13 Forever Amber

Amber is a substance that lasts and lasts. Scientists are very glad of this. Without amber, we would not have many of the world’s important insect remains. Amber is a hard, yellowish-brown resin found in the earth. It is translucent, which means you can see through it. It is known for its ability to preserve things.

Long ago, amber was not as hard as it is today. It was soft and gummy. Insects that weren’t careful about where they walked often got trapped in it. The poor bugs that got caught in the sticky amber died. But they were forever preserved. The golden resin worked like a wax mold. It shaped itself around the insects. The resin hardened as the bodies of the dead insects slowly fell into decay.

The last traces of the insects trapped in amber have been gone for thousands of years. But the imprints of their bodies remained fixed in the hardened resin. Although the bugs are gone from the earth, their imprints remain for us to study. Many of these imprints are very fine and detailed. Preserved imprints of creatures and plants that once lived are called fossils. They help scientists learn more about life on earth in the past.

13 永恒的琥珀

琥珀是一种经久耐用的物质。科学家们对此非常欣慰。如果没有琥珀，我们就不会拥有世界上许多重要的昆虫遗骸。琥珀是一种在地下发现的坚硬的黄褐色树脂。它是半透明的，也就是说你可以透过它看到里面。它以其保存事物的能力而闻名。

很久以前，琥珀并不像今天这么坚硬。它又软又黏。那些不注意行走地点的昆虫常常会被困在里面。那些不幸陷入粘性琥珀中的虫子死了，但它们被永远保存了下来。这种金黄色的树脂就像蜡模一样发挥作用，围绕着昆虫形成自己的形状。随着死去昆虫的尸体慢慢腐烂，树脂变硬了。

被困在琥珀中的昆虫的最后痕迹已经消失了数千年，但它们身体的印记仍然固定在硬化的树脂中。尽管这些虫子已经从地球上消失了，但它们的印记仍然留存供我们研究。许多这些印记非常精细且细节丰富。曾经存在的生物和植物的保存印记被称为化石，它们帮助科学家更多地了解过去地球上的生命。