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1、Gems:Treasuresfrom the EarthA Reading AZ Level S Leveled BookWord Count:1,137Visit www.readinga- for thousands of books and materials.www.readinga-LEVELED READER ALEVELED BOOK SWritten by Molly ChenSVYGEMSTreasures from the EarthGems:Treasures from the EarthLevel S Leveled Book Learning AZWritten by

2、 Molly ChenIllustrated by Cende HillAll rights reserved.www.readinga-Photo Credits:Front cover,back cover,title page,pages 4(top right),5(center,bottom),11(bottom left),20(top),21,22(all):Learning AZ;pages 4(left,bottom right),10,11(bottom right),17(bottom),19(top),20(bottom),23:Jupiterimages Corpor

3、ation;page 5(top):courtesy of USGS;page 8:iS Pintus:page 9:Colin Keates/Dorling Kindersley;page 11(top):REUTERS/Mark Baker;page 14:Gary Cook/Visuals Unlimited,Inc.;page 15:courtesy of USGS;page 16:Steve Cole/Photodisc/Getty Images;page 17(top):Smithsonian Institution/Corbis;page 18(left):iS 18(cente

4、r):iS 18(right):iS 19(bottom):Siede Preis/Photodisc/Getty Imageswww.readinga-Written by Molly ChenGEMSTreasures from the EarthCorrelationLEVEL SO3434Fountas&PinnellReading RecoveryDRAGems:Treasures from the Earth Level S 34Table of ContentsIntroduction.4How Are Gems Formed?.6Try This.8How Do Gems Ge

5、t into Jewelry?.10What Makes Gems Valuable?.13Hardness and the Mohs Scale .15What Are Some Types of Gems?.16Conclusion .23Glossary .24Introduction Many people consider gems to be Earths most beautiful creations.They are willing to spend thousands of dollars for even a small bit of that beauty.Many g

6、ems decorate the most beautiful and valuable jewelry.Gems:Treasures from the Earth Level S 56How Are Gems Formed?Crystals are special forms of minerals.Every mineral is made of millions of particles called atoms.In most rocks,the atoms are mixed together.But in crystals,the atoms are arranged in nea

7、t,orderly patterns.Crystals have flat sides,called faces,which form shapes.Examples of Crystal ShapescubictrigonaltetragonalhexagonalmonoclinicGarnet,a crystal(top);turquoise,a stone(center);natural pearl,an organic gem(bottom)There are three main types of gems.The first two,crystals and stones,are

8、made of minerals,the natural,nonliving substances that make up most rocks.Crystals are minerals that form in tight shapes and neat patterns.Stones are mixed minerals that have beautiful colors and patterns but do not have strict shapes.The third group,organic gems,are made by living things.Gems:Trea

9、sures from the Earth Level S 78Most crystals form deep within the earth under very special conditions.Some,like diamonds,form when the mineral is squeezed under layers of rocks.The squeezing forces the atoms to arrange themselves in the smallest shape possible.Others,such as sapphires,form when a mi

10、neral gets so hot inside the earth that it melts.As it slowly cools,the atoms form a regular crystal pattern.And still other gems,such as opals,form when minerals dissolve in water.As the water evaporates very slowly,the mineral left behind forms a crystal.Diamonds are formed deep inside Earths mant

11、le.Volcanic eruptions bring the diamonds to the surface.volcanolayers ofEarthscrustpressurefromgravityheatheatdiamondsmantlemagma Make your own crystals!Rock salt,also known as halite,forms when salty seas evaporate.You can watch a much smaller version of this same process using just water and ordin

12、ary salt.1 Mix a tablespoon of salt into a cup of warm water.Stir it until it dissolves.2 Keep adding salt,a little at a time,until no more salt will dissolve.3 Put a clean toothpick in the water.4 Place the cup somewhere warm in the Sun.As the water evaporates,crystals will form on the toothpick an

13、d the sides of the cup.5 Look at the crystals under a magnifying glass.What do they look like?Try ThisGems:Treasures from the Earth Level S 910The minerals in stones do not form orderly patterns,and they may have other minerals mixed in.Stones often form in layers that make streaks and lines,called

