“金葉子”非虛構：樹葉中真有黃金
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.
科學家們在桉樹樹葉裏找到了黃金。
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，但是科學家們通過一種專門探查微量金屬和礦物的X射線儀器發現了它們。
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採金致富。
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.’
科研小組的領隊梅爾·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.
這一研究的真正價值在於，這種自然界而非小說裏出現的金葉子可以充當金屬探測器，這種探測方式既環保又方便，可以告訴探勘者在哪裏能開採到金子。
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.
這項研究成果是由澳大利亞西部的聯邦科學與工業研究組織成員做出的，該研究組織發現，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乾旱時期、四處蔓生以尋找水源時被吸取到樹中的。
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幹和葉子中，金子在葉子中的密集度比在樹枝、樹幹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，“對於植物來說，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。”
Writing in the journal Nature Communications, they said it was the first time that gold had been found naturally incorporated into a living thing.
這一研究成果已經在《自然通訊》期刊上發表，科學家稱，這是人們首次在植物體內發現自然貯藏的黃金。
