VOA慢速英语2020 科学家研究恐龙死前的最后一餐

Scientists Study Dinosaur¹’s Last Meal

Around 110 million years ago, a dinosaur ate some plants, in what is now western Canada, before suddenly dying.

大约1.1亿年前，在如今加拿大西部，一只恐龙在突然死亡之前吃了一些植物。 

That creature is now giving important information about ancient plant-eating dinosaurs².Scientists reported recently that fossilized contents of the creatures stomach were found along with its skeleton.

该生物现在正在提供关于古代植食恐龙的重要信息。科学家们最近报告称他们在该生物骨骸中发现了胃内化石容物。

The fossils were discovered in the Canadian province of Alberta.They are said to be the best-preserved remains³ of any plant-eating dinosaur.The stomach contents even show the cellular⁴ structure of leaves from the plants the dinosaur ate.

这些化石是在加拿大亚伯达省发现的。据说它们是保存最完好的植食恐龙化石。胃内化石容物甚至能显示出该恐龙所吃植物叶子的细胞结构。

Caleb Brown is a paleontologist at the Royal Tyrell Museum of Paleontology in Alberta.He was the lead writer of a research report that appears in the online publication Royal Society Open Science.

卡勒布·布朗是亚伯达省皇家泰瑞尔古生物学博物馆的古生物学家。他是网络出版物《皇家学会开放科学》上所发表的一篇研究报告的主要作者。

Brown noted⁵ that direct evidence of the diet of plant-eating dinosaurs "is very rare."

布朗指出，有关植食恐龙饮食的直接证据“非常罕见”。 

The creature was about 5.5 meters long, weighed at least a ton and was a member of a group called nodosaurs.Its name is Borealopelta markmitchelli. It had a wide body and a small head.

这只恐龙身长约5.5米，重至少一吨，属于结节龙属。它的名字是马克·米切尔北方盾龙。它身子大，脑袋小。

Its body had bony skin and a large spike⁶ on each shoulder.

它的身上有鳞甲，而且两肩各有一根巨大的尖刺。 

The creatures stomach had leaves from a kind of fern, as well as very few leaves of different kinds of evergreens⁷.Charcoal⁸, a black material left after things are burned, was also found in its stomach.To researchers, that finding suggests the dinosaur had been eating in an area that had recently had a fire.

它的胃里有一种蕨类植物的叶子以及少数不同常绿植物的叶子。在它的胃里还发现了木炭——物体燃烧后剩下的一种黑色物质。对研究人员来说，这一发现表明，这只恐龙曾在最近着过火的地方觅食。

Scientists also reported finding many gastroliths, or gizzard stones.These are objects swallowed by modern birds and other animals to help the stomach break down food.

科学家们还报告称发现了许多胃石或砂囊石。现代鸟类和其它动物会吞下这些东西来帮助胃分解食物。

Im John Russell.

约翰·罗素为您播报。 

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 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。

4 cellular   

adj.移动的；细胞的，由细胞组成的

参考例句：

• She has a cellular telephone in her car.她的汽车里有一部无线通讯电话机。
• Many people use cellular materials as sensitive elements in hygrometers.很多人用蜂窝状的材料作为测量温度的传感元件。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

7 evergreens   

n.常青树，常绿植物，万年青( evergreen的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The leaves of evergreens are often shaped like needles. 常绿植物的叶常是针形的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The pine, cedar and spruce are evergreens. 松树、雪松、云杉都是常绿的树。 来自辞典例句

8 charcoal   

n.炭，木炭，生物炭

参考例句：

• We need to get some more charcoal for the barbecue.我们烧烤需要更多的碳。
• Charcoal is used to filter water.木炭是用来过滤水的。