The End of the Rainbow 彩虹的尽头

The End of the Rainbow 彩虹的尽头作者：By V. M. Hillyer ——V. M. 希利尔
来源：《时代英语·高一》2020年第06期
V. M.希利尔（1875—1931），美国著名的儿童教育家、科普作家，创建了卡尔弗特教育体系。

他为孩子们编写了一套趣味盎然的历史、地理、艺术读物，即《写给孩子看的世界历史》《写给孩子看的世界地理》《写给孩子看的艺术史》。

本文选自《写给孩子看的世界地理》。

Gold！
It used to be said there was a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow， though no one has ever found it. Yet men have left their business and their families and homes and gone to the ends of the earth in search of gold and to find a short cut to riches， for gold is used for money all over the world， though small coins are not made of it because they would have to be too small and would easily be lost.
The largest gold mines in the world are in South Africa， and more than half of the gold in the world comes from gold mines near a city there called Johannesburg.
金子！
传说在彩虹的尽头有一罐金子。

可是没有人真正走到过彩虹的尽头，找到这罐金子。

不过，人们为了找到金子，抛弃自己的产业和妻子，走遍世界，走到世界的尽头，希望能找到金子，一夜之间变成富翁。

金子是世界上所有国家的硬通货币。

过去金子被直接用来做成金币。

只有一些尺寸太小的硬币不用金子做，因为这些小硬币很容易丢失。

世界上最大的金矿在南非。

世界上超过一半的金子产自南非的一座金矿。

这座金矿附近有一个城市，叫作约翰内斯堡。

Gold is called the king of metals， for though platinum is more valuable， gold can be used for money and for ornament and for other things， and most people think it more beautiful. Pure gold is stamped 24 karat， but pure gold is so soft it wears away too easily and some other metal is usually mixed with it to make it harder. The finest rings and jewelry are usually 18 karat， which means that eighteen parts are of pure gold and six parts are of another metal. Look on a ring or watch and see if you can find the figures 18 K or 14 K stamped there.
Sometimes gold is found in little lumps which are called nuggets， but usually it is mixed through the rock and doesn’t show at all. The rock ha s to be ground to powder and then the gold separated from the powder.
Almost every family has at least one thing that has come from South Africa—a very small thing but a very valuable one. Can you guess what it is？ The diamond in the wedding ring. Nearly all the diamonds in the world come from a place called Kimberley in South Africa. They are found in a kind of blue clay in what used to be volcanoes.
金子被看作是金属之王，因为尽管铂金在某种意义上比金子贵重，但是金子用途更广。

金子可以用来做金币和各种首饰，还有别的用途。

不光如此，大多数人也觉得金子看上去比铂金更漂亮。

人们用“开（K）”来标识金子的纯度，纯金是24K。

可是，纯金的硬度不高，非常软，戴在身上很容易磨损，所以人们在纯金中添加一些别的金属，提高其硬度。

最好的耳环和金饰品往往用的是18K的金子。

也就是说，这种耳环中黄金的含量是18份，其他金属的含量是6份。

找找你家的黄金首饰，看看能不能发现18K或者14K这样的标记。

有时候你能发现成块的天然金块，但更多时候金子是混在石头里面的，并没有直接显露出来。

这时候，人们就必须把石头粉碎，再从中分离出金子来。

不少人家里能找出至少一样来自南非的东西。

这样东西尺寸不大，可是價格很高。

你能猜到这是什么吗？对了，就是结婚戒指上的钻石。

世界上几乎所有的钻石都来自一个叫作金伯利的南非城市。

人们在金伯利的一种蓝色黏土中找到了钻石，这种蓝色黏土曾经在火山里。

Word Study
mine /maɪn/ n. 礦;矿井
v. 开矿;采矿
The mine is waiting for opening out.
They were mining for gold.
ornament /'ɔːnəmənt/ n. 首饰;饰物;装饰品
There is an ornament made of shells on the wall.
powder /'paʊdə（r）/ n. 粉末
A wide range of cleaning fluids and powders is available.
Most of the diamonds used to be sent to Amsterdam in Holland to be cut and polished. The reason they are sent there rather than to some other country is because the diamond mines were first discovered by Dutch people living in South Africa. Now， however， many of the diamonds are cut in Kimberley and are all finished there before being shipped to other countries.
Diamonds are made out of the same stuff as coal， and if they were put in the fire， they would turn to coal. Sometimes people speak of coal as “Black Diamonds.” When a diamond is held to the light it may look pure white or it may be bluish or yellowish. The pure white diamonds are the most valuable.
The biggest diamond ever found was about the size of my fist. It was called the Cullinan diamond. 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 polished. The next largest diamond ever found was called the Great Mogul. But the Great Mogul was stolen. 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. It was something like stealing the picture of Mona Lisa. But the Great Mogul has never been seen since， so the thief must have broken it up into smaller diamonds and sold the pieces.
在南非开采出来的钻石会被送往荷兰的阿姆斯特丹进行切割和打磨。