14、the grain.Organic gems,which include pearls,amber,and coral,come from living things.Pearls begin when a grain of sand gets trapped inside an oysters shell.The oyster covers the grain with layers of the material it uses to build its shell.Coral is made of skeletons left behind by millions of tiny sea

15、 creatures.Amber began millions of years ago as tree sap.Amber often contains the fossils of insects or spiders that got caught in the sap.Oysters create pearls.How Do Gems Get into Jewelry?Most mineral gems are found deep within the earth.Because gems are so small and rare,mining is often still don

16、e by hand.Miners must chip and cut at the rock,looking for stones within it.Opal mines are simple holes in the ground.Do You Know?Opals form when mineral-rich water evaporates from cracks underground.This leaves a streak of mineral crystal in the rock.Streaks of crystal are called veins.The best opa

17、ls in the world are found in veins under the ground in the Australian desert town of Coober Pedy.In the Australian Aborigine language,“Coober Pedy”means“white man in a hole.”Gems:Treasures from the Earth Level S 1112The popular brilliant-cut style is often used with diamonds.This style has many face

18、ts that reflect light off the gem.Deep green emeralds are often cut into a style called the step cut.The rose cut was often found on older gems.The oldest style of cut,the cabochon(KAB-uh-shon),is simply rounded and polished.It is most often used with opaque stones.Other gems,such as jade and coral,

19、can be carved into small shapes.Cutting styles(top and side views)show gems best features.steprosecabochoncarvingbrilliantWhen a miner finds a gem,it is often very rough.Its surface looks dull.Its shape is bumpy.Gems often have cracks,dark marks,bubbles,and other flaws.Gem cutters cut gems into regu

20、lar shapes that show off their best parts and cover their flaws.Most crystal gems are cut into flat surfaces called facets.Facets show off the gems color and pattern,and allow it to sparkle.An uncut diamond looks uneven and flawed.A cut diamond reflects lots of sparkle.Gems:Treasures from the Earth

21、Level S 1314The next of the four Cs,color,is one of the things that makes gems beautiful.Unlike regular rocks,gems have bright,pure,strong colors.The stronger and purer the color,the more valuable the gem is.Often,the same mineral can form different-colored gems.Red rubies and blue sapphires both co

22、ntain the same mineral.The different colors come from tiny bits of other chemicals mixed with the main mineral.Clarity refers to how flawless the gem is.Gems with dark marks,cracks,and bubbles are less valuable than gems without these flaws.Gems that are cloudy are also less valuable than clearer ge

23、ms.But clarity is often not as important as the size and rarity of a gem.Emeralds often have many flaws,but because they are so rare,a flawed emerald is more valuable than a flawless diamond.This uncut emerald shows many cracks and other flaws.What Makes Gems Valuable?Gems are valuable because they

24、are beautiful and they are rare.The value of a gem is determined by the gems hardness and a system called the“four Cs”:cut,carat weight,color,and clarity.Cut refers to how well the gem is cut and polished,or how beautiful the natural gem is.Carat weight is the size of the stone.One carat weighs abou

25、t as much as a piece of unpopped popcorn.Do You Know?The word carat comes from the seeds of the carob tree.For centuries,jewelers weighed gems according to carob seeds,which grow in pods.The seeds are incredibly similar in weight,no matter which tree or pod they come from.The modern carat weighs abo

26、ut as much as one carob seed.Gems:Treasures from the Earth Level S 1516 Gems Around the World Africa North America South America Europe Asia Australia South PacificDiamondEmeraldJadeOpalPearlQuartzRubySapphireTurquoiseWhat Are Some Types of Gems?Diamonds are the hardest natural things in the world.B

27、ecause diamonds can cut anything,including metal and stone,flawed diamonds are often put on saws and drill tips.Very rare diamonds can be yellow,red,or blue.Diamonds are extremely popular for engagement rings.Hardness and the Mohs ScaleHardness indicates how pure and tightly structured the mineral i

