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Have you ever seen a pearl?
你见过珍珠吗？
Maybe you see one on an earring or a few of them lined up on a necklace.
也许你看到耳环上有一颗，又或者项链上的几颗珍珠。
Pearls are really pretty and they belong to a group of materials called gemstones,
珍珠非常漂亮，它们属于一种叫做宝石的材料，
like diamonds, rubies and emeralds that are used to make jewelry.
和钻石、红宝石和祖母绿一样，用于制作珠宝首饰。
Jewelry just like Squeaks' necklaces.
珠宝就像吱吱的项链。
Pearls and other gemstones have a lot in common.
珍珠和其他宝石有许多共同点。
They're shiny, usually hard to find and people like to make things with them.
它们都闪闪发光、难以找到，人们喜欢用它们制作东西。
But pearls are extra special, because they're made very differently from a normal gemstone.
但是珍珠又非常特殊，因为它们的制作过程和普通宝石非常不同。
Most gemstones are made by changes that happen in the Earth.
大部分宝石都是地球发生变化时产生的。
when a bit of rock gets very hot or the other rocks around it push down on it very hard,
当一小块岩石变得非常热，或者受到其他的岩石大力挤压时，
it can turn into a shiny gemstone like a diamond or emerald.
它就会转变成闪亮的宝石，如钻石或祖母绿。
Well, Squeaks, pearls are different.
但是，吱吱，珍珠不同。
Because they aren't made by changes in the Earth, instead, they're made by an animal, an oyster.
因为它们不是由地球变化产生的，相反，它们是由一种叫牡蛎的动物产生的。
Oyster are creatures that live in the ocean,
牡蛎生活在海里，
their bodies are mostly one big muscle inside a shell,
它们的身体主要是壳里的一大块肌肉，
which they build themselves just like a snail or a clam.
它们的构造就像蜗牛或蛤蜊。
Wow, an oyster shell is normally clamped shut, sometimes it has to reach out of its shell to grab food.
哇，牡蛎的壳通常紧紧合着，有时它不得不从壳里伸出来抓取食物。
And after it eats, sometimes a little bit of food or other left-over stuff can get stuck inside of the shell.
吃完后，有时会有食物残渣或残留物卡在壳里。
Oysters have a very hard time getting a little pieces like that out of their shells.
牡蛎非常辛苦地把这些物质清除出去。
And that little bit of left-over food can sometimes become really uncomfortable.
这些食物残渣有时让它们很不舒服。
Yes, Squeaks, it is a lot like getting a rock stuck in your shoe,
是的，吱吱，这就像你鞋里进了一块石头，
except you can't just take your shoe off to get it out.
你又不能脱鞋把它们清理掉。
Since it's not easy for oysters to get that little piece of food or dirt out of their shell,
因为牡蛎清除壳里的食物残渣或灰尘并不容易，
they try to make it a little less scratchy by coating it in something called nacre.
它们就试图用一种叫珍珠层的物质包裹它，使它不那么刺痒。
That's the same stuff they used to build their shells and it's very strong and shiny.
珍珠层与制造牡蛎壳的东西是同一种物质，它非常坚固闪亮。
There's something else about nacre that makes it great for protecting the oyster from something scratchy.
珍珠层能防痒还有其他的原因。
Can you guess what it is?
你知道是什么吗？
That's right, Squeaks, it's also very smooth.
吱吱，你说对了，它非常光滑。
And oyster can coat a little bit of trap food in lots of layers of nacre,
牡蛎可以用多层珍珠层包裹食物，
slowly smoothing out any sharp edges or point.
慢慢地磨平任何尖锐的边缘或尖端。
The little bit of food becomes smoother, rounder and shinier.
这样食物残渣就会变得更加光滑、圆润和闪亮。
And the oyster adds more layers until it doesn't hurt anymore.
牡蛎会添加更多的珍珠层，直到它不再受伤为止。
As it makes itself more comfortable, the oyster also creates something beautiful, a pearl.
因为它变得更舒服了，牡蛎也创造出了漂亮的东西，珍珠。
Not all pearls are big though or even round, they come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and colors.
不过，不是所有的珍珠都大而圆润，它们大小不一、形态各异、五颜六色。
Pearls can be white or pink or blue or purple or even green.
珍珠可能是白的，也可能是粉的、蓝的、紫的，甚至是绿的。
Even though they're made differently from other gemstones, pearls are still pretty rare.
即使它们的制作过程与其他宝石不同，但仍非常稀有。
Oh, they're rare because not every oyster will make pearl, Squeaks.
哦，吱吱，它们稀有是因为不是每个牡蛎都会产生珍珠。
If it doesn't get something stuck in its shell, it doesn't need to make one.
如果没有东西卡在壳里，它们就不必产生珍珠了。
In fact, most oysters never make a pearl at all.
事实上，大部分牡蛎都不会产生珍珠。
And if an oyster does make a pearl, it can take years for the pearl to get big enough to be used for jewelry.
如果一个牡蛎产生了一颗珍珠，那么这颗珍珠要花上好几年才能被用来制作珠宝首饰。
They start out incredibly small and it takes lots of layers of nacre for them to grow to a bigger size.
它们开始时非常小，需要大量的珍珠层才能长到更大的尺寸。
That's part of what makes pearls special.
这就是珍珠的特殊之处。
How uncommon they are!
它们是多么罕见！
People have been diving into the ocean to look for pearls for an incredibly long time, they don't always find one.
人们很长一段时间内潜入海洋寻找珍珠，但并不总能找到。
But if they're lucky, they'll find some very pretty one.
但如果他们幸运的话，会发现一些非常漂亮的珍珠。
Some people even find pearls by accident while they're eating oysters.
有些人甚至在吃牡蛎的时候都能偶然发现珍珠。
A few years ago, one woman found 50 tiny pearls in an oyster when she bit into it.
几年前，一个女人在吃牡蛎的时候发现了50颗小珍珠。
Can you imagine if you could make pearls like an oyster?
你能想象自己像牡蛎一样产生珍珠吗？
What do you think they'd look like?
你觉得它们长什么样？
And do you have any questions about oysters or gemstones or anything at all?
你对于牡蛎、宝石之类的有什么疑问吗？
Ask a grown-up to help you leave a comment down below or send us an email to kids@scishow.com
找个大人在下方留言或发邮件至kids@scishow.com。
Thanks and we'll see you next time, here at the Fort.
感谢您的收看，我们下期见，沃斯堡等你哦！
