:紐約街頭遍地黃金鑽石英語閱讀文章

Modern-Day Prospector: Man Digs for Gold andDiamondsin Manhattan現代淘金人：曼哈頓街道上淘黃金鑽石

The California gold rush that ignited in 1848 saw fortune-seekers poring over hundreds of miles of northern California for tiny bits of bling. One modern-day panner finds his fortune on the 0.2-mile stretch of 47th Street in midtown Manhattan.還記得始自1848年的加利福尼亞淘金潮嗎？懷揣發財夢的尋金者把加州北部數百英里的河道翻了個遍，只為找尋那些金光閃閃的小顆粒。在紐約曼哈頓0.2英里（約321米）長的第47街上，一位現代淘金者發現了屬於他的金礦。

As an urban panner, Raffi Stepanian hangs around the glitziest part of the city: the Diamond District. But he’s not dabbling in the trade in the shops and boutiques – he’s digging around in the sidewalk cracks for fractures and splinters of the precious metals and gems.城市淘金者拉菲?斯捷潘尼揚（Raffi Stepanian）的身影活躍在紐約城最繁華的地段：鑽石區。可他的工作不在商鋪和精品店裡——從人行道的縫隙裡找尋貴金屬和寶石碎屑才是他的致富之道。

So it’s not a historic fortune, but Stepanian has made up to $300 a day with his urban panning technique. His materials are simple: a butter knife, a dustpan and a coffee can. Scouring the streets on his hands and knees, he collects gold dust and flakes buried in dirt and pavement. Tiny gold links, rubies and even diamonds are embedded in the mud packed into the sidewalk cracks. Most bits, he says, have been inadvertently dropped by sellers or buyers and are too small to see by the average pedestrian – which helps Stepanian bring in profits. A diamond mere millimeters in diameter can fetch up to $30 when he sells it back, due largely to the fact that the stone is already cut and polished.這稱不上鉅額的財富，但憑藉自己的城市淘金術，斯捷潘尼揚每天能有300美元的收入。他的工具非常簡單：一把餐刀，一張畚箕，還有一個咖啡罐。斯捷潘尼揚要做的就是匍匐著搜尋整條街面，把埋在人行道塵土裡的金粉和寶石碎片收集起來。人行道磚縫的泥土裡可能埋著小段的金鍊，紅寶石甚至鑽石。他說這些大都是賣家和買主在無意中掉落的，碎片實在太小，尋常路人很難發現——這就成了斯捷潘尼揚賺錢的門路。因為這些鑽石已經經過了切割和拋光，一粒直徑只有幾毫米的鑽石就能賣到30美元。

As for the gold, this modern-day prospector pans it like it’s 1848. With a filter, he strains out the dirt and crud that takes up much of his take-away. Then he pans it, just like the old days, shaking the tub of dirt so that the gold sinks to the bottom. What’s left looks like tiny specks, but when added together can be sold for big bucks. Stepanian has become a viral celebrity for his innovative but primitive work. Don’t believe it? He was featured on the skepticism-based show Penn and Teller Tell a Lie, and his story checked out as verifiable fact.至於黃金，這位現代探礦者淘金的法子還和1848年時相差無幾。他先用濾器把收集物裡的泥土和汙物過濾掉。接下來，他會像過去的淘金者一樣，用篩分法揀出沉在底部的金粒。這些金粒看起來很小，但積少成多，加在一起就能賣個大價錢。這也算是淘金這項老行當裡的新創意了，正因如此，斯捷潘尼揚已經成了一個名人。他還參加了一檔辨別真假的電視節目（Penn & Teller Tell a Lie）的錄製，當然，他的'故事被證實是真的。

While it might not be the most stable income, Stepanian claims he makes enough to live off of. And he gets to bring truth to the old saying that the streets of New York City are paved with gold. You might laugh this off as an unrealistic proverb. But Stepanian is laughing too – all the way to the bank.雖然淘金的收入並不穩定，但斯捷潘尼揚說他完全能夠以此過活。他的經歷證明了一句老話：紐約的街道是黃金鋪就的。你可能把這句話當做不實的諺語一笑置之。而斯捷潘尼揚也在開心的笑著——走在去往銀行的路上。