英语听力：探索发现 2012-06-10 恐龙是怎样的炼成的—10

Fossilized bones are essentially¹ solid lumps of rock, which means that mounting them into a skeleton is an enormous challenge. 

 

Most of the bones are real, which makes them extremely heavy. We’re estimating at the total weight of the bones. It’s a little over a ton. The femur’s probably good 200, 250 pounds a piece. And we have to set those in place with special rigging devices helping² forbid one of them falls, because it would take quite a bit of time to get those back together. 

 

The entire skeleton will be held together using a custom-made steel frame, which needs to be strong enough to support the enormous weight of the fossils.

 

This will fit in. This will get attached to this other section over here. And I’ll take one of these ribs⁴ here. I’m not sure exactly which one goes where at this point. This is no.5. So it would lay down right in there, that loch you get screwed in at the bottom and just settle itself right in here. 

 

Like many T Rexes, this one has been given a nickname, Thomas. He’s one of the best T Rex specimens⁵ ever discovered, but it’s still only 70% complete. The missing bones will be made by Paul’s team based on over 30 partial tyrannosaurs Rexes that have been found so far.

 

On this particular rib³, you could see where the real rib goes together with the artificial rib. And this is a section that we had modeled and you could see how it blends in with the real rib, how it’s glued. And it’s also pinned on the inside, so it doesn’t break. And these ribs will break like icicles. If you pick them up the wrong way, they will just crack, break right apart. 

 

But it’s not just about hanging the skeleton safely, the steel frame will be a work of art in itself, millimeter perfect and subtle enough not to draw attention away from the dinosaur⁶.

 

Chan is filing down part of the rib armature. Again this is specifically made like a piece of jewelry⁷. It has to hold a specific piece in a special way. And he’s at the point now where he’s starting to clean up the welds. And it’s gonna be absolutely gorgeous by the time he’s finished.

1 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

2 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

3 rib   

n.肋骨，肋状物

参考例句：

• He broke a rib when he fell off his horse.他从马上摔下来折断了一根肋骨。
• He has broken a rib and the doctor has strapped it up.他断了一根肋骨，医生已包扎好了。

4 ribs   

n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• Make a small incision below the ribs. 在肋骨下方切开一个小口。

5 specimens   

n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人

参考例句：

• Astronauts have brought back specimens of rock from the moon. 宇航员从月球带回了岩石标本。
• The traveler brought back some specimens of the rocks from the mountains. 那位旅行者从山上带回了一些岩石标本。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。