又中又英 | Diamonds State Park | 褚简宁
America's state parks are full of natural beauty. I visited some when I lived in the US. But I had never heard of Crater of Diamonds State Park in the US state of Arkansas until I read recent media reports. It costs US$15 to enter the park for a day. What makes this park so unusual is that visitors can dig for real diamonds there. The park has a “finders, keepers” policy, which means visitors can keep what they find. There is a pool to rinse mud and rocks in a visitor’s bucket to see if there are any diamonds. The park has a Diamond Discovery Center where gemologists tell visitors if they have found real diamonds. A gemologist is an expert in gems.
Recent media reports said Micherre Fox, a young woman from New York City, had found a 2.30-carat white diamond. It was a diamond in the rough. The expression “diamond in the rough” is mostly used to describe a talented or skillful person of good character who lacks manners or education. The expression can also be used to describe an uncut diamond in its original form. Fox had decided two years ago to find her own diamond for her engagement ring. Her boyfriend agreed to wait.
She spent three weeks last month looking for a diamond and found one on her last day there. Gemologists said the diamond could be worth up to US$50,000. A farmer found the first diamonds at the park in 1906. Since then, visitors have found over 75,000 diamonds. A French tourist found a 7.46-carat diamond last year. The largest diamond ever found in the US was at the park in 1924. It weighed 40.23 carats.
美国的州立公园满是大自然之美。我住在美国的时候，亦有游访其中一些公园，但我就从未听说过美国阿肯色州的钻石坑州立公园，直至最近读到有传媒报道。公园入场费为15美元一天。这个公园的非凡之处，在于访客可以在这儿挖掘真正的钻石。这个公园有一个「finders, keepers」措施，意思是访客捡到甚么都可以据为己有。那儿有一个小水池，用来清洗访客桶内的泥沙碎石，以看看是否有钻石在内。公园有一个钻石探索中心，由gemologists告诉访客他们是否找到了真正的钻石。Gemologist就是宝石专家。
最近有传媒报道指，一个来自纽约市的年轻女子米雪儿．霍士，找到一个2.3卡白钻石。那是a diamond in the rough。习语diamond in the rough大多是用来形容一个有才华或技艺高而且品格良好的人，只是举止粗鄙或缺乏教养而有待磨练；这个习语也可以用来形容一颗未经琢磨的原型钻石。霍士两年前决定自行挖掘钻石，用来制作订婚戒指，她的男友亦愿意等待。
上个月，她花了三星期去寻找钻石，在最后一天终于找到了一颗。宝石专家（gemologists）说那颗钻石价值可高达5万美元。一个农夫在1906年于公园内找到首批钻石，自此访客已寻到超过75000颗钻石。上年，一个法国游客就找到了一颗7.46卡的钻石。美国本土曾经发现的最大颗钻石是1924年在那公园找到的，重40.23卡。
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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻
