塞拉利昂拍卖世上最大钻石济贫

Sierra Leone to Sell Multi-million Dollar Diamond to Help Poor

Sierra Leone hopes to raise millions of dollars for development projects by selling a large uncut diamond. It is believed to be one of the largest diamonds in the world. The public sale will take place in New York in December.

The 709-carat gemstone is known¹ as the Peace Diamond. This will be the second time Sierra Leone tries to sell the diamond. The government rejected the highest bid² of $7.8 million at its first public sale in New York in May.

More than half of the earnings³ from the sale will be used for water, electricity, education and health projects in Sierra Leone, especially to aid Koryardu. That is the eastern village where the diamond was found.

Martin Rapaport is chairman of Rapaport Group, an organization of diamond companies which will manage the sale. He told Reuters, “There’s a reason God gave these diamonds to the poorest people in the world and made the richest people want them…this is making the world a better place.”

The Rapaport Group described the diamond as the 14th largest in the world. A Christian⁴ clergyman discovered it in March and gave it to the government.

Diamonds were a conflict⁵ resource⁶ in Sierra Leone’s 10-year civil war, which ended in 2002. Rebels⁷ would buy weapons with earnings from diamond sales. This led to the creation⁸ of the term ‘blood diamond.’

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Words in this Story

bid – n. an offer to pay a particular amount of money for something

carat – n. a unit for measuring the weight of jewels (such as diamonds) that is equal to 200 milligrams

manage – v. to take care of and make decisions about someone's time, money, etc.

1 known   

adj.大家知道的；知名的，已知的

参考例句：

• He is a known artist.他是一个知名的艺术家。
• He is known both as a painter and as a statesman.他是知名的画家及政治家。

2 bid   

n.出价；投标；vt./vi.（拍卖时）喊（价）；投标

参考例句：

• How much do you bid?你出多少钱？
• I bid 1000 dollars for that picture.我对那幅画出价1000美元。

3 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

4 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

5 conflict   

n.冲突，矛盾，争执；vi.争执，撞斗，冲突，抵触

参考例句：

• Your statement is in conflict with the rest of the evidence.你的陈述同其余证据有矛盾。
• The conflict between them seems ceaseless.他们之间冲突似乎没个止息。

6 resource   

n.资源，财力

参考例句：

• All pollution is simply an unused resource.所有的污染只不过是一种未被利用的资源。
• He is full of resource in any emergency.他富有随机应变的才能。

7 rebels   

n.反政府的人( rebel的名词复数 )；反叛者；造反者；叛逆者v.反抗政府( rebel的第三人称单数 )；反抗权威

参考例句：

• Most of the rebels were captured and disarmed. 大部分叛乱分子被俘获并解除了武装。
• The rebels went on an orgy of killing. 叛乱者肆意杀人。

8 creation   

n.创造，创造的作品，产物，宇宙，天地万物

参考例句：

• Language is the most important mental creation of man.语言是人类头脑最重要的产物。
• The creation of new playgrounds will benefit the local children.新游戏场的建立将有益于当地的儿童。