英语新闻视频：墨西哥克雷塔罗州发现猛犸象牙化石

　A team of investigators¹ in the central Mexican state of Queretaro has uncovered the remains² of an ancient mammoth³ over 10 thousand years old.

　　The bones were found in Huimilpan municipality and include tusks⁴, skull⁵ fragments and other pieces still to be identified.

　　Anthropologists worked tirelessly at the excavation⁷ site, carefully brushing away dirt and debris⁸ to reveal the astonishing discovery. With this rare find, scholars are optimistic about unearthing⁹ more ancient remains.

　　Archaeologist Fiorella Finoglio Limon says, "There are some fragments which are in a very bad state, but there are others in very good condition. It's about 10 to 15 thousand years old, it's a very important discovery for Mexico because it's very easily destroyed or lost, and with these animal remains excavated¹⁰, we can explore the history of who had these animals and when they inhabited this region."

　　The remains of a mammoth that lived as much as 15,000 years ago

　　have been found in Mexico.

　　The mammoth was discovered in an area that was recently eroded¹¹ by a flood. The archaeologists are currently working to get rid of dampness in the remains before working on restoring them.

　　File Photo: mammoth

　　The central Mexican state has revealed some prized ancient discoveries in recent years, but much of the local population is unaware¹² of the ancient treasures buried beneath them.

　　Anthropologist⁶ Israel Lara Barajas says, "We have put up posters with information on the projects that the National Institute of Anthropology¹³ and History is doing, and how they are doing it, where we are located. We try to raise awareness¹⁴ in the local community about the cultural heritage, archaeology¹⁵, and palaeontology in the state of Queretaro. "

　　Now, the mammoth's 1.8 meters tusks are being carefully worked on by anthropologists in Queretaro, where officials eventually hope to put the ancient remains on public display at a local museum.

新闻快讯：这些猛犸象遗骸化石被发现于墨西哥克雷塔罗州维米尔潘地区的郊外。当地前段时间爆发的洪水让这些化石露出了地表，其中包括猛犸象的象牙化石、头骨化石，以及一些尚未确定的骨骼化石。据墨西哥国家人类学与历史研究所考证，这些化石均属于一头猛犸象，这头猛犸象生活于1万多年前的远古时代。这些猛犸象遗骸化石的清理工作眼下正在紧张进行当中。截至目前，两块长1.8米的象牙化石已经清理完毕，并被送往克雷塔罗州首府克雷塔罗的一家博物馆向公众展出。

1 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 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。

4 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）

5 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。

6 anthropologist   

n.人类学家，人类学者

参考例句：

• The lecturer is an anthropologist.这位讲师是人类学家。
• The anthropologist unearthed the skull of an ancient human at the site.人类学家在这个遗址挖掘出那块古人类的颅骨。

7 excavation   

n.挖掘，发掘；被挖掘之地

参考例句：

• The bad weather has hung up the work of excavation.天气不好耽误了挖掘工作。
• The excavation exposed some ancient ruins.这次挖掘暴露出一些古遗迹。

8 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

9 unearthing   

发掘或挖出某物( unearth的现在分词 )； 搜寻到某事物，发现并披露

参考例句：

• And unearthing the past often means literally and studying the evidence. 通常，探寻往事在字面上即意味着——刨根究底。
• The unearthing of "Peking Man" was a remarkable discovery. “北京人”的出土是个非凡的发现。

10 excavated   

v.挖掘( excavate的过去式和过去分词 )；开凿；挖出；发掘

参考例句：

• The site has been excavated by archaeologists. 这个遗址已被考古学家发掘出来。
• The archaeologists excavated an ancient fortress. 考古学家们发掘出一个古堡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 eroded   

adj. 被侵蚀的，有蚀痕的 动词erode的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The cliff face has been steadily eroded by the sea. 峭壁表面逐渐被海水侵蚀。
• The stream eroded a channel in the solid rock. 小溪在硬石中侵蚀成一条水道。

12 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

13 anthropology   

n.人类学

参考例句：

• I believe he has started reading up anthropology.我相信他已开始深入研究人类学。
• Social anthropology is centrally concerned with the diversity of culture.社会人类学主要关于文化多样性。

14 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

15 archaeology   

n.考古学

参考例句：

• She teaches archaeology at the university.她在大学里教考古学。
• He displayed interest in archaeology.他对考古学有兴趣。