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Money really does grow on trees – at least in Australia.
樹上真的可以長黃金——至少在澳大利亞是如此。
Scientists have found gold in the leaves of eucalyptus trees.
科學(xué)家們在桉樹樹葉里找到了黃金。
The particles are much too small to be seen with the naked eye but have been detected using a type of x-ray that is especially good at picking up trace amounts of metals and minerals.
這種樹葉中含有的黃金粒子十分微小，不足以憑肉眼觀察到，但是科學(xué)家們通過一種專門探查微量金屬和礦物的X射線儀器發(fā)現(xiàn)了它們。
However, gold hunters shouldn’t start felling gum trees in the hope of becoming rich.
但是，獵金者們大概不能通過伐木來采金致富。
Study leader Mel Lintern told the Brisbane Times: ‘If you had 500 eucalyptus trees growing over a gold deposit, they would only have enough gold in there to make a wedding ring.’
科研小組的領(lǐng)隊(duì)梅爾·林特恩對記者說，“如果讓500棵桉樹生長在一個金礦上，這些樹中收集到的金子大概足夠打一枚金戒指。”
The real value of the study is that nature’s own version of gold leaf could provide mine companies with an inexpensive and environmentally friendly indicator of where to drill test sites.
這一研究的真正價(jià)值在于，這種自然界而非小說里出現(xiàn)的金葉子可以充當(dāng)金屬探測器，這種探測方式既環(huán)保又方便，可以告訴探勘者在哪里能開采到金子。
The study by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Western Australia showed levels of the precious metal were highest in trees growing directly over gold seams, one of which was 115 feet down.
這項(xiàng)研究成果是由澳大利亞西部的聯(lián)邦科學(xué)與工業(yè)研究組織成員做出的，該研究組織發(fā)現(xiàn)，直接生長在金礦層上的桉樹葉中的黃金含量是最高的，其中一個金礦在地下115英尺（約35米）深。
The researchers believe the gold was taken up by the trees’ extensive roots from while scouring for water during times of drought.
研究者們相信，樹葉中含有的金子是樹根在干旱時(shí)期、四處蔓生以尋找水源時(shí)被吸取到樹中的。
It was then transported through the tree to the leaves, where concentrations are higher than in the twigs, trunk or surface soil.
被樹根吸取的金子被輸送到枝干和葉子中，金子在葉子中的密集度比在樹枝、樹干和表層土壤中都要高。
The researchers said: ‘Gold is probably toxic to plants and is moved to extremities, such as leaves in order to reduce deleterious biochemical reactions.’
研究者說，“對于植物來說，黃金是有毒的，因此黃金被傳送至樹葉等植物的末端，這樣可以減少破壞性的生化反應(yīng)。”
Writing in the journal Nature Communications, they said it was the first time that gold had been found naturally incorporated into a living thing.
這一研究成果已經(jīng)在《自然通訊》期刊上發(fā)表，科學(xué)家稱，這是人們首次在植物體內(nèi)發(fā)現(xiàn)自然貯藏的黃金。
