美国学生世界地理教材 第220期:彩虹的尽头(2)

 Now, however, many of the diamonds are cut in Kimberley and are all finished there before being shipped to other countries. 然而，现在多数钻石是在金伯利切割，并在那里加工完毕之后就被船送到其他国家。

Diamonds are made out of the same stuff¹ as coal, and if they were put in the fire would turn to coal. 钻石和煤都是由同一种成分组成的。把钻石扔进火里，就会变成煤。

Sometimes people speak of coal as "Black Diamonds." 有时人们把煤叫做“黑色钻石”。

When a diamond is held to the light it may look pure white or it may be bluish or yellowish. 拿着钻石对着光看，它可能是纯白色的，或者是淡蓝色的或者略带黄色。

The pure white diamonds are the most valuable. 发纯白色光的钻石是最贵重的。

The biggest diamond ever found was about the size of my fist. 迄今为止发现的最大的钻石大约和我拳头一样大，

It was called the Cullinan diamond. 叫做“库里南钻石”。

It was too large and too valuable to be used as a single jewel, so it was broken into two pieces and each piece was cut and polished². 它太大了，太贵重了，不适合用作一颗单独的宝石，于是，它被分为两半，分别打磨。

The next largest diamond ever found was called the Great Mogul. But the Great Mogul was stolen. 迄今为止发现的第二大钻石叫做“大莫卧儿”，但是，大莫卧儿钻石被窃贼偷走了。

Of course, the thief could not sell such a large diamond, for, as there was only one such diamond in the World, every one would know he was the thief. 当然，窃贼不敢卖掉这么大的钻石，因为这样的钻石在世界上只有一颗。只要他一拿出来，人人都会知道窃贼就是他。

It was something like stealing the picture of Mona Lisa. But the Great Mogul has never been seen since, 这种情况就像偷走蒙娜丽莎画像一样。但是，从此以后，大莫卧儿钻石就再也没有出现过，

so the thief must have broken it up into smaller diamonds and sold the pieces. 所以，窃贼一定是把钻石分成几颗较小的钻石卖掉了。

The owners of the diamond mines take extraordinary care to prevent the black people who dig³ the diamonds from stealing at least some of those they find. 钻石矿的矿主格外小心，提防挖钻石的黑人偷走哪怕一点点他们发现的钻石。

The mines are closed in with a high fence⁴ which is closely⁵ guarded, 石矿被高高的栅栏围起来，并有人严密守卫。

and the laborers⁶ are not allowed to go home at night but must live inside of the fence for three or four months. 工人晚上不准回家，而是必须在栅栏里居住三或四个月。

When they do leave,  当到了真要离开时，

the guards, for they are guarded as if in prison, strip⁷ them and search their hair and ears and mouths to see that they have not hidden any diamonds away, 警卫就要脱光他们的衣服，搜查他们的头发、耳朵和嘴巴，确保他们没有隐藏任何钻石，

for even a single diamond would be worth a fortune to one of the black people. 因为即使是一小块钻石，对任何一个黑人来说，都是一笔巨大的财富。

They have found so many diamonds at Kimberley that, if they sold them all, diamonds would be too common and too cheap. 在金伯利开采出大量钻石，如果矿主将这些钻石全卖了，钻石就会变得很寻常而不值钱了。

In order to keep up the price, therefore,  所以，为了使价格不下降，

the owners of the diamond mines lock up millions of dollars' worth and only sell them when people are willing⁸ to pay a good price. 矿主们囤积了价值数百万美元的钻石，等到有人出大价钱时才出手。

1 stuff   

n.原料，材料，东西；vt.填满；吃饱

参考例句：

• We could supply you with the stuff in the raw tomorrow.明天我们可以供应你原材料。
• He is not the stuff.他不是这个材料。

2 polished   

adj.磨光的，擦亮的；完美的，精良的；优雅的v.使光滑，擦亮(polish的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The boxer polished off his opponent in the first round. 那个拳击手在第一个回合就把他的对手击倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The silver will need to be polished up for the dinner party. 为了宴会，这些银器需要擦得光亮。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 dig   

v.挖（洞，沟等）；掘

参考例句：

• It is difficult to dig the ground when it is frozen.地面冻住了就不易挖掘。
• In those days we often went to dig for wild vegetables.那时候我们常常出去挖野菜。

4 fence   

n.围墙，剑术；v.用篱笆围住，练习剑术，防护；[计算机]栅栏

参考例句：

• They put a fence around the garden.他们在园子的周围建起了篱笆。
• The thief jumped himself over a fence and escaped.贼纵身跃过篱笆逃走了。

5 closely   

adv.紧密地；严密地，密切地

参考例句：

• We shall follow closely the development of the situation.我们将密切注意形势的发展。
• The two companies are closely tied up with each other.这两家公司之间有密切联系。

6 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

7 strip   

n.长条，条状；连环漫画；n.脱衣舞；vt.脱衣，剥夺；挤干(牛奶)；vt.拆卸；去除(烟叶的茎)；vi.脱衣，表演脱衣舞；剥落

参考例句：

• I need one more strip of cloth to finish this decoration.我还要一根布条来完成这个装饰品。
• We had to strip the old paint from the doors.我们只好把门上的旧漆刮掉。

8 willing   

adj.愿意的，自愿的，乐意的，心甘情愿的

参考例句：

• We never lack food and clothing if we're willing to work.如果我们愿意工作,就不会缺吃少穿。
• He's quite willing to pay the price I ask.他很愿意照我的要价付钱。