一块在抽屉里被遗忘了整整 40 年、看似毫不起眼的化石，最终被证实是人类在南极洲发现的第一块恐龙骨骼。

The ten-centimetre-wide fossil was unearthed during an expedition to James Ross Island four decades ago.

这块宽约 10 厘米的化石，是在四十年前一次对詹姆斯·罗斯岛的科学考察活动中出土的。

Its discovery was recorded in a field notebook with a tiny sketch of the fossil and a note saying vertebra from a large reptile. But that was as far as the identification went, until the fossil was spotted amongst the thousands of specimens stored at the British Antarctic Survey.

一本野外考察笔记记录了这块化石的发现，里面附有一幅简略的化石手绘草图，并写着这是一种大型爬行动物的椎骨。不过，对这块化石的鉴定工作当时仅止步于此，直到最近，有人在英国南极调查局保存的数千份样本中重新注意到了它。

Its distinctive shape revealed it was part of the tail of a titanosaur, the largest dinosaurs ever to roam the Earth. It dates to 82 million years ago, when Antarctica was very different to how it is today.

它独特的形状显示，这块骨骼属于一只泰坦巨龙的尾部。泰坦巨龙是地球历史上已知体型最大的恐龙。这块化石距今约 8200 万年，当时的南极和它如今的面貌完全不同。

It would have been covered in lush forest, providing ample food for this four-legged, long-necked dinosaur.

那时的南极大陆覆盖着茂密的森林，为这种四足、长颈的巨型恐龙提供了充足的食物来源。

词汇表

unearthed 挖掘出，出土了
expedition 探险，科学考察
decades 数十年，几十年
field 野外的，实地考察的
sketch 草图，速写，简图
fossil 化石
vertebra 脊椎骨
specimens 标本，样本
distinctive 独特的，与众不同的
roam 漫步，四处活动
lush 茂密的，郁郁葱葱的
ample 充足的，丰富的

听力练习（答案见下页）

一、听第一遍音频，回答问题。

1. What was shocking about the discovery of this dinosaur fossil?

二、用一分钟阅读下列问题，然后听第二遍音频并回答问题。

1. How long ago was the fossil originally discovered?
a. 10 years ago
b. about 40 years ago
c. 82 million years ago

2. What detail about the fossil was initially recorded in the field notebook?
a. It belonged to the largest dinosaur on Earth.
b. It was a tail bone from a titanosaur.
c. It was a vertebra from a large reptile.

3. The fossil was immediately identified as belonging to a titanosaur when it was first discovered.
a. True
b. False
c. Not given

4. Which specific part of the dinosaur's body does this fossil come from?
a. the back / spine
b. the neck
c. the tail

5. Antarctica once had dense forests.
a. True
b. False
c. Not given

三、听第三遍音频，将句子补充完整。（提示：可以反复听，直到听清楚每一个词）

1. But that was _______________ the identification went, until the fossil was spotted amongst the thousands of specimens stored at the British Antarctic Survey.

2. Its distinctive shape revealed it was part of the tail of a titanosaur, the largest dinosaurs _______________ roam the Earth.

答案

一、听第一遍音频，回答问题。

It was shocking because the fossil was found 40 years before it was rediscovered and identified as the fossil of a dinosaur bone.

二、用一分钟阅读下列问题，然后听第二遍音频并回答问题。

1. b. The ten-centimetre-wide fossil was unearthed during an expedition to James Ross Island four decades ago.

2. c. Its discovery was recorded in a field notebook with a tiny sketch of the fossil and a note saying vertebra from a large reptile.

3. b. False. But that was as far as the identification went, until the fossil was spotted amongst the thousands of specimens stored at the British Antarctic Survey.

4. c. Its distinctive shape revealed it was part of the tail of a titanosaur...

5. a. True. It would have been covered in lush forest…

三、听第三遍音频，将句子补充完整。（提示：可以反复听，直到听清楚每一个词）

1. But that was as far as the identification went, until the fossil was spotted amongst the thousands of specimens stored at the British Antarctic Survey.

2. Its distinctive shape revealed it was part of the tail of a titanosaur, the largest dinosaurs ever to roam the Earth.