2014届高考英语考前突破阅读理解能力：《某些树叶可指示金矿的存在》.docVIP

某些树叶可指示金矿的存在 Money might not grow on trees, but scientists have confirmed that gold is found in the leaves of some plants. 钱不会长在树上，但是科学家证实从某些树的叶子中可以找到黄金。The scientists found traces of gold in the leaves of Eucalyptus trees ? Researchers from Australia say that the presence of the particles in a eucalyptus（桉树） trees foliage（叶子） indicates that deposits are buried many metres below. ? They believe that the discovery offers a new way to locate the sought-after metal in difficult-to-reach locations.? ? The research is published in the journal Nature Communications. ? Dr Mel Lintern, a geochemist from Australias Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), said: Weve found a lot of the easy deposits in Australia and elsewhere in the world as well.? ? Now we are trying to tackle finding these more difficult ones that are buried beneath tens of metres of river sediments and sand dunes.? ? And the trees are providing us with a method to be able to do this. ? Buried treasure ? Gold particles have been found around the soils of eucalyptus trees, but the researchers confirmed that the plants were taking in the element.? ? Using the Australian synchrotron - a vast machine that uses X-rays to probe matter in remarkable detail - they found traces of gold in the leaves, twigs and bark of some trees. ? The amounts of the precious metal were tiny. ? Weve done a calculation, and found that we need 500 trees growing over a gold deposit to have enough gold in the trees themselves to make a gold ring, said Dr Lintern. ? However, the presence of the particles pointed to greater riches buried more than 30m below. ? Dr Lintern said: We believe that the trees are acting like a hydraulic（液压的） pump. They are bringing life-giving water from their roots, and in so doing, they are taking smaller dissolved gold particles up through the vascular system into the foliage. ? Currently, the metal is found in outcrops（露出地面的岩层）, where the ore appears at the surface, or it is det