之所以钻石都要被送去阿姆斯特丹，而不是世界上别的什么城市，是因为南非的这些钻石矿最开始是由生活在南非的荷兰人发现的。

当然，今天也有很多钻石直接在金伯利切割加工，在完成了所有的工序之后，它们被卖到世界各地。

钻石的成分同煤炭的成分是一样的，所以如果你把钻石拿去烧，最终就会变成煤炭。

有时候人们也管煤炭叫作“黑色钻石”。

当你把钻石拿到灯下去仔细观察，就会看得出来，有些钻石是纯白色的，有些偏蓝，有些偏黄。

纯白色的钻石价值最高。

世界上发现的最大的钻石有我的拳头那么大，叫作库利南钻石。

由于尺寸太大，价格太高，不适合做成一件单独的饰品，所以这块钻石被切割成两大块，分别进行了加工。

比库利南钻石小一点的另一块钻石叫作大莫卧儿钻石。

不过这块钻石失窃了。

当然，偷去这块钻石的人不可能把它拿出来售卖。

因为像这么大一块钻石，世界上绝无仅有，只要一拿出来，人们就知道这个人是偷钻石的贼。

这就像是偷窃名画《蒙娜丽莎》，谁敢拿出来卖呢？可是大莫卧儿钻石再也没有现世，估计偷它的贼把这块钻石碎成了小块，一点一点卖掉了。

The owners of the diamond mines take extraordinary care to prevent the people who dig the diamonds from stealing at least some of those they find. The mines are closed in with a high fence which is closely guarded， and the laborers are not allowed to go home at night but must live inside of the fence for three or four months. When they do leave， the guards， for they are guarded as if in prison， strip them and search their hair and ears and mouths to see that they have not hidden any diamonds away， for even a single diamond would be worth a fortune to one of the people. They have found so many diamonds at Kimberley that， if they sold them all， diamonds would be too common and too cheap. In order to keep up the price， therefore， the owners of the diamond mines lock up millions of dollars’ worth and only sell them when people are willing to pay a good price.
Word Study
mine /maɪn/ n. 矿;矿井
v. 开矿;采矿
The mine is waiting for opening out.
They were mining for gold.
ornament /'ɔːnəmənt/ n. 首饰;饰物;装饰品
There is an ornament made of shells on the wall.
powder /'paʊdə（r）/ n. 粉末
A wide range of cleaning fluids and powders is available.
Most of the diamonds used to be sent to Amsterdam in Holland to be cut and polished. The reason they are sent there rather than to some other country is because the diamond mines were first
discovered by Dutch people living in South Africa. Now， however， many of the diamonds are cut in Kimberley and are all finished there before being shipped to other countries.
Diamonds are made out of the same stuff as coal， and if they were put in the fire， they would turn to coal. Sometimes people speak of coal as “Black Diamonds.” When a d iamond is held to the light it may look pure white or it may be bluish or yellowish. The pure white diamonds are the most valuable.
The biggest diamond ever found was about the size of my fist. It was called the Cullinan diamond. 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 polished. The next largest diamond ever found was called the Great Mogul. But the Great Mogul was stolen. 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. It was something like stealing the picture of Mona Lisa. But the Great Mogul has never been seen since， so the thief must have broken it up into smaller diamonds and sold the pieces.
在南非開采出来的钻石会被送往荷兰的阿姆斯特丹进行切割和打磨。

之所以钻石都要被送去阿姆斯特丹，而不是世界上别的什么城市，是因为南非的这些钻石矿最开始是由生活在南非的荷兰人发现的。

当然，今天也有很多钻石直接在金伯利切割加工，在完成了所有的工序之后，它们被卖到世界各地。

钻石的成分同煤炭的成分是一样的，所以如果你把钻石拿去烧，最终就会变成煤炭。

有时候人们也管煤炭叫作“黑色钻石”。

当你把钻石拿到灯下去仔细观察，就会看得出来，有些钻石是纯白色的，有些偏蓝，有些偏黄。

纯白色的钻石价值最高。

世界上发现的最大的钻石有我的拳头那么大，叫作库利南钻石。

由于尺寸太大，价格太高，不适合做成一件单独的饰品，所以这块钻石被切割成两大块，分别进行了加工。

比库利南钻石小一点的另一块钻石叫作大莫卧儿钻石。

不过这块钻石失窃了。

当然，偷去这块钻石的人不可能把它拿出来售卖。

因为像这么大一块钻石，世界上绝无仅有，只要一拿出来，人们就知道这个人是偷钻石的贼。

这就像是偷窃名画《蒙娜丽莎》，谁敢拿出来卖呢？可是大莫卧儿钻石再也没有现世，估计偷它的贼把这块钻石碎成了小块，一点一点卖掉了。

The owners of the diamond mines take extraordinary care to prevent the people who dig the diamonds from stealing at least some of those they find. The mines are closed in with a high fence which is closely guarded， and the laborers are not allowed to go home at night but must live inside of the fence for three or four months. When they do leave， the guards， for they are guarded as if in prison， strip them and search their hair and ears and mouths to see that they have not hidden any diamonds away， for even a single diamond would be worth a fortune to one of the people. They have found so many diamonds at Kimberley that， if they sold them all， diamonds would be too common
and too cheap. In order to keep up the price， therefore， the owners of the diamond mines lock up millions of dollars’ worth and only sell them when people are willing to pay a good price.。