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進入《中英對照讀新聞》 Ancient diamonds unlock secrets of early Earth古老的鑽石揭開早期地球的秘密
Diamonds more than 4 billion years old -- nearly as old as the Earth itself -- have been discovered in Western Australia, giving scientists vital clues about the early history of our planet.
西澳大利亞省發現存在超過40億年、幾乎和地球一樣老的鑽石，提供科學家關於地球早期歷史的關鍵線索。
Found trapped in zircon crystals in the Jack Hills region, the small gems are the oldest identified fragments of the Earth’s crust and their existence suggests the Earth may have cooled faster than previously thought, experts said.
這些鑽石是在傑克．西爾斯地區的鋯石結晶中被發現，是迄今經確認最古老的地殼碎片，它們的存在顯示地球冷卻的速度可能比之前想像的還快，專家表示。
The time between the creation of the Earth around 4.5 billion years ago and the formation of the oldest known rocks some 500 million years later is known as the Hadean period -- the "dark ages" of geology.
地球生成於45億年前，而已知最早的岩石約在5億年後出現，兩者之間的時期被稱為「隱生宙」─也就是地質學上的「黑暗時期」。
Many geologists have traditionally thought of it as a time when the surface of the planet was a mass of molten lava. But the discovery of the ancient diamonds, reported in the journal Nature, challenges that view.
許多地質學家一直認為，地表在隱生宙期間是一片熔岩。但據「自然」期刊報導，新發現的遠古鑽石將挑戰上述主張。
Researchers said the presence of diamonds implied there was a relatively thick continental crust as early as 4.25 billion years ago, suggesting it may have taken only around 200 million years for the Earth’s surface to cool enough for water to condense and oceans to form.
研究人員說，鑽石的出現代表最早在42億5千萬年前，相對較厚的大塊地殼就已經出現，意味著地表可能只經過2億年就冷卻下來，讓水可以凝聚、海洋可以形成。
Dictionary 新聞辭典
clue：名詞，線索、跡象、提示。I have no clue to his whereabouts.（我不知他在哪裡。）
molten：形容詞，熔化的、熔解的。動詞melt，熔化、熔解。Ice melts fast in hot water.（冰在熱水中很快融化。）
condense：動詞，壓縮、濃縮、凝結。名詞 condensation，濃縮、凝聚、冷凝，anti-condensation，抗霧、抗凝結（效果）。
