VOA标准英语2009年-Scientists Discover Ancient Fossil of Mammoth N

Scientists in Los Angeles have uncovered a treasure trove¹ of Ice Age animal bones, including the nearly complete fossil of a huge Columbian mammoth². The discovery at the La Brea Tar³ Pits should reveal more about life in the region up to 40,000 years ago.
　
Scientist at the Page Museum cleans a mammoth tusk⁴

The La Brea Tar Pits are asphalt deposits that contain the preserved remains⁵ of ancient animal and plant life, and they have shed light on life in the Ice Age since excavations⁶ started in 1913. This is the biggest find since then. The newly discovered fossils are collectively called Project 23, after the 23 large crates⁸ in which excavators placed the compacted fossils, soil and tar for later analysis.

Scientists have so far identified more than 700 specimens⁹, including the skull¹⁰ of a prehistoric¹¹ American lion and the bones of dire¹² wolves, saber-tooth cats, ground sloths¹³ and bison. The most impressive find is the nearly complete skeleton of a huge Columbian mammoth.
　
A mammoth jaw¹⁴ bone

Columbian mammoths are ancient cousins of the modern elephant, and they have been extinct since the end of the last Ice Age more than 10,000 years ago. This one, named Zed by scientist John Harris, has two intact tusks¹⁵ more than three meters long.

Harris is chief curator at the Page Museum, which houses treasures from the tar pits. He says only partial remains of mammoths were found at this site before, and Zed is largest ever found here. Zed was a male who stood three meters high at the hip¹⁶. He was from 47 and 49 years old when he died, says Harris, judging from the skeleton.

"It's relatively¹⁷ complete," he said. "It's got nearly all of its bones, with the exception of the bones from one leg. It's got a skull, it's got its jaw and its teeth and its tusks. And to have something that complete from the tar pits is very unusual because normally in the tar pits, you'll find the bones all jumbled¹⁸ up together."

Excavators discovered this cache of Ice Age remains as an old parking garage was being demolished¹⁹ to make way for a new one. So renovations could be completed, scientists pioneered a new technique to excavate²⁰ the bones. The earth was removed intact and packed in oversized crates, which scientists will examine in a slow and careful process.

Christopher Shaw, the Page Museum's collections manager, says that plant and animal remains from the La Brea Tar Pits have already shown what life was like in Ice Age Los Angeles. The region was cooler and wetter than it is today. He says the new discoveries from 16 separate deposits may shed more light on the region's ecology and give us insight into subjects like climate change.

"The 16 deposits hopefully will be 16 different ages and if that's the case, we will be able to see some kind of changes in the populations of plants and animals through time, through the last 40,000-45,000 years of time represented here at the tar pits," Shaw said. "So it's a very exciting prospect²¹."
　
Aisling Farrell

The Page Museum's Aisling Farrell points to rows of shelves inside the museum, which contain specimens from the late Pleistocene Era, when these Ice Age creatures lived. She says it is a kind of reference library, consisting of fossils.

"We have a collection currently of about three and a half million specimens, and with our new project, we're estimated to double that collection," she said.

As workers remove dirt and isolate²² specimens in the packing crates, others inside a so-called Fishbowl laboratory polish the jawbone and a tusk of the newly discovered mammoth. Curious schoolchildren watch through the windows.

Collections manager Shaw says they are sharing in the excitement that scientists feel as they uncover these remnants of ancient life.

"Because you come in every day not knowing what you're going to uncover, what you're going to discover that hasn't seen the light of day for 10,000, 20,000, 30,000, 45,000 years," he said. "So to me, that aspect has always been exciting."

Scientists have barely scratched the surface of Project 23. They have started excavating²³ three crates, including the largest, but are barely half a meter deep into the compacted soil, tar and animals remains in a crate⁷ that measures 50 cubic meters. They hope to catalogue the millions of fossils still in the packing crates over the next five years.

1 trove   

n.被发现的东西，收藏的东西

参考例句：

• He assembled a rich trove of Chinese porcelain.他收集了一批中国瓷器。
• The gallery is a treasure trove of medieval art.这个画廊是中世纪艺术的宝库。

2 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。

3 tar   

n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于

参考例句：

• The roof was covered with tar.屋顶涂抹了一层沥青。
• We use tar to make roads.我们用沥青铺路。

4 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。

5 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。

6 excavations   

n.挖掘( excavation的名词复数 )；开凿；开凿的洞穴（或山路等）；（发掘出来的）古迹

参考例句：

• The excavations are open to the public. 发掘现场对公众开放。
• This year's excavations may reveal ancient artifacts. 今年的挖掘可能会发现史前古器物。 来自辞典例句

7 crate   

vt.(up)把…装入箱中；n.板条箱，装货箱

参考例句：

• We broke open the crate with a blow from the chopper.我们用斧头一敲就打开了板条箱。
• The workers tightly packed the goods in the crate.工人们把货物严紧地包装在箱子里。

8 crates   

n. 板条箱, 篓子, 旧汽车 vt. 装进纸条箱

参考例句：

• We were using crates as seats. 我们用大木箱作为座位。
• Thousands of crates compacted in a warehouse. 数以千计的板条箱堆放在仓库里。

9 specimens   

n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人

参考例句：

• Astronauts have brought back specimens of rock from the moon. 宇航员从月球带回了岩石标本。
• The traveler brought back some specimens of the rocks from the mountains. 那位旅行者从山上带回了一些岩石标本。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

11 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。

12 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

13 sloths   

懒散( sloth的名词复数 )； 懒惰； 树獭； （经济）停滞。

参考例句：

• Mummies of pleistocene ground sloths, with original skin, hair, tendons and claws have been found. 还发现了保存原有皮肤，毛发，腱和爪的更新世时期地面树懒的木乃伊。
• He was inspired by fossils of armadillos and sloths. 犰狳和树懒化石让他获得了灵感。

14 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

15 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）

16 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

17 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

18 jumbled   

adj.混乱的；杂乱的

参考例句：

• Books, shoes and clothes were jumbled together on the floor. 书、鞋子和衣服胡乱堆放在地板上。
• The details of the accident were all jumbled together in his mind. 他把事故细节记得颠三倒四。

19 demolished   

v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光

参考例句：

• The factory is due to be demolished next year. 这个工厂定于明年拆除。
• They have been fighting a rearguard action for two years to stop their house being demolished. 两年来，为了不让拆除他们的房子，他们一直在进行最后的努力。

20 excavate   

vt.挖掘，挖出

参考例句：

• They plan to excavate a large hole.他们计划挖个大洞。
• A new Danish expedition is again excavating the site in annual summer digs.一支新的丹麦探险队又在那个遗址上进行一年一度的夏季挖掘。

21 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

22 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

23 excavating   

v.挖掘( excavate的现在分词 )；开凿；挖出；发掘

参考例句：

• A bulldozer was employed for excavating the foundations of the building. 推土机用来给楼房挖地基。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A new Danish expedition is again excavating the site in annual summer digs. 一支新的丹麦探险队又在那个遗址上进行一年一度的夏季挖掘。 来自辞典例句