英语听力精选进阶版 7087

Background: 中国科学家近期在中国东部发现了迄今为止规模最大的恐龙化石群。专家说，自2008年3月以来他们已经成功挖掘出7600具恐龙骨骼化石，并希望借此破解这类庞大物种灭绝之谜。

Zhucheng in Shandong province is known locally as dinosaur¹ 恐龙 city and has been the scene of several important finds since the 1960s.

But researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences say a fossil field 化石场 discovered during mining explorations 矿产开采 earlier this year appears to be the largest in the world.

3000 dinosaur bones have been dug up from a single pit 坑 just a few hundred metres long and several thousand others have been unearthed² 挖掘 at a number of sites nearby.

State media say the find includes tyrannosaurus 暴龙 bones as well as what could be the largest duck-billed 鸭嘴恐龙 dinosaur ever excavated³ 挖掘.

Most of the fossils dated so far go back to the late Cretaceous period白垩时代, which is around the time when dinosaurs⁴ became extinct 灭绝.

The scientists say the discovery of so many remains⁵ in a small area could provide clues 线索 as to how they died out.

Detailed⁶ research on the fossil find is due to be published later next year but further excavations⁸ will take place in the meantime and the researchers are hoping to find even more dinosaur remains 遗迹.

GLOSSARY⁹ 词汇表

dinosaur 恐龙

fossil field 化石场

mining explorations 矿产开采

pit 坑

unearthed 挖掘

tyrannosaurus 暴龙

duck-billed 鸭嘴恐龙

excavated 挖掘

Cretaceous period白垩时代

extinct 灭绝

clues 线索

remains 遗迹

Questions and Answers

1. How was the fossil field found? 

It was found during exploration for new mines.

2. True or False? The bones were all found in a single excavation⁷.

False, fossils have been found in a several places near each other.

3. What kinds of fossils have been found? 

Scientists have discovered Tyrannosaurus bones and the remains of a duck-billed dinosaur.

4. Which prehistoric¹⁰ era do the bones come from?

They are from the Cretaceous period.

1 dinosaur   

n.恐龙

参考例句：

• Are you trying to tell me that David was attacked by a dinosaur?你是想要告诉我大卫被一支恐龙所攻击？
• He stared at the faithful miniature of the dinosaur.他凝视著精确的恐龙缩小模型。

2 unearthed   

出土的（考古）

参考例句：

• Many unearthed cultural relics are set forth in the exhibition hall. 展览馆里陈列着许多出土文物。
• Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。

3 excavated   

v.挖掘( excavate的过去式和过去分词 )；开凿；挖出；发掘

参考例句：

• The site has been excavated by archaeologists. 这个遗址已被考古学家发掘出来。
• The archaeologists excavated an ancient fortress. 考古学家们发掘出一个古堡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 dinosaurs   

n.恐龙( dinosaur的名词复数 )；守旧落伍的人，过时落后的东西

参考例句：

• The brontosaurus was one of the largest of all dinosaurs. 雷龙是所有恐龙中最大的一种。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years. 恐龙绝种已有几百万年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

7 excavation   

n.挖掘，发掘；被挖掘之地

参考例句：

• The bad weather has hung up the work of excavation.天气不好耽误了挖掘工作。
• The excavation exposed some ancient ruins.这次挖掘暴露出一些古遗迹。

8 excavations   

n.挖掘( excavation的名词复数 )；开凿；开凿的洞穴（或山路等）；（发掘出来的）古迹

参考例句：

• The excavations are open to the public. 发掘现场对公众开放。
• This year's excavations may reveal ancient artifacts. 今年的挖掘可能会发现史前古器物。 来自辞典例句

9 glossary   

n.注释词表；术语汇编

参考例句：

• The text is supplemented by an adequate glossary.正文附有一个详细的词汇表。
• For convenience,we have also provided a glossary in an appendix.为了方便，我们在附录中也提供了术语表。

10 prehistoric   

adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的

参考例句：

• They have found prehistoric remains.他们发现了史前遗迹。
• It was rather like an exhibition of prehistoric electronic equipment.这儿倒像是在展览古老的电子设备。