VOA慢速英语2020 科学家发现世界上已知最古老的动物

Scientists Find World's Oldest-known Animal

A millipede-like creature that was recently discovered in Scotland may be the oldest-known land animal. This small, fossilized creature, some 425 million years old, helped lead the way for the many animals that would eventually live on land.

最近在苏格兰发现的一种类似千足虫的动物可能是已知最古老的陆地动物。这个成为化石的小型生物大约生活在4.25亿年前，它帮助最终生活在陆地上的许多动物铺平了道路。

Researchers said they found the creature's remains¹ on the island of Kerrera in Scotland's Inner Hebrides. It lived close to a lake and probably ate dead plants. Fossils of the oldest-known plant with a stem were found in the same area.

研究人员表示，他们在苏格兰内赫布里底群岛的凯勒拉岛上发现了这种生物的残骸。其生活在湖边，可能以枯萎植物为食。研究人员在同一地区发现了已知最古老的有茎植物的化石。

While the creature, called Kampecaris obanesis, is the earliest land animal known from a fossil, soil worms are believed to have lived before them – perhaps 450 million years ago.

虽然这种被称为Kampecaris obanensis的生物是化石中已知最古老的陆地动物，但据称，土壤蠕虫生活的时代早于它，或许出现在4.5亿年前。

That information comes from Michael Brookfield of the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Massachusetts Boston. Brookfield was the lead writer of the research report that described the findings in the journal Historical Biology.

这些信息来自得克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校和马萨诸塞大学波士顿分校的迈克尔·布鲁克菲尔德。布鲁克菲尔德是该研究报告的主要作者，该报告的研究结果刊登在《历史生物学》期刊上。

Kampecaris was about 2.5 centimeters long. It looked like modern millipedes, but it was a member of a group that died out. It was not a direct ancestor of the millipedes that live now.

Kampecaris身长约2.5厘米。它看起来很像现代千足虫，但其是一个灭绝物种的成员。并不是如今的千足虫的直系祖先。

Life first began in the world's oceans, with a growth in diversity some 540 million years ago. Some kinds of plants began appearing on land around 450 million years ago. The land vertebrates – animals that have a backbone² or spine³ – showed up some 375 million years ago.

生命最初起源于世界海洋，多样性在约5.4亿年前开始增长。某些植物在约4.5亿年前开始出现在陆地上。陆地脊椎动物，即有脊骨或脊椎的动物，出现在大约3.75亿年前。

These animals were the ancestors of the reptiles⁴, birds and mammals that are alive today – including humans.

这些动物是当今爬行动物、鸟类和包括人类在内的哺乳动物的祖先。

Human beings first appeared about 300,000 years ago.

人类最早出现在大约30万年前。

I'm John Russell.

约翰·拉塞尔报道。

Words in This Story

millipede – n. a small creature that is like an insect and that has a long, thin body with many legs

fossilized – adj. having been changed into a fossil. A fossil is something (such as a leaf, skeleton, or footprint) that is from a plant or animal which lived in ancient times and that you can see in some rocks

worm – n. a long, thin animal that has a soft body with no legs or bones and that often lives in the ground

diversity – n. the quality or state of having many different forms, types, ideas, etc.

spine – n. the row of connected bones down the middle of the back

1 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。

2 backbone   

n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气

参考例句：

• The Chinese people have backbone.中国人民有骨气。
• The backbone is an articulate structure.脊椎骨是一种关节相连的结构。

3 spine   

n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊

参考例句：

• He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。
• His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。

4 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》