住在北卡罗莱纳州十二岁的迈克尔，在阿肯色州的州立钻石坑公园里的地上发现了一粒5.16克拉的钻石。他是与他家人到这里来度假的。七月三十一日，因为下雨，他们早晨醒来的时候几乎不想去那个公园。但是迈克尔的爸爸觉得雨不大，也没有闪电，所以就决定按计划去挖钻石。迈克尔只用了十分钟就发现了这粒如同豆子那么大的钻石。起初，他并不知道他所发现的有多大的价值。他只是注意到这一小粒石子像镜子一样闪亮，光滑，他不知道这是一粒钻石。他就把这粒“石头”与他捡到的其他很酷的石头都放在袋子里。当他们要离开公园的时候，他爸爸就让他和他妹妹花一点时间与公园的管理人员，说一说他们发现的石头，并让他们对这些石头作鉴定。

迈克尔告诉美国广播公司的记者，“当我从袋子里拿出这块石头的时候，那个人惊讶地瞪大了眼睛，然后说，‘等一下，我要把这拿到后面的房间里去。’”“于是，人们从各处都跑来看，‘哦，这真是一粒大钻石啊！’”

公园的管理人员告诉迈克尔，如果这粒钻石让专业人员来切割、抛光，这粒钻石的价值将接近一万五千美元，也就是九万人民币。当人们问迈克尔对这粒钻石有什么计划的时候，他说他将会让专业人员来切割，然后出售。如果这粒钻石不能被切割的话，他将把它留下作为纪念品。

钻石坑公园是世界上唯一的一个公园可以让大众进入来挖掘钻石。当你挖到了钻石，那钻石也就是你的了，而且你不需要付任何额外的费用。这个公园是在1956年对大众开放的。在成为州立公园以前，这块地是由一位名叫约翰·亨得斯顿的农民所有。在1906年，就这块地里发现了第一粒钻石。至此以后已经发现了超过七万五千粒的钻石。对迈克尔来说，这将是他永远不会忘记的度假了！

钻石坑公园的网站：

http://www.craterofdiamondsstatepark.com/

讨论问题：

1.    如果你发现了这样的钻石，你会怎么做？

2.    如果有人给你九万人民币，那你会用这些钱来做什么？

3.    你是不是在度假的时候发现过任何有价值的东西？

Michael, a 12 year old boy from North Carolina, found a 5.16 carat diamond on the ground at the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas. He was on vacation at the park with his family. When the family woke up on July 31st they almost did not go to the park because it was raining. Michael’s father decided since it was a light rain with no lightening the family would go ahead with plans to dig for diamonds. It only took 10 minutes for Michael to find the diamond, about the size of a small bean. At first he did not realize what he had found. He noticed that the small rock was glassy and smooth, but he did not know it was a diamond. He placed it in his bag with other “cool” rocks he had found. When the time came to leave the park his father gave Michael and his sister time to talk to park officials and have them examine the rocks they had found.

“When I brought this rock out of the bag the guy who’s there, he just went bug-eyed and he said, 'Hang on a second. I need to take this to the back room,’” Michael told ABC. “So then people start coming from everywhere and they’re like, 'Oh yeah. It’s a big diamond.’”

Park officials told Michael that if the diamond could be cut by a professional and polished it would have a value of nearly $15,000. (over 90,000 RMB) When people asked Michael what his plans were for the diamond he has said he would try to have it cut and sell it. If the diamond could not be cut then he would keep it as a souvenir.

Crater of Diamonds State Park is the only public park in the world where the public is allowed to dig for diamonds and to keep them with no extra fees. The park was opened in 1956. Before it was a park the land was owned by a local farmer, John Huddleston. The first diamond on the land was found in 1906. Since then more than 75,000 diamonds have been found at the site. For Michael it will be a vacation he will never forget.

http://www.craterofdiamondsstatepark.com/ park website

QUESTIONS:

1.      What would you do if it were you who found a diamond?

2.      What would you do if you were given 90,000 RMB?

3.      Have you ever found something valuable while on vacation?