PTE阅读的Fill in the blanks一直都是对阅读部分影响最大的部分，而机经部分的出现几率也是比较高的。墨尔本悉尼霍巴特文波PTE在本文中，会带着大家具体分析一篇FIB中的机经文章。也希望大家在后期的准备中，对机经文章的消化做到精读，把其中不确定的单词都做积累，而不是只消化其他考生回忆的空。因为同一篇文章在考试中空的设置很可能是有多个版本的。

An exotic type of diamond may have come to Earth from outer space, scientists say. Called carbonado or “black” diamonds, the mysterious stones are found in Brazil and the Central Africa Republic. They are unusual for being the color of charcoal and full of frothy bubbles.

exotic: of foreign origin or characteristics 表示外来的，异国的。和后面的from outer space相呼应。

carbonado: 表示黑金刚石。不过这里不需要理解，因为后面有or black diamonds，说明是同一个意思，不同的说法而已。

frothy: full of or covered with a mass of small bubbles. 后面的bubbles呼应。这个单词在生活中也很常用，例如咖啡上的奶泡，就是就是froth这个单词。

The diamonds, which can weigh in at more than 3,600 carats, can also have a face that looks like melted glass. Because of their odd appearance, the diamonds are unsuitable as gemstones. But they do have industrial applications and were used in the drill bits that helped dig the Panama Canal.

weigh: 这个单词是考生回忆中考到的空。和后面的carats（克拉）呼应，表示重量的衡量。

odd: 也是考生回忆设置的空。这一空的选择主要依托于后面的unsuitable as gemstones. 因为gemstone表示经雕琢的宝石，那么如果黑金刚石不适合做的话，应该是因为它的外观不美观。所以odd appearance可以表示它奇怪的外表。

gemstone: a piece of mineral crystal, which in cut or polished form, is used to make jewelry. 表示经雕琢的宝石。

drill: 表示电钻的意思。和后面的dig相呼应。

Now a team led by Stephen Haggerty of Florida International University in Miami has presented a new study suggesting that the odd stones were brought to Earth by an asteroid billions of years ago. The findings were published online in the journal Astrophysical Journal Letters on December 20. The scientists exposed polished pieces of carbonado to extremely intense infrared light. The test revealed the presence of many hydrogen-carbon bonds, indicating that the diamonds probably formed in a hydrogen-rich environment—such as that found in space.

asteroid: representing minor planets, especially those of inner Solar System. 表示小行星。

astrophysical: a branch of astronomy that employs the principles of physics and chemistry. 表示天体物理学。

infrared light: 红外光。

The diamonds also showed strong similarities to tiny nanodiamonds, which are frequently found in meteorites. “They’re not identical.” Haggerty said, “but they’re very similar.”

similarities: 考生回忆的空。Similar to，和后面的to固定搭配。

identical: 考生回忆的空。表示exactly alike。和后面的they’re very similar称转折的关系，所以可以使用identical表示他们不是完全一样，但是非常类似。

Astrophysicists, he added, have developed theories predicting that nanodiamonds form easily in the titanic stellar explorations called supernovas, which scatter debris through interstellar space. The deposits in the Central Africa Republic and Brazil, he said, probably come from the impact of a diamond-rich asteroid billions of years ago, when South America and Africa were joined.

Titanic Stella Explorations & supernovas这里是过于专业的天文学知识，应该不是考试的设置点。相关知识可以从此处的链接了解一下：https://www.windows2universe.org/headline_universe/supernova.html

scatter：throw in various random directions. 和后面的debris碎片相呼应，表示使碎片分散。

deposits: 我们通常比较熟悉的deposit的意思是表示存钱的意思。其实，deposit还有一个不常用的意思to lay or throw down by a natural process。表示沉积，遗留物的意思。这里的意思是说小行星长期所遗留下来的残骸的意思。

墨尔本文波PTE-Grace老师

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