28、s in a gemstone.A geologist named Friedrich Mohs developed a scale to test the hardness of gemstones.He simply scratched one gem with another.A gem can only scratch other gems that are softer than it is.Diamond,the hardest substance on Earth,can scratch anything but can only be scratched by another

29、diamond.The Mohs scale measures the hardness of various gems.For comparison,a fingernail has a hardness of 2.5,and a penknife measures 5.5.1 Talc 2 Gypsum 3 Calcite 4 Fluorite 5 Apatite 6 Orthoclase 7 Quartz 8 Topaz 9 Emerald 10 Diamond12345678910Apatite is a gemstone of medium hardness.Gems:Treasur

30、es from the Earth Level S 1718Rubies and sapphires are made of the same mineral.Rubies are always blood-red or pink.Any other form of the mineral,no matter the color,is considered a sapphire.Red ruby(left)and two sapphires,one blue and one yellowDo You Know?Birthstones were first worn in the Middle

31、Ages.Astrologers and fortune-tellers often associated birthdays with certain stars,planets,flowers,and gems.Your gemstone supposedly brought you good luck,protection,and wealth.There are different lists of birthstones in different places.The following is a current list of birthstones in the United S

32、tates.January Garnet July RubyFebruary Amethyst August PeridotMarch Aquamarine September SapphireApril Diamond October OpalMay Emerald November TopazJune Pearl December TurquoiseOne of the most famous diamonds,the Hope diamond,is not the largest,but it is an unusual sky-blue color.The largest diamon

33、d ever found is the Cullinan diamond,which was discovered in South Africa.It weighed over 3,100 carats and was as large as a pineapple.The Hope diamond is one of the most famous diamonds in the world.Do You Know?Graphite,or pencil lead,is exactly the same mineral as diamonds.In graphite,the atoms ar

34、e arranged in loose layers.This makes graphite very softso soft that if you rub it on a piece of paper,the atoms break off,leaving a pencil mark.In diamonds,those same atoms have been squeezed together so tightly that nothing except another diamond can scratch them off.Gems:Treasures from the Earth

35、Level S 1920The quartz family is the most common of all crystals.Quartz is found all over the world,in all colors of the rainbow.The most valuable quartz is a stone called opal.Quartz crystals are common and can grow very large.Emeralds are another kind of crystal and are known for their strong gree

36、n color.Gem-quality emeralds are rare and usually small,but people prize their color so much that emeralds are more valuable than diamonds.Jade is one of the most beautiful stones.Jade can be lavender,white,and almost every shade of green,which is the most valuable.Jade figurine(top);carving jade(ab

37、ove)Gems:Treasures from the Earth Level S 2122Blue-green turquoise often has pretty spots and streaks running through it.Much of the worlds turquoise is set in silver.Turquoise is often specked and striped with black.Natural pearls are not perfectly round and are very rare.It takes an oyster many ye

38、ars to create a pearl from a tiny bit of sand.Almost all of the beautiful round pearls in jewelry stores come from pearl farms.Pearl farmers place a round shell bead into an oysters shell.The oyster covers the bead with a special substance to create a perfectly round pearl.Natural pearls(inset)are r

39、are and oddly shaped;cultured pearls from pearl farms are round.Gems:Treasures from the Earth Level S 2324Glossaryatoms(n.)tiny particles that make up all substances(p.6)crystals(n.)minerals formed in regular,tight patterns(p.5)facets(n.)flat surfaces of a cut gemstone(p.11)grain(n.)lines and patter

40、ns made by layers of minerals in a stone(p.9)opaque(adj.)not see-through(p.12)organic gems(n.)gems made from substances created by living things (p.5)ConclusionBeautiful gems can be found around the world.For centuries,people have killed and died for them.Mining gems with dynamite and strip mines is

41、 often dangerous,damaging both humans and the earth.Scientists can grow gems in the lab that are identical to the finest natural gems but cost a thousand times less.One day,created gems might help fill our desire for gemstones beauty while protecting Earth and its people.This strip mine clears an immense area of land.