国家地理:Blood Diamond: Africa 血钻

There's a disturbing side to the diamond trade--- the traffic of conflict diamonds, otherwise known as blood diamonds. This is Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone on the West African coast, a country still emerging from ten years of war. During that war, it was held by rebel forces--- rebels who use diamonds to finance their rebellion.

The war started with rebel forces trying to overthrow¹ a corrupt² government, but quickly descended³ into a terror campaign with amputation⁴ used as a weapon--- thousands of people were killed and maimed as the rebels maintained their tenacious⁵ hold on the diamond fields, using the gems⁷ to buy more guns. Rebels forced men, women and children to dig for diamonds at gunpoint. These diamonds were then smuggled⁸ into the world markets. There, they were cut and polished, disappearing into the legal supply, sold like any other gem⁶ to consumers who had no idea they'd been paid for originally in blood. Diamonds from Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo joined the illegal exodus⁹.

It doesn't look like much, but this is the Sierra Leone's government diamond office--- the new frontline of the fight against blood diamonds. Every gem in this room is supposed to be legal. Lawrence Myers who runs this office understands the danger blood diamonds posed to the industry. Thousands of diamonds pass through this office every week and every so often, a spectacular one shows up, like the stone that came through yesterday.
"That stone would vary from 1 million to 1.5 million."

It's already on its way to Belgium--- the largest diamond exported from Sierra Leone in ten years at least legally. Weighing in at 110 carats, it's the size of a golf ball and worth about a million dollars in its rough state. After it's been cut and polished, it will be sold for about five times that amount. But for the government of Sierra Leone, the diamond will earn a mere¹⁰ 30,000 dollars in export taxes. That's not very much. But many diamond traders in the country choose not to pay any taxes at all. About 40% go through the official channels. 60% of diamonds are smuggled--- 70 to 75 million.

This untamed jungle shelters a rich and fertile land, but there's almost no sign of agriculture. Farmers abandoned these fields long ago--- many to dig for diamonds, no fences, no guards, no industrial machinery¹¹. Twenty feet beneath these men is a diamond-rich gravel¹² bed. To get to it, tons of earth have to be moved, a shovelful¹³ at a time. Ex-rebels work side by side with the civilians¹⁴ they once terrorized. Most of these men dig all day, every day, 365 days a year.

"Century ago, diamonds have been part of their life. They dream diamonds, they eat diamonds, they think diamonds. Wherever you go, you talk about diamonds."
"I buy house. I buy motorcar. I do the job for my people."

Whether they are large or small, diamonds from these mines feed the same pipeline¹⁵ that once trafficked the blood diamonds. There are up to a million miners in Sierra Leone, and only a thousand of them have licenses¹⁶. It's like the Wild West, a place that obeys its own laws, because all it takes is one big stone to change a person's life, for better or for worse.

1 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

2 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

3 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

4 amputation   

n.截肢

参考例句：

• In ancient India,adultery was punished by amputation of the nose.在古代印度，通奸要受到剖鼻的处罚。
• He lived only hours after the amputation.截肢后，他只活了几个小时。

5 tenacious   

adj.顽强的，固执的，记忆力强的，粘的

参考例句：

• We must learn from the tenacious fighting spirit of Lu Xun.我们要学习鲁迅先生韧性的战斗精神。
• We should be tenacious of our rights.我们应坚决维护我们的权利。

6 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。

7 gems   

growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长

参考例句：

• a crown studded with gems 镶有宝石的皇冠
• The apt citations and poetic gems have adorned his speeches. 贴切的引语和珠玑般的诗句为他的演说词增添文采。

8 smuggled   

水货

参考例句：

• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Those smuggled goods have been detained by the port office. 那些走私货物被港务局扣押了。 来自互联网

9 exodus   

v.大批离去，成群外出

参考例句：

• The medical system is facing collapse because of an exodus of doctors.由于医生大批离去，医疗系统面临崩溃。
• Man's great challenge at this moment is to prevent his exodus from this planet.人在当前所遇到的最大挑战，就是要防止人从这个星球上消失。

10 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

11 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

12 gravel   

n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石

参考例句：

• We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
• More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。

13 shovelful   

n．一铁铲

参考例句：

• Should I put another shovelful of coal on the fire? 我要再往火里添一铲煤吗？

14 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

15 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

16 licenses   

n.执照( license的名词复数 )v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Drivers have ten days' grace to renew their licenses. 驾驶员更换执照有10天的宽限期。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Jewish firms couldn't get import or export licenses or raw materials. 犹太人的企业得不到进出口许可证或原料。 来自辞典例句