美国赠荷兰月球石竟为木化石

美国赠荷兰月球石竟为木化石
'Moon rock' given to Holland by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin is a fake

　　“阿波罗11号”的宇航员于1969年赠送给荷兰首相的月球石居然是假的。
　　A moon rock given to the Dutch prime minister by Apollo 11 astronauts in 1969 has turned out to be a fake.

　　这块石头现保存在阿姆斯特丹国立博物馆，每年吸引数十万游客。该馆馆长发现，这块价值号称30.8万英镑的“月亮石”实际上是块石化木。
　　Curators at Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum, where the rock has attracted tens of thousands of visitors each year, discovered that the "lunar rock", valued at £308,000, was in fact petrified wood.

　　负责调查监督的桑德拉•凡•盖尔德说，博物馆会继续将这块石头当作珍品保存。
　　Xandra van Gelder, who oversaw the investigation, said the museum would continue to keep the stone as a curiosity.

　　50年前，尼尔•阿姆斯特朗、迈克尔•柯林斯和爱德文•“巴茨”•奥尔德林在完成登月使命后进行了一次全球之旅，并在访问荷兰时将这块石头赠送给了荷兰前首相威廉•德雷斯。
　　The rock was given to Willem Drees, a former Dutch leader, during a global tour by Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin following their moon mission 50 years ago.

　　时任美国驻荷兰大使J•威廉•米登多夫将这块石头赠送给了德雷斯，1988年德雷斯去世之后，这块石头就被捐献给了荷兰国立博物馆。
　　J. William Middendorf, the former American ambassador to the Netherlands, made the presentation to Mr Drees and the rock was then donated to the Rijksmuseum after his death in 1988.

　　米登多夫说：“我记得德雷斯对这块小石头非常感兴趣。但是至于这块石头是假的一事，我完全不知情。”
　　"I do remember that Drees was very interested in the little piece of stone. But that it's not real, I don't know anything about that," Mr Middendorf said.

　　在1969年和20世纪70年代的几次登月后，美国宇航局向100多个国家赠送了月球石。
　　Nasa gave moon rocks to more than 100 countries following lunar missions in 1969 and the 1970s.

　　美国驻海牙大使馆正在对此事进行调查。
　　The United States Embassy in The Hague is carrying out an investigation into the affair.

　　阿姆斯特丹自由大学的研究人员称，他们一眼便能看出这块石头不可能来自月球，这一结论已通过测试证实。
　　Researchers from Amsterdam's Free University were able to tell at a glance that the rock was unlikely to be from the moon, a conclusion that was borne out by tests.

　　参与这次调查的地质学家弗兰克•比昂克说：“这只是一块普通的、没什么价值的石头。”
　　"It's a nondescript, pretty-much-worthless stone," said Frank Beunk, a geologist involved in the investigation.