VOA慢速英语2015 研究人员回忆发现露西骨架始末

Researchers Remember Discovery of Lucy Skeleton 研究人员回忆发现露西骨架始末

It has been more than 40 years since the discovery of the early human skeleton named Lucy. The old bones were found in Ethiopia. Lucy is one of the most famous finds of the 20th century. She helped researchers better understand the history of human beings.  

The famous skeleton has since left Africa and is now at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County in California. Researcher Don Johanson recently visited the museum. He discovered Lucy 40 years ago. He says the knowledge found in old bones is still relevant today.

"There is a single common origin for humanity. No matter the shape of our eyes, no matter the color of our skin, no matter the shape of our hair, no matter what kind of culture we live in, we all carry those same genes¹ in our body. We are united by our past. We are united by this common beginning."

In 1974, Don Johanson found 40 percent of Lucy’s skeleton – two fifths of all the bones in her body.  At 3.2 million years old, she was the oldest human ancestor found at the time.

"Lucy while she was found so many years ago, still remains² terribly important for understanding our earliest beginnings and occupies a very important place on the human family tree as a bridge between more ape-like and more human-like creatures."

Don Johanson says Lucy was just over one meter tall, with a small brain and an ape-like face. She had long arms and short legs. She also possessed⁴ an important human quality: the ability to walk in a upright, standing³ position.  

Don Johanson says finding Lucy truly influenced the field of paleoanthropology.

He adds that the idea that humans came from Africa is a relatively⁵ recent one.

"Through much of the 20th century, there was this very Eurocentric view that we all evolved in Europe that that was the finishing school for humanity, but now there's almost complete consensus⁶ among scholars who study human origins that Africa was the place, just as Darwin had predicted way back in the middle 1800s."

Discoveries such as Lucy have led scholars to understand the common origins of all human beings. It also shows the unique, or special, qualities of modern humans.  

Humans have a complex brain, language and culture. Don Johanson says these qualities enable humans to develop and overcome the environmental changes that have happened and will continue to happen over time.

Words in this Story

relevant - adj., relating to a subject in the right or correct way

origin – n., the point or place where something begins or is created

paleoanthropology – n., the study of origins and ancient humans and their primate⁷ relatives chiefly by examining fossils and other human remains

scholar(s) - n. a person who has studied a subject for a long time and knows a lot about it

1 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

2 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。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

5 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

6 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

7 primate   

n.灵长类（目）动物，首席主教；adj.首要的

参考例句：

• 14 percent of primate species are highly endangered.14%的灵长类物种处于高度濒危状态。
• The woolly spider monkey is the largest primate in the Americas.绒毛蛛猴是美洲最大的灵长类动物。