新托福听写训练 第12期

Birds are sometimes referred to as glorified¹ reptiles³, and even though modern birds are structurally⁴ very different from reptiles.Some show minor⁵ evidence of their ancestry⁶, like scales on their feet, or claw on their toes. However, flying reptiles disappeared more than 70 million years ago, but birds have obviously managed to survive. You remember that biological success of any group of organism is measured by the number of species and individuals in the group. There are distributions through all around the world and of course their ability to adapt to all kinds of environmental conditions. On the basis of these criteria⁷, birds are considered as one of most successful vertebrate in modern times. Their success means they were probably not only better adapted than reptiles for flying, but also for life on land and water. But when did glorification⁸ begin? And how fast did the changes occur? It was seen logical to assume that at some time millions of years ago transitional stages between reptiles and birds existed. And in fact, one of the most important clues came with the discovery of the fossils called archaeopteryx which literally⁹ means ancient bird.The archaeopteryx dates back 150 million years to the Jurassic period. Fortunately, the fossils are not only included the skeleton, but also impression of the feathers of the wings and double rare tails feathers. If it were not for these feathers, scientists would have classified it as the reptile² because it have many characteristics more like a lizard¹⁰ than a bird. Archaeopteryx is not, however, considered as the ancestor of modern birds. But it probably was deprived from ancestral form that also gave rise to modern birds.Up until the mid-1980s,archaeopteryx was considered the most ancient of all birds. Then in 1986, a fossil was discovered called protoavis that show a mixture of dinosaur¹¹ and bird-like characteristics. But it lived 225 million years ago, about 75 million years before archaeopteryx. So clearly the final work is not yet in on the origin of birds.

1 glorified   

美其名的，变荣耀的

参考例句：

• The restaurant was no more than a glorified fast-food cafe. 这地方美其名曰餐馆，其实只不过是个快餐店而已。
• The author glorified the life of the peasants. 那个作者赞美了农民的生活。

2 reptile   

n.爬行动物；两栖动物

参考例句：

• The frog is not a true reptile.青蛙并非真正的爬行动物。
• So you should not be surprised to see someone keep a reptile as a pet.所以，你不必惊奇有人养了一只爬行动物作为宠物。

3 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》

4 structurally   

在结构上

参考例句：

• The house roof was (structurally) unsound. 这屋顶（结构）不牢固。
• Pinhole on shot-hole damage is never structurally significant. 针孔和蛀洞所造成的危害对结构的影响不大。

5 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

6 ancestry   

n.祖先，家世

参考例句：

• Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
• He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。

7 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。

8 glorification   

n.赞颂

参考例句：

• Militant devotion to and glorification of one's country; fanatical patriotism. 对国家的军事效忠以及美化；狂热的爱国主义。
• Glorification-A change of place, a new condition with God. 得荣─在神面前新处境，改变了我们的结局。

9 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

10 lizard   

n.蜥蜴，壁虎

参考例句：

• A chameleon is a kind of lizard.变色龙是一种蜥蜴。
• The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect.蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。

11 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。