Worth Its Weight in Gold稀土如金

Rare earths include 17 nearly identical， silvery-white， heavy metals. While they are relatively plentiful in Earth’s crust—even more abundant than copper—their production proves challenging. Rare earths tend to be spread out in their ores. So， getting purified rare earth metals requires processing enormous amounts of raw ore at great expense， thus making it “rare”.

You might think you would only come across rare earths in your chemistry textbook， but in fact they are part of your daily life. A typical example is their contributions to smartphones. Neodymium， for example， plays a crucial role in making the tiny yet powerful magnets responsible for the vibrations in your phone. Meanwhile， elements like terbium are responsible for producing the bright and pretty colors that grace your screen.

稀土是17种十分相似的银白色重金属元素的总称。虽然它们在地壳中广为存在，甚至比铜含量还高，但将它们运用于生产生活并不容易。稀土以稀土矿的形态存在，而想要采获高纯度稀土，需要进行大规模、高成本的开矿，这也是稀土之所以“稀有”的原因。

你或许认为你只在化学课本中见过稀土，但其实它们就在你的日常生活中。一个典型的例子是它们在手机中的运用。比如，钕，它对手机中微小但强力的振动磁铁起到至关重要的作用。再比如，像铽这样的元素就作用于手机屏幕的亮度和色彩。

Known as the “vitamins of modern industry”， the rare earth resource has been used in many industries. In national defense and security， they are used to make things like precision-guided missiles， night vision goggles， and lightweight armor. For example， each US F-35 fighter jet contains about 417 kilograms of rare earths， reported The Washington Post. Rare earths are also key to making semiconductors. Being great at controlling conductivity， they can help make semiconductors smaller and more efficient.

China holds an absolute advantage in this area. Having over one-third of the global rare earth reserves， China uses cutting-edge techniques for rare earth purification.

With strong determination， China aims to safeguard this precious resource and make the best of it to power its ongoing development.

稀土资源号称“现代工业的维生素”，被广泛应用于工业生产。在国家防御安全系统中，稀土被应用于制造精确制导导弹、夜视镜、轻装盔甲等设备。比如，据《华盛顿邮报》报道，一架F-35战机要用417千克稀土。稀土也是生产半导体的关键。由于具有强控制传导性，因此稀土可以用于生产更小但更高效的半导体。

中国在该领域拥有绝对性的优势。中国拥有超过世界总储量三分之一的稀土资源，并利用前沿技术开采、提纯稀土。

中国有决心保护好珍贵的稀土资源，并在未来的发展中对其进行充分利用。

Word Bank

abundant /ə'bʌndənt/ adj. 丰富的；大量的

Fish are abundant in the lake.

vibration /vaɪ'breɪʃn/ n. 震动；颤动

grace /ɡreɪs/ v. 为增色；为锦上添花

The table graced the drawing room.

ongoing /'ɒnɡəʊɪŋ/ adj. 不断发展的