VOA慢速英语2016 恐龙数量在小行星撞击地球前就已减少分享到:

Dinosaurs² Already Decreasing Before Asteroid³ Hit 恐龙数量在小行星撞击地球前就已减少分享到:

Dinosaurs—those big prehistoric⁴ creatures— may have already been decreasing in population long before an asteroid crashed into the Earth, and killed them.

恐龙是一种史前大型生物，其实在小行星撞击地球将其灭绝之前，它们的数量就已经在减少了。

Until now, it was thought that an asteroid, or meteorite⁵, that hit the Earth 66 million years ago was the main reason the reptiles⁶ became extinct.

迄今为止，人们都认为6600万年前小行星撞击地球（又说陨石撞击地球），是导致恐龙灭绝的主要原因。

But a new study finds that they may have already been decreasing in numbers millions of years before that.

但是，一项新的研究表明，其实在小行星撞击地球的几百万年前，恐龙数量就已经在减少了。

Dr. Manabu Sakamoto is a dinosaur¹ expert – a paleontologist – at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom.He led the research in the new study.

衫本·坂本博士是英国雷丁大学的恐龙专家，还是古生物学者。他是本次研究项目的领导者。

“We were not expecting this result,” Sakamoto said.

坂本称：“我们没有预料到这个结果”。

The effect of the asteroid hitting the Earth is still considered the main reason for the dinosaurs’ final disappearance⁷, Sakamoto said.But, he added, “it is clear that they were already past their prime in an evolutionary⁸ sense.”

坂本称，目前人们认为恐龙最终消失的主要原因是小行星撞击地球。但他补充道：“从进化的角度来讲，当时恐龙的发展已过全盛时期。”

In other words, Sakamoto means that dinosaurs were already starting to disappear from the land before the asteroid struck the Earth.

换言之，坂本的意思是，小行星撞击地球前，恐龙就已开始逐步消失了。

The researchers studied the fossil record.Fossils are remains⁹ of plants or animals that lived in ancient times that one can now see in some rocks.

调查者们研究了化石记录。化石是动植物的残骸，这些动植物生活在古代，当今人们在一些岩石中还可看到。

The new study says that 50 million years before the asteroid struck Earth, there was a decline of all types of dinosaurs.The long-necked sauropods were decreasing more quickly than other kinds of dinosaurs. The population of dinosaurs like the fierce Tyrannosaurus rex was decreasing at a slower rate than other dinosaurs.

新的研究表明，小行星撞击地球的5000万年前，恐龙的种类就在减少。长颈蜥脚类恐龙是所有恐龙种类中减少最快的。而凶残的雷克斯霸王龙的数量则下降相对较慢。

Sakamoto called the results of the study “groundbreaking.”

坂本称这次研究的结果“具有突破性”。

“Once again, it will change our understanding of the fate of these mighty¹⁰ creatures,” Sakamoto said.

坂本称：“这个调查结果再一次转变了我们对这些强大生物命运的理解”。

He also said that while the asteroid may have been what finally led to their extinction¹¹, “something else had already been preventing dinosaurs from evolving new species as fast as old species were dying out.”

他还说，虽然小行星可能是最终导致恐龙灭绝的原因，但还有一些别的因素导致恐龙新物种的进化速度较慢，赶不上旧恐龙物种的灭绝速度”。

Sakamoto said this suggests that for tens of millions of years before they finally died out from the asteroid effects, dinosaurs were beginning to lose their position as the leading animals on Earth. Dinosaurs ruled the Earth for about 150 million years.

坂本说，这意味着恐龙在最终受到小行星影响而灭绝的数千万年前，就已经失去了地球动物之王的地位。恐龙统治地球大约一亿五千万年。

Mike Benton was the co-author of the new study. He is a paleontology professor at the University of Bristol. He said the dinosaurs had lost their ability to evolve – or change – quickly enough to deal with environmental changes on the planet.Some of these changes came from volcanic¹² activity and the breaking up of continental¹³ landmasses.

麦克·本顿是该研究报告的合著者。他是布里斯托大学的古生物学教授。他称，恐龙已不能通过进化或改变来敏捷应对地球上的气候变化。其中一些改变来自于火山活动，或大陆板块的分离。

When the asteroid hit the Earth, its force was so strong. It blew rocks and dust and particles up into the atmosphere, covering the Earth. That stopped the sunlight from reaching the ground, so plants could not grow. With their food supply gone, the dinosaurs died off too.

小行星撞击地球威力巨大。地球被卷入大气中的岩石、尘土和各种粒子覆盖。因为阳光无法穿透这些物质照射到大地上，所以植物无法生长。恐龙没有了食物来源，也慢慢地死去。

Some scientists believe the asteroid hit the Earth in an area that is now part of Mexico.

一些科学家坚信，小行星撞击地球的位置位于现在墨西哥的某个地区。

The study is published in the journal Proceedings¹⁴ of the National Academy of Sciences.

美国国家科学院的期刊发表了这项研究报告。

Words in This Story

extinct – adj. no longer exist, or alive

paleontologist – n. a person who studies the fossils of animals and plants that lived a long time ago, including dinosaurs

prime – adj. time when they are at their best

evolutionary - adj. changes and development over time

groundbreaking – adj. introducing new ideas or methods

fate – n. a power that is believed to control what happens in the future

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 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》

3 asteroid   

n.小行星；海盘车(动物)

参考例句：

• Astronomers have yet to witness an asteroid impact with another planet.天文学家还没有目击过小行星撞击其它行星。
• It's very unlikely that an asteroid will crash into Earth but the danger exists.小行星撞地球的可能性很小，但这样的危险还是存在的。

4 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。

5 meteorite   

n.陨石；流星

参考例句：

• The meteorite in Jilin Exhibition Hall is believed to be the largest in the world.吉林展览馆的陨石被认为是世界上最大的。
• The famous Murchison meteorite smashed into the Australian ground in 1969.1969年著名的默奇森陨石轰然坠落在澳大利亚。

6 reptiles   

n.爬行动物，爬虫( reptile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Snakes and crocodiles are both reptiles. 蛇和鳄鱼都是爬行动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Birds, reptiles and insects come from eggs. 鸟类、爬虫及昆虫是卵生的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。

8 evolutionary   

adj.进化的；演化的，演变的；[生]进化论的

参考例句：

• Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
• These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。

9 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。

10 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

11 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

12 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

13 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

14 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