VOA慢速英语--一具极为罕见的恐龙骨架以230万美元的价格拍出

Dinosaur¹ Skeleton² of Possible New Species³ Sells for $2.3 Million

The skeleton of an extremely rare kind of dinosaur has sold for $2.3 million in Paris, France.

The 150-million-year-old bones sold during an auction⁴ June 4 at the city’s famous Eiffel Tower. The company holding the auction said the buyer was a French art collector. The seller was identified only as a British businessman.

The skeleton is described as about 70 percent complete. It measures nine meters long and about two-and-a-half meters tall. The bones were discovered in 2013 in the western American state of Wyoming.

Scientists recognized the skeleton as belonging to a large, meat-eating dinosaur. But it has not been identified as a specific kind. Some scientists have said they believe it could be a new species.

The Aguttes auction house described the skeleton as being from the late Jurassic period. It has similarities to the Allosaurus meat-eating dinosaur group. Other Allosaurus skeletons⁵ have been discovered in the same area as the one sold in Paris.

However, the auction company said that European paleontologists who examined the skeleton found major differences from known Allosaurus.

Eric Mickeler, a fossil⁶ expert, works for the auction company. He said the discovery marked “the high point” of his career because he believes the skeleton holds great scientific promise.

But the private sale of the fossil drew criticism from some scientific groups and individuals.

Before the auction, the nonprofit Society of Vertebrate Paleonotology wrote a letter to the auction company expressing its concerns. The U.S.-based group says it represents more than 2,200 paleontologists around the world.

The letter criticized Aguttes for claiming the skeleton provided evidence of new science and urged the company to cancel the auction.

The organization said it recognized that the fossil was legally collected and exported to France. But it added that “scientifically important vertebrate fossils⁷ are part of our collective natural heritage⁸ and deserve to be held in public trust.”

The society argued that major discoveries sold into private collection could become lost to science. That is because there is no guarantee that privately⁹ held pieces will be open to all scientists for research purposes, the organization said.

Thomas Carr is a vertebrate paleontologist at Carthage College in the American state of Wisconsin. He told the website Live Science he thinks the auction house claims were “just hype” designed to get a higher price for the skeleton.

"It looks no different from any Allosaurus that I've ever seen," he said of the fossil.

Speaking to Reuters, auction official Claude Aguttes said the buyer had told him he considers the skeleton to be “amazing” and plans to “present it to the public.”

“Everyone will be able to see it, it will soon be lent to a museum,” Aguttes said. “It will be studied by scientists, everything is perfect.”

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

auction – n. sale in which things are sold to the person who offers the most money

species – n. a group of plants or animals that share similar characteristics

heritage – n. the traditions, achievements, beliefs, etc., that are part of the history of a group or nation

deserve – v. used to say that someone or something should or should not have or be given something

hype – n. a lot of attention given to something - especially in media – to make it seem more important or exciting than it really is

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 skeleton   

n.骨骼，框架，骨干，梗概，提要

参考例句：

• A long illness made a skeleton out of him.长期的卧病使他骨瘦如柴。
• Her notes gave us just the bare skeleton of her theory.她的笔记只给我们提供了她的理论的梗概。

3 species   

n.物种，种群

参考例句：

• Are we the only thinking species in the whole of creation?我们是万物中惟一有思想的物种吗？
• This species of bird now exists only in Africa.这种鸟现在只存在于非洲。

4 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

5 skeletons   

n.（建筑物等的）骨架( skeleton的名词复数 )；骨骼；梗概；骨瘦如柴的人（或动物）

参考例句：

• Only skeletons of buildings remained. 只剩下了建筑物的框架。 来自辞典例句
• It looks like six skeletons in front of that stone door! 在这石头门前看上去就象有六副骨骼！ 来自辞典例句

6 fossil   

n.化石，食古不化的人，老顽固

参考例句：

• At this distance of time it is difficult to date the fossil.时间隔得这么久了，很难确定这化石的年代。
• The man is a fossil.那人是个老顽固。

7 fossils   

n.化石( fossil的名词复数 )；老顽固；食古不化的人；老古董（老人）

参考例句：

• fossils over two million years old 两百多万年的化石
• The geologist found many uncovered fossils in the valley. 在那山谷里，地质学家发现了许多裸露的化石。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 heritage   

n.传统，遗产，继承物

参考例句：

• The ancient buildings are part of the national heritage.这些古建筑是民族遗产的一部分。
• We Chinese have a great cultural heritage.我们中国人有伟大的文化遗产。

9 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。