2007年VOA标准英语-Massive New Dinosaur Fossil Unearthed in China

By Jessica Berman
Washington
13 June 2007

Chinese paleontologists have unearthed¹ a massive dinosaur² fossil in Mongolia.  They say the giant dinosaur belonged to a family of bird-like dinosaurs³ that were a tiny fraction of its size.  VOA's Jessica Berman reports.

Artist's drawing courtesy Institute of Vertibrate Paleontology and Paleoanthrology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Paleontologists in China estimate the dinosaur, which lived some 70 million years ago, was eight meters long, five meters tall and weighed 1,400 kilograms. 

The scientists say it had many of the same characteristics as the feathered dinosaurs known as oviraptors, which weighed only about 40 kilograms.  But the enormous fossil belonged to a creature that was 300 times the size of an oviraptor.  So, scientists are putting the giant dinosaur, which they are calling Gigantoraptor, in the same family.

The paleontologists say Gigantoraptor challenges theories of evolution that say as meat eating dinosaurs like tyrannosaurus got smaller, they became more bird-like. 

David Burnham, a paleontologist at the University of Kansas, says the finding shows that diversity among dinosaurs is much greater than scientists had previously⁴ believed.

"We can't even imagine what evolution can provide at certain levels," he said.  "And this is a really neat discovery to kind of show us, give us a window [into] what was going on during a critical time when birds were still primitive⁵ and you had multiple lineages of dinosaur-like birds developing at the same time."

Drawing courtesy Institute of Vertibrate Paleontology and Paleoanthrology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

The fossil was discovered in 2005.  At first, researchers say they thought they had found the bones of a tyrannosaurus because they were so huge. 

But as they studied the fossil, the Chinese researchers saw that the fossil had a beak⁶ instead of teeth.

"It's very difficult these days to sort of find a dinosaur that really surprises me, because there's just so much that we're still learning about these groups," said Hans Sues, associate director of research and collections at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. 

He says the fossil of Gigantoraptor's beak and lack of teeth are physical features that made oviraptors excellent survivors⁷.

"These animals may have eaten some really unusual things like maybe seeds or eggs - people have proposed all kinds of ideas," he added.  "There was some idea that some of the Mongolian ones were feeding on clams⁸.  Some very unusual diet that didn't require teeth but did require this very odd jaw⁹ mechanism¹⁰."

The Chinese researchers say the enormous dinosaur also had sharp claws, possibly for tearing meat.

There is no evidence that Gigantoraptor had feathers, another characteristic that sets it apart from its oviraptor cousin.

The discovery of the gigantic fossil published this week in the journal Nature.

1 unearthed   

出土的（考古）

参考例句：

• Many unearthed cultural relics are set forth in the exhibition hall. 展览馆里陈列着许多出土文物。
• Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。

2 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。

3 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》

4 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。

5 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

6 beak   

n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻

参考例句：

• The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。
• This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。

7 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

8 clams   

n.蛤；蚌，蛤( clam的名词复数 )v.（在沙滩上）挖蛤( clam的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The restaurant's specialities are fried clams. 这个餐厅的特色菜是炸蚌。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We dug clams in the flats et low tide. 退潮时我们在浅滩挖蛤蜊。 来自辞典例句

9 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。

10 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。