VOA文化艺术2022--巨大的黑钻石从太空坠落

Huge Black Diamond Falls From Space

People use the saying "out of this world," to praise something as exceptional. But, at auction¹ house Sotheby's Dubai, officials are using the term literally².

The company announced this week that it will sell a black diamond that they say is believed to have fallen to Earth from outer space. That would make it a literal "out of this world" jewel.

Sotheby's calls the large black diamond, "The Enigma³." It weighs 555.55 carats. A carat is a term of measurement for valuable stones often used in jewelry⁴. One carat equals 200 milligrams.

The rare stone was shown to reporters at Sotheby's on Monday. In February, it will be put up for sale at Sotheby's in London.

Sotheby's expects the purchase price will reach at least $6.8 million.

Experts at the National Space Foundation in the United States call black diamonds "carbonado diamonds."

On its website, the science organization writes that carbonado diamonds form during supernova explosions. "Black diamonds," the website says, "were once the size of asteroids⁶ a kilometer or more" across when they first began to hit Earth.

Carbonado diamonds are extremely rare and are found naturally only in Brazil and Central Africa. Experts say study of the stone's chemical structure leads them to believe they come from space.

Sophie Stevens, a jewelry specialist at Sotheby's Dubai, told The Associated Press that the number five has a great importance to The Enigma. Along with its carat weight, the diamond also has 55 facets⁷. Facets are the flat surfaces of a cut gem⁸.

Stevens explained that the shape of this black diamond is based on the Khamsa, an important symbol in the Middle East and northern Africa. "It stands for strength and it stands for protection."

Words in This Story

auction – n. a public sale at which things are sold to the people who offer to pay the most : auction house – n. a business that runs auctions⁹

literally – adv. in a way that uses the ordinary and usual meaning of a word

supernova – n. the explosion of a star that causes the star to become extremely bright

asteroid⁵ – n. any of the small rocky celestial¹⁰ bodies found especially between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter

gem – n. a valuable stone that has been cut and polished for use in jewelry

symbol – n. an action, object, event, etc., that expresses or represents a particular idea or quality

1 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

2 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

3 enigma   

n.谜，谜一样的人或事

参考例句：

• I've known him for many years,but he remains something of an enigma to me.我与他相识多年，他仍然难以捉摸。
• Even after all the testimonies,the murder remained a enigma.即使听完了所有的证词，这件谋杀案仍然是一个谜。

4 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

5 asteroid   

n.小行星；海盘车(动物)

参考例句：

• Astronomers have yet to witness an asteroid impact with another planet.天文学家还没有目击过小行星撞击其它行星。
• It's very unlikely that an asteroid will crash into Earth but the danger exists.小行星撞地球的可能性很小，但这样的危险还是存在的。

6 asteroids   

n.小行星( asteroid的名词复数 )；海盘车，海星

参考例句：

• Asteroids,also known as "minor planets",are numerous in the outer space. 小行星，亦称为“小型行星”，在外太空中不计其数。
• Most stars probably have their quota of planets, meteorids, comets, and asteroids. 多数恒星也许还拥有若干行星、流星、彗星和小行星。

7 facets   

n.（宝石或首饰的）小平面( facet的名词复数 )；（事物的）面；方面

参考例句：

• The question had many facets. 这个问题是多方面的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A fully cut brilliant diamond has 68 facets. 经过充分切刻的光彩夺目的钻石有68个小平面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 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。

9 auctions   

n.拍卖，拍卖方式( auction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They picked up most of the furniture at auctions in country towns. 他们大部分的家具都是在乡村镇上的拍卖处买的。 来自辞典例句
• Our dealers didn't want these cars, so we had to dump them at auctions. 我们的承销商都不要这些车子，因此我们只好贱价拍卖。 来自辞典例句

10 celestial   

adj.天体的；天上的

参考例句：

• The rosy light yet beamed like a celestial dawn.玫瑰色的红光依然象天上的朝霞一样绚丽。
• Gravity governs the motions of celestial bodies.万有引力控制着天体的运动。