新奇事件簿 旧货市场发现价值3300万美金彩蛋

An extremely rare antique, decorative¹ egg designed by the legendary² Russian jeweller Peter Carl Fabergé has been unearthed³ at a second-hand⁴ goods market in the USA. A scrap⁵ dealer⁶ bought the golden egg at a bric-a-brac stall for $13,000. The unnamed trader intended to sell the egg for the scrap metal value of the gold. Fortunately for the antiques world, no one could match his asking price so the egg was not scrapped⁷. The egg had a small watch inside it. One evening the dealer typed the name of the watch's manufacturer and the word "egg" into Google. It was then he discovered he was in possession of a priceless gem⁸. The London-based Fabergé experts Wartski valued the egg at $33 million.

这是一个装饰精美、奇特的法贝勒彩蛋，它的创造者是传奇珠宝商彼得·卡尔·法贝勒，这个精美的彩蛋发现于美国的二手货市场。旧货经销商在古董摊位上以1万3千美金的价钱购买到了这个金灿灿的彩蛋。这位没有留下姓名的经销商本来想以黄金的价格销售这个彩蛋。幸运的是，在古董界，还没有人愿意出这么高的价钱，这个彩蛋并没有当废品回收。彩蛋内部有一个小型手表。一天晚上，经销商在谷歌上搜索了手表制作商和彩蛋的名字。他发现他得到了一件无价之宝。位于伦敦的法贝勒彩蛋专家瓦斯基认为这个彩蛋价值3300万美金。

The egg was made by Fabergé for Russian Tsar Alexander III in 1887. It was last seen in public in March 1902 at an exhibition in St Petersburg. Its whereabouts since has been the cause of considerable speculation⁹.Kieran McCarthy, director of Wartski, told reporters: "It's the most incredible discovery. We have so many discoveries but none of them are as momentous¹⁰ as this." He added: "For the Fabergé community…it is a wondrous¹¹ event because the Easter egg is the ultimate target for every antique dealer and every enthusiast¹²."Unfortunately, the egg might once again vanish from public view. Mr McCarthy said: "It may disappear into the deepest, darkest vaults¹³ of a collector somewhere."

1887年，法贝勒将这个彩蛋奉献给了俄国沙皇亚历山大三世。最后一次见到它是1902年3月的圣彼得堡展览上。它后来的去向引起了人们的广泛猜测。瓦斯基负责人基兰·麦卡锡告诉记者说：“这真是难以置信的发现。我们有许多发现，但是没有一个能于这一发现相媲美。”他还说：“对于法贝勒界来说，这是美妙的时刻，因为复活彩蛋是每一个古董商和粉丝的终极目标。”不幸的是，这个彩蛋又再一次消失在了公众的视野之中。麦卡锡说：“它很有可能落在了收藏家的手里，他们把它藏在了最隐蔽，埋藏最深的保险箱之中。”

1 decorative   

adj.装饰的，可作装饰的

参考例句：

• This ware is suitable for decorative purpose but unsuitable for utility.这种器皿中看不中用。
• The style is ornate and highly decorative.这种风格很华丽，而且装饰效果很好。

2 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

3 unearthed   

出土的（考古）

参考例句：

• Many unearthed cultural relics are set forth in the exhibition hall. 展览馆里陈列着许多出土文物。
• Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。

4 second-hand   

adj.用过的，旧的，二手的

参考例句：

• I got this book by chance at a second-hand bookshop.我赶巧在一家旧书店里买到这本书。
• They will put all these second-hand goods up for sale.他们将把这些旧货全部公开出售。

5 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

6 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

7 scrapped   

废弃(scrap的过去式与过去分词)； 打架

参考例句：

• This machine is so old that it will soon have to be scrapped. 这架机器太旧，快报废了。
• It had been thought that passport controls would be scrapped. 人们曾认为会放开护照管制。

8 gem   

n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel

参考例句：

• The gem is beyond my pocket.这颗宝石我可买不起。
• The little gem is worth two thousand dollars.这块小宝石价值两千美元。

9 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

10 momentous   

adj.重要的，重大的

参考例句：

• I am deeply honoured to be invited to this momentous occasion.能应邀出席如此重要的场合，我深感荣幸。
• The momentous news was that war had begun.重大的新闻是战争已经开始。

11 wondrous   

adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地

参考例句：

• The internal structure of the Department is wondrous to behold.看一下国务院的内部结构是很有意思的。
• We were driven across this wondrous vast land of lakes and forests.我们乘车穿越这片有着湖泊及森林的广袤而神奇的土地。

12 enthusiast   

n.热心人，热衷者

参考例句：

• He is an enthusiast about politics.他是个热衷于政治的人。
• He was an enthusiast and loved to evoke enthusiasm in others.他是一个激情昂扬的人，也热中于唤起他人心中的激情。

13 vaults   

n.拱顶( vault的名词复数 )；地下室；撑物跳高；墓穴

参考例句：

• It was deposited in the vaults of a bank. 它存在一家银行的保险库里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They think of viruses that infect an organization from the outside.They envision hackers breaking into their information vaults. 他们考虑来自外部的感染公司的病毒，他们设想黑客侵入到信息宝库中。 来自《简明英汉词典》