort of bounce as they look at me.”

The town of Coober Pedy is home to about 3,000 people. It was built on opals. Over 90% of the world’s opals come from Australia. And the first ones on this continent were discovered right here in 1911. Finding opal has been turned into as much of a science as the rock will allow. This team has been digging for a year and half since their last significant payoff. They believe they are only a few feet away from a major find.

The problem is, in this town, almost every one, almost every day, believes he is on the verge⁵ of finding a fortune. Something like this, these opals were all cut out of the same physics-sized piece of rock, and will sell for at least 300,000 dollars, maybe a lot more. But here’s the thing: 95% of all opal is colorless, worthless. This maze⁶ of tunnel did not produce even a dollar’s worth of opal. One of the odd benefits of digging so many holes in search of opals is that some of them can be converted into homes. But it is the mother lode⁷ payoff that is on everybody’s mind.

“With a mole⁸ of what we are setting there, there could be millions of dollars. There is millions of dollars. And there is tons that would knock your, at chance that would be just astronomical⁹. And most significant thing, they never see a lot of dollar.”

Out here were holes in the ground passed for buildings--most people do not find their fortunes. At the end of this day that started with so much hope, these miners came up empty again. The odds¹⁰ are as long as they keep questing for opals, this would be the course of their lives for all the hopes, dreams, and hard work, scratching a living out of the ground.

1 crumbles   

酥皮水果甜点( crumble的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This cake crumbles too easily. 这种蛋糕太容易碎了。
• This bread crumbles ever so easily. 这种面包非常容易碎。

2 burrowing   

v.挖掘（洞穴），挖洞( burrow的现在分词 )；翻寻

参考例句：

• What are you burrowing around in my drawer for? 你在我抽屉里乱翻什么？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The forepaws are also used for burrowing and for dragging heavier logs. 它们的前爪还可以用来打洞和拖拽较重的树干。 来自辞典例句

3 illusive   

adj.迷惑人的，错觉的

参考例句：

• I don't wanna hear too much illusive words.我不想听太多虚假的承诺。
• We refuse to partake in the production of illusive advertisements.本公司拒绝承做虚假广告。

4 gem   

n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel

参考例句：

• The gem is beyond my pocket.这颗宝石我可买不起。
• The little gem is worth two thousand dollars.这块小宝石价值两千美元。

5 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

6 maze   

n.迷宫，八阵图，混乱，迷惑

参考例句：

• He found his way through the complex maze of corridors.他穿过了迷宮一样的走廊。
• She was lost in the maze for several hours.一连几小时，她的头脑处于一片糊涂状态。

7 lode   

n.矿脉

参考例句：

• We discovered the rich lode bellied out.我们发现丰富的矿脉突然增大了。
• A lode of gold was discovered。他们发现了一处黄金矿藏。

8 mole   

n.胎块；痣；克分子

参考例句：

• She had a tiny mole on her cheek.她的面颊上有一颗小黑痣。
• The young girl felt very self- conscious about the large mole on her chin.那位年轻姑娘对自己下巴上的一颗大痣感到很不自在。

9 astronomical   

adj.天文学的，（数字）极大的

参考例句：

• He was an expert on ancient Chinese astronomical literature.他是研究中国古代天文学文献的专家。
• Houses in the village are selling for astronomical prices.乡村的房价正在飙升。

10 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？