Dinosaurs may be lighter than previous thought: study

LONDON, June 6 (www.tingvoa.com) -- Dinosaurs² may not be as heavy as previously³ thought, according a study published Wednesday by British scientists who have developed a new technique to accurately⁴ measure the weight and size of dinosaurs.

Writing in the journal Biology Letters, scientists at the University of Manchester described a method whereby lasers are used to measure the minimum amount of skin required to wrap around the skeletons of modern-day mammals, including reindeer⁵, polar bears, giraffes and elephants.

They discovered that the animals had almost exactly 21 percent more body mass than the minimum skeletal skin and bone warp⁶ volume, and applied⁷ this to a giant dinosaur¹ skeleton in Berlin's Museum fur Naturkunde.

Previous estimates of its weight have varied⁸, with estimates as high as 80 tons. But the new study reduced that figure to just 23 tons. The team says the new technique will apply to weight measures for all species of dinosaurs.

We tested this method on 14 large-bodied mammalian skeletons and demonstrated that it consistently underestimated body mass by 21 percent, said lead author Dr Bill Sellers from the University of Manchester.

Our method provides a much more accurate measure and shows dinosaurs, while still huge, are not as big as previously thought, he added.

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 dinosaurs   

n.恐龙( dinosaur的名词复数 )；守旧落伍的人，过时落后的东西

参考例句：

• The brontosaurus was one of the largest of all dinosaurs. 雷龙是所有恐龙中最大的一种。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years. 恐龙绝种已有几百万年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

4 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

5 reindeer   

n.驯鹿

参考例句：

• The herd of reindeer was being trailed by a pack of wolves.那群驯鹿被一只狼群寻踪追赶上来。
• The life of the Reindeer men was a frontier life.驯鹿时代人的生活是一种边区生活。

6 warp   

vt.弄歪，使翘曲，使不正常，歪曲，使有偏见

参考例句：

• The damp wood began to warp.这块潮湿的木材有些翘曲了。
• A steel girder may warp in a fire.钢梁遇火会变弯。

7 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

8 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。