VOA慢速英语--在西伯利亚发现2.8万年前的洞穴狮子幼崽

Scientists say the remains¹ of a young lion found in Russia in 2018 are 28,000 years old and in excellent condition. They say the lion baby, or cub², may still hold some of its mother's milk inside it.

The cub was a female cave lion. Researchers named her Sparta. Her remains were discovered in permanently³ frozen ground at the Semyuelyakh River in Russia's Yakutia area.

The remains of another ancient cave lion had been found nearby in 2017. It was a male that researchers named Boris.

The findings were part of a study published in the journal Quaternary.

The study said the cubs⁴ were found 15 meters from each other. But, the scientists said many generations separated them. The research showed that Boris lived around 43,448 years ago.

Cave lions died out thousands of years ago. The two cubs, aged⁵ 1-2 months, were found by mammoth⁶ tusk⁷ collectors. Mammoths were large, hairy prehistoric⁸ elephants with very long teeth, or tusks⁹.

Two other lion cubs have also been found in the Yakutia area in recent years.

Valery Plotnikov is one of the study's writers. He told Reuters that Sparta was so well preserved that it still had its fur, organs and skeleton.

"The find itself is unique; there was not any other such find in Yakutia," he said.

Plotnikov added that the scientists hope to find evidence of mother's milk inside Sparta in order to learn what cave lions ate.

Similar finds in Russia's larger Siberian area have increased in recent years. Climate change is warming the Arctic faster than the rest of the world. That increase in temperature has melted the ground in some areas that were permanently frozen.

Words in This Story

preserved - adj. kept safe from injury, loss or ruin

unique - adj. used to say that something or someone is unlike anything or anyone else

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 cub   

n.幼兽，年轻无经验的人

参考例句：

• The lion cub's mother was hunting for what she needs. 这只幼师的母亲正在捕猎。
• The cub licked the milk from its mother's breast. 这头幼兽吸吮着它妈妈的奶水。

3 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

4 cubs   

n.幼小的兽，不懂规矩的年轻人( cub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lioness guarding her cubs 守护幼崽的母狮
• Lion cubs depend on their mother to feed them. 狮子的幼仔依靠母狮喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

6 mammoth   

n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的

参考例句：

• You can only undertake mammoth changes if the finances are there.资金到位的情况下方可进行重大变革。
• Building the new railroad will be a mammoth job.修建那条新铁路将是一项巨大工程。

7 tusk   

n.獠牙，长牙，象牙

参考例句：

• The wild boar had its tusk sunk deeply into a tree and howled desperately.野猪的獠牙陷在了树里，绝望地嗥叫着。
• A huge tusk decorated the wall of his study.他书房的墙上装饰着一支巨大的象牙。

8 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。

9 tusks   

n.（象等动物的）长牙( tusk的名词复数 )；獠牙；尖形物；尖头

参考例句：

• The elephants are poached for their tusks. 为获取象牙而偷猎大象。
• Elephant tusks, monkey tails and salt were used in some parts of Africa. 非洲的一些地区则使用象牙、猴尾和盐。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